6 books for children that teach about Black history, cultural differences and similarities

The journey to a more just world grows with children. Books open up a view of the world to children outside their own neighborhood. These six books, and many others, are available at Mint Museum stores, which are open for business.

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Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement

A Caldecott Honor Book written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Ekua, Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer tells the story of civil rights hero Fannie Lou Hamer who participated in marches, sit-ins, and voter-education training. She also endured police brutality, time in jail and bullets shot into her home. Malcolm X called her “the country’s No. 1 freedom-fighting woman.” This book celebrates Fannie Lou Hamer’s life and legacy with a message of hope, determination, and strength. (Candlewick, $17.99).

 

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut

This rhythmic, read-aloud title by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James, is an unbridled celebration of the self-esteem, confidence, and swagger boys feel when they leave the barber’s chair. Winner of a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, Newberry Honor, and Caldecott Honor, and named a best book of 2017 by NPR Books, Huffington Post, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, the Horn Book Magazine, and the News and Observer.. (Agate Bolden, $18.95).

 

Talking Walls: Discover Your World

Written by Mary Burns Knight and illustrated by Anne Sibley O’Brien, is a story about walls the stories they could tell if they could talk, from how some walls kept people out to how they became symbols of dreams, memories and fear. Talking Walls has won honors, including the Boston Globe’s Top 25 Non-Fiction Children’s Books, and winner of a Mom’s Choice Gold Award. (Tilbury House, $9.95).

 

Daddy Played the Blues

Follow Cassie as she travels with her family moves to Chicago from the South, and music, particularly Blues, travel with them throughout their journey. Daddy Played the Blues is a picture book tribute to the African-American odyssey for social and economic justice, and how music was a rich part of the daily lives of Black people. Written and illustrated by Michael Garland. (Tilbury House, $17.95).

 

Little Humans

Written by street photographer and storyteller extraordinaire Brandon Stanton, this 40-page picture book combines some of his favorite children’s photos with a heartwarming ode to little humans everywhere. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $17.99).