16 children’s books to help support conversations on race and racial injustice

Ages 9-11

The former Play School presenter shares the story of her arrival in England from Trinidad when she was 11 and the racism she faced. This honest and moving tale explains what it felt like for her to leave her country and settle somewhere new, as part of the Windrush Generation. 

Ages 2-5

Science-crazy Rocket is the star of this beautifully illustrated picture book. Inspired by Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, Rocket wants to be an astronaut and is on a mission to get everyone she knows to watch the meteor shower over her town. Sprinkled with facts about meteors and space, we loved this joyful story and especially its inspiring heroine. 

Ages 5-8

This classic book has a lovely message about accepting people for who they are. Grace wants to be Peter Pan but is convinced by her class mates that she can't because she is a girl and black. Her grandmother shows her that she can be whatever she wants to be. 

Ages 3 – 5

This wordless picture book follows the story of a mouse who discovers another group of animals on the other side of a wall. They all team up to dismantle the bricks and build a bridge between their islands. This hopeful tale aims to teach young kids the importance of working together with everyone in society.

Ages 3-7

Featuring moving text and colourful illustrations, this book about justice and equality follows the inspiring true story of Florence Mills. Florence was the daughter of former slaves whose singing talent took her to the stages of Broadway in the 1920s and who became one of the most well-known supporters of equal rights for African-Americans with her signature song “I’m A Little Blackbird” – a plea for racial equality.

Ages 4- 8

When We Were Alone follows the story of a young girl as she learns from her grandmother about her family heritage and the legacy of Native American boarding schools.

Ages 4 – 8

Before going on to become Hollywood’s first Black director, and despite his white teacher telling her all-Black class they would be waiters and porters, Gordon Parks taught himself how to take pictures. Soon people began to notice his work and he landed a job working for the government in Washington DC in the 1940s. There Gordon started documenting how he and others were treated differently because of the colour of their skin, taking a stand against racism with his camera in hand. The book contains four of Parks’ photographs from those years.

Ages 4 – 8

This book retells the story of the historic day Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Through pictures and text, this book celebrates the courageous actions of one of the most important figures in the American civil rights movement.

Ages 5 - 8

Mackenzie seeks comfort in her wise neighbour Miss Tillie after a day of being taunted by her classmates about her hair in this book. Through a beautiful metaphor, Mackenzie comes to see the importance and beauty in her natural Black hair.

Ages 6 – 9

This book celebrates the lives of 10 incredible Black women in history who had the courage and bravery to speak out in the face of oppression, even when no-one was listening to them.  

Ages 7 – 10

This book tells the true story of four college students who staged a peaceful protest in 1960, sitting at a “whites only” lunch counter - a moment that went on to define the struggle for racial equality in the US.

Ages 7 – 11

In the 1950s Ruth and her family take a trip in their new car and the little girl soon discovers that Black travellers are not treated well in some towns. A gas station attendant shows Ruth’s family The Green Book, a guide to all the places that would welcome Black travellers to help the family on their journey. While Ruth’s story is fictional, The Green Book is real and was an important guidebook for African-American travellers until 1967.

Ages 8 – 11

This beautifully illustrated board book tells the stories of incredible Black women in history who changed the world and inspired generations to come. 

Ages 9 - 12

A mix of gorgeous pictures and poems tell the story of a law clerk named Arturo Schomburg whose passion is to collect books, letters, music and art from Africa. This true tale shows how Arturo’s collection became so big he had to turn to the New York Public Library to house it. Now, Arturo’s incredible collection is known as the Schomburg Centre for Research in Black Culture and is described as a beacon to scholars all over the world.

Ages 10-13

The story of six children brought together who learn how healing  sharing their worries is. Every week they meet in the ARTT Room (short for A Room to Talk) and discover it's safe to talk about what's bothering them - everything from Esteban's father's deportation and Haley's father's incarceration to Amari's fears of racial profiling and Ashton's adjustment to his changing family fortunes.

Ages 12+

Rewritten for readers 12 plus, this insightful and invaluable history of the Black experience in the British Isles is a must-read.  It covers everything from when Africans first came to Britain to right up to the present day. Macmillan Children's Books will donate 50p from every copy sold to The Black Curriculum.

Ages 14+

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this Young Adult novel follows 16-year-old Starr Carter as she struggles for justice for her childhood best friend Khalil who was murdered at the hands of a police officer. Starr is the only person alive who knows what really happened that fatal night and what she does – or does not – say could turn her community upside down but also endanger her life.

Ages 14+

This teen classic was written over twenty years ago, and is set in a society in which Crosses (Black people) rule over noughts (white people). At the book's centre is an inter-racial love story between Sephy and Callum, which is full of twists and tragedies.