With the issue of racism glaring us in the face right now, it may be a very good time to talk to your children about it. We are all God’s children, and sometimes it’s easy to overlook the most basic of lessons with our kids. Today we are going to look at some picture books for Christian kids to help you talk to them about racism and diversity.
No color, no religion, no nationality
should come between us.
We are all children of God.
-Mother Teresa
Picture Books For Addressing Racism With Christian Kids
The above heading is not an easy one to type. I don’t know if I got it exactly right, but I am doing my best here. I wish it were a topic that didn’t need to be addressed with our kids, but there are lots of things I wish we didn’t need. Doctors. Money. Orphanages. And I truly wish we didn’t need books to explain why all people are created equal in the eyes of God, but we do.
It’s easy to take for granted the fact that everyone doesn’t feel like all people are equal, and that our kids have to grow up in a world where not everyone believes that. So we also need to equip our kids with the knowledge they need to make the world we live in a better place.
This book – God’s Very Good Idea – came highly recommended to me from a close friend. Very cute read for little kids! (Get it here on Kindle since it’s currently sold out.)
The Tiny Truth’s Bible Illustrated Bible– Why not try adding a diverse bible to your children’s bible collection?! This thing is adorable, and you can flip through some of the illustrations on Amazon. This bible says it has… “diverse character illustrations that depict what people in Bible times more accurately looked like. This Bible also includes non-traditional stories that are typically excluded from most children’s illustrated Bibles.” I am ordering one for our family!
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When God Made You– a sweet little book about how we are all different, and special, and loved. I think the illustrations in this one are absolutley beautiful! Available as a book and also on kindle.
ColorfuLL: Celebrating The Colors That God Gave Us– Imani and Kayla are the best of friends who are learning to celebrate their different skin colors. As they look around them at the amazing colors in nature, they can see that their skin is another example of God’s creativity! This joyful story takes a new approach to discussing race: instead of being colorblind, we can choose to celebrate each color God gave us and be colorFULL instead.
God Made Me And You: Celebrating God’s Design For Ethnic Diversity– This beautifully illustrated children’s book invites kids to explore God’s design for ethnic diversity and challenges readers both parents and children to learn and live out counter-cultural, biblical views, fostering a lifelong celebration of diversity for the glory of God. Designed for four to eleven-year-olds.
The Gospel In Color- (since Amazon is currently sold out, you can check here for a hard or digital copy) If you’re looking for something a little more advanced, this book is for ages 10 and up. Here is what Amazon had to say: Where does racism come from? How should Christians respond rightly, without falling into the error of color-blindness or ignorance? And how do we equip kids with a gospel lens on these issues? The Gospel In Color For Parents directly addresses these vital questions, equipping parents to provide their children with a biblical perspective on race and racism, while celebrating the gospel s power to bring about reconciliation.
Through rich illustrations and approachable text, this book and its companion volume, The Gospel In Color For Kids, help parents present their kids with big ideas in an engaging way.
I also have a round up of Jesus Loves The Little Children crafts and activities to help teach Christian children about diversity, so please check that out as well. God bless!
Thank you Lacy and Catholic Icing crew!
Desmond Tutu’s board book _God’s Dream_ might be a good addition; my family checked it out from our library a couple years ago. You can find people reading the book online like this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSzB5wxuPFk. (I also recommend his children’s book_Desmond and the Very Mean Word_ from 2012.)