Black Children’s Books For Toddlers And Preschoolers

With Black History Month here, I wanted to dive into some black children’s books for toddlers and preschoolers.

I have been building my 3-year-old daughter’s home library since she was born and she has grown to love books with time.

She has even developed some favorites that are classics that I used to love as a kid.

Whether we are reading books at a fun place such as the library or reading a book in the evenings during her nighttime routine, she seems to really enjoy it.

But now that she is older, I want to start incorporating books with individuals that look like her because she is starting to notice how different we all look from our skin color to hair texture.

And I want to make sure she sees people who look like herself positively and knows that people that look like her are capable of great things.

As a child, my parents did their best by making sure I had toys and dolls that resembled me and books with black characters and I want to do the same with my girls.

I have already started collecting some blacks books for my 3-year-old daughter as well as some that I have my eye on that I will be getting in the future

I will be mentioning the books that we have as well as the ones that I want to get down below.

So if you are interested in some black children’s books for toddlers and preschoolers, then just keep reading.

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When Do Children Become Aware Of Race?

Before I get into some children’s books for black toddlers and preschoolers, let’s talk about this question.

When do children become aware of race?

As I was saying above, my daughter has started to recognize differences in people.

Such as the fact that she is a girl and he is a boy.

Or she is small and he is tall.

And of course, she has noticed that her skin is brown and the other girl’s skin is not brown.

It is very natural for children to notice these differences amongst people because they are in the process of learning about everything around them.

According to Pediatrics Nationwide, at the age of 3, children become aware of differences in physical characteristics such as sex (male vs female) height, weight, hair texture, and skin color.

At the age of 4, when many children are exposed to a school setting for the first time, they begin to recognize their own racial identity and that of others.

And may even begin to recognize that there is more of one race than another.

Younger children have a tendency to be more vocal and say exactly what is on their mind and sometimes what is said can be offensive to another race.

It is important, as parents, that we teach our children that being different isn’t a bad thing and raise them to be kind and empathetic towards individuals that look different from them

And as a black parent with black children, I feel really strongly about this topic.

For me, this stage is critical for younger black children because as they became more aware of the dominant culture they live in here in the US, they will eventually figure out that they are the minority.

But being a minority does not mean that you are less than others.

I want to raise and show my daughters that they are beautiful individuals and are capable of doing and achieving great things.

And I will start by teaching them early on through children’s books that depict African Americans as the main characters positively.

Now let’s dive into some black children’s books for toddlers and preschoolers that I have in my daughter’s home library.

Black Children’s Books For Toddlers And Preschoolers

My Pretty…Coloring And Activity Book

So the very first children’s book for black toddlers and preschoolers that I want to talk about isn’t actually a book for reading.

But more so a coloring book for black toddlers and preschoolers.

If you read my Christmas gift guide for my 3-year-old daughter, then you would have seen that I mentioned this coloring book there too.

I wanted to mention it again here because of the messages throughout the coloring book.

This book is catered specifically to young girls of color to celebrate who they are and what makes them beautiful inside and out.

So as your little ones are coloring, they are seeing pictures of little girls with big hair, braids, and twists.

They see themselves which as I keep pointing out is important to young girls of color.

So if you are interested and looking for a black-owned and black-themed coloring book, look no further.

Hair Love

The very first book that I want to talk about that is slowly becoming one of my daughter’s favorite books is Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry.

This book celebrates the relationship between a father and his daughter as he navigates trying to do his daughter’s hair.

It is a beautiful story that I feel like every family should have in their home especially homes with little girls of color who have big and curly hair like my daughter.

My oldest daughter is such a daddy’s girl so this book really hits home for her.

This is often a book that my husband will read to our daughter right before bed.

Curls

Another great hair book that I want to mention is Curls by Ruth Freeman.

This is also a great book celebrating little black girls and their hair.

Throughout the book, you will little girls with big hair, little girls with afro puffs, little girls with braided hair, and even little girls with beads in their hair.

This book has been a great addition to our library as another way to celebrate my girls hair.

Just Like Your Daddy

The next book I want to mention that is great for dads and children to read together is Just Like Your Daddy by Tiffany Parker.

Black dads don’t always get the credit that they deserve and can be depicted negatively, but great black dads do exist.

And the author of this book utilizes positive affirmations along with the saying “You’re just like your daddy!” to showcase black dads in a positive light.

This book makes children want to be like their dads.

As I was saying above, my daughter is a daddy’s girl and is always trying to do everything her dad is doing so this book is perfect for her.

My Mommy Medicine

If the previous book I mentioned is great for dads to read with their children, then My Mommy Medicine by Edwidge Danticat is great moms and their kids.

This book talks about a little girl not feeling well and get taken care of her mom.

The mom in this book uses hot chocolate, a warm bath, and other kinds of way to show her daughter that she loves her to help her daughter feel better.

Mommy medicine is sure to make whatever it is better.

When God Made You

My daughter was gifted this book when she turned one by her grandmother.

If you believe in a higher power or being, then you would probably enjoy getting When God Made You by Matthew Paul Turner for your little ones.

This book talks about a little girl finding her purpose within God’s plan.

The line that always sticks out to me in this book is “Cause when God made YOU, somehow God knew that the world needed someone exactly like you!“

Which is exactly how I would want my daughter to feel.

I would want her to always feel like she is needed and wanted here and that she is unconditionally loved.

Lola At The Library

Since my daughter loves to go to the library, I knew that she would love this book called Lola At The Library by Anna McQuinn.

This is a story of a little girl who goes to the library every week with her mom to attend storytime, check out books, and even grab a treat on the way home.

Their routine mimics a lot of what we do at the library when we go so I knew my daughter would probably enjoy this book which she does.

This is also a great book to help your child get excited about going to the library and reading books.

Dream Big, Little One

The next book that we recently added to our library is a popular one called Dream Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison.

This book features 18 black women in American history who did amazing things whether it was going into space or working on the spaceship itself.

For little girls of color to see these women of color doing extraordinary things, it is inspiring and they may want to pursue some of the things that they did too.

Who Will You Be?

While on the subject our littles one dreaming big, a great book that also dives into that is Who Will You Be? by Andrea Pippens.

This book is about a mom wondering what her child will be when they grow up while also paying homage to her own family.

Such as wondering if her child will be loving like their father or bold like their grandmother.

This is a great book that any family member would enjoy reading to their children or grandchildren.

I Am Enough

A really popular children’s book for black toddlers and preschoolers is I Am Enough by Grace Byers.

I remember when I first heard of this book, I instantly knew that I was going to get it for my daughter.

The title of the book was enough for me to want to get it.

When I was a younger child, I often struggled with feeling like I wasn’t enough so this book would have come right on time for me as a child.

This book talks about loving who you are and also being kind to others.

This is such a great book for children of color.

I Promise

I Promise by Lebron James was a hit when it was released a couple of years ago but I didn’t get a chance to grab it then.

As a fan of Lebron James, I definitely knew that I wanted to grab his children’s book and I’m glad that I did.

This book is a reminder to us that our success starts with the promises that we makes to ourselves today.

And that we can reach our goals if we work hard enough to get there.

Shady Baby

Another celebrity-written book that we own is Shady Baby by Gabrielle Union-Wade and Dwayne Wade.

This book is inspired by their daughter Kaavia Union-Wade.

In this book, she teaches the other kids what it means to be kind to others and stands up for those who getting picked on.

This is a great book to teach your little ones kindness and how to stand up for what it is right.

Sulwe

The next few books I will be talking about are books that we have not gotten yet, but I will be getting and adding to my daughter’s library.

Starting with Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o.

This book is about a little girl whose skin is the color of midnight and how she wishes she was beautiful and bright.

But as the story goes on, she learns that her dark skin make her beautiful in her own unique way.

This is a great book for talking about colorism and self-esteem and I cannot wait to get this book for my daughter.

I Believe I Can

And the last book that I’m looking to get my daughter is I Believe I Can by Grace Byers.

Since I already own her first book and really like it, I know that I want to grab this one of hers as well.

This book is full of affirmations for boys and girls of every background to love and believe in themselves.

I don’t think you can ever get enough of instilling positive affirmations in younger children so this will be another book I will get my hands on.

Your Turn

Well, those are all of the black children’s books for toddlers and preschoolers that I have been collecting for my 3-year-old daughter. I want to hear from you all now. What are some of your favorite black children’s books for your little ones? Let me know in the comments and if you are interested in more black children’s books, be sure to check out this post from the Chronicles of the Momtessorian. She has a list of 25 books that feature black historians that you can check out below. Until next time!

Read More: 25 Children’s Books That Feature Black Historians

Love,

Just Jass