When I first saw Antiracist Baby, the new board book everyone’s talking about right now, I thought, Oh, cute, a very cool companion to Feminist Baby! But whereas Feminist Baby was full of punny jokes about napping, Antiracist Baby actually aims to educate about systemic racism. Don’t let the clever rhymes fool you; there’s real substance here.
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Related: 3 excellent educational videos to teach kids about Juneteenth.
Written by Ibram X. Kendi, professor, author, and director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University, this little book packs a big punch.
It has 9 rules for being actively antiracist, and honestly they’re so helpful for anyone — including adults — who are committed to challenging racism. For instance, the book teaches readers not to be colorblind but to celebrate differences and actively talk about racism. And to confess racism when we find it in ourselves. So important.
The vocabulary in this book is a little advanced for babies, but not for the parent who will be reading to their baby (hey, that’s you!). And I think it strikes the perfect tone — thoughtful, timely, but still sweet — as a baby gift at your next online baby shower. Especially if the guests are mostly white.
Find Antiracist Baby from Indiebound, your local bookshop, or order from Amazonn
