Emerson Elementary School

“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity
there is beauty and there is strength."—Maya Angelou

Many thanks to Silver Firs School Counselor, Mrs. Hirata, for compiling this list and sharing it for the benefit fo all Everett Public Schools families.   

IN RESPONSE TO THE EVENTS IN OUR NATION AND COMMUNITY,
HERE ARE SOME RESOURCES FAMILIES MAY FIND HELPFUL
IN TALKING WITH CHILDREN ABOUT RACISM, APPRECIATING DIVERSITY, AND ACTIVISM

• CNN & Sesame Street will hold a town hall meeting on Saturday, June 6 at 7 am PT (10 am ET).  Click this link to submit questions in advance and get more information.
• “Beyond the Golden Rule: A PARENTS GUIDE to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice” a Teaching Tolerance Publication
• Your Age-by-Age Guide to Talking About Race found in Parents Magazine
• Teaching Tolerance: Race & Ethnicity
• Teaching Kids Ages 5-8 to Respect Diversity
• How to Teach Children About Cultural Awareness and Diversity
• How to Talk to Kids About Race and Cultural Diversity
• Raising a Child Who Respects Difference found in Parents Magazine
• Teaching Diversity: A Place to Begin
• Anti-Defamation League (books for children)

BOOKS PARENTS CAN READ WITH THEIR CHILDREN

• Different Just Like Me by Lori Mitchell
• All the Colors We Are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color by Katie Kissinger
• We’re Different, We’re the Same (Sesame Street) by Bobbi Kates and Joe Mathieu
• Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles and Jerome Lagarrigue
• Happy In Our Skin by Fran Manushkin
• Whoever You Are by Mem Fox and Leslie Staub
• A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory
• The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
• The Colors of Us by Karen Katz
• Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester
• Teammates by Peter Golenbock
• Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatuih
• Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney
• Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged! by Jody Nyasha Warner and Richard Rudnicki
• Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey
• Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America by Carole Boston Weatherford and Jamey Christoph
• That’s Not Fair! Emma Tenayuca’s Struggle for Justice by Carmen Tafolla and Sharyll Tenayuca
• Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano
• A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara
• Skin Again by Bell Hooks
• It’s OK to be Different: A Children’s Picture Book About Diversity and Kindness by Sharon Purtill and Sujata Saha
• We’re All Wonders by R.J. Palacio
• Look What Brown Can Do! (An everyday modern Black History book for Children ages 5-7) by T. Marie Harris

BOOKS PARENTS CAN READ WITH THEIR CHILDREN ABOUT ACTIVISM

• The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist by Cynthia Levinson
• Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport
• The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Johnny Ray Moore and Amy Wummer
• Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights by Rob Sanders
• Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson
• Free As A Bird: The Story of Malala by Lina Maslo
• Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story (Scholastic Reader, Level 2) by Ruby Bridges
• The Story of Ruby Bridges: Special Anniversary Edition by Robert Coles
• Malala: My Story of Standing Up for Girls’ Rights by Sarah J. Robbins and Malala Yousafzai
• Kid Activists: True Tales of Childhood from Brave champions of Change by Robin Stevenson
• The Little Book of Little Activists by Penguin Young Readers
• Greta and the Giants by Zoe Tucker
• Brave Girl: Clara Lemlich and the Shirtwaist Makers by Michelle Markel
• You Are Mighty: A Guide to Changing the World by Caroline Paul
• What Can a Citizen Do? by Dave Eggers
• That’s Not Fair! Emma Tenayuca’s Struggle for Justice by Carmen Tafolla and Sharyll Tenayuca
• A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES

• How do we teach our children anti-racism? These resources will help.  What to do when you want to do better but don't know where to begin.

• How to talk to your children about protests and racism

• Discussing Difficult Situations With Your Children

•  31 Children's books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance