I’m so impressed by the children’s books from A Kids Book About. Their books are meant to be read by an adult and child and serve to guide a discussion around a tough topic. Think of this series as a Bird and Bees manual but on tough topics from current events to emotional wellness.
The book series always seems to find the perfect person to present the topic and the book feels like a three-way conversation between a gentle expert, the adult, and the child. Another reason why I like A Kids Book About … Matthew Winner is now there as their head of podcasting!
How about you? How do you discuss tough topics with your kids? Thanks for sharing!
Tough Topics to talk to kids using A Kids Book About …
A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory
I feel like this was the book that put A Kids Book About on the map. It was the perfect book for when our nation was reeling from the murder of George Floyd and it provided the words to discuss racism in America. The author is a biracial African American entrepreneur and he wrote this book for his son. He explains racism in a gentle way that is illuminating and powerful and he manages to add humor to this mix. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
A Kids Book About Climate Change by Zanagee Artis and Olivia Greenspan
Zanagee Artis and Olivia Greenspan are both teenage environmental activists. Climate change can be a scary topic because it seems overwhelming in a doomsday kind of way. Zanagee and Olivia do an incredible job explaining climate change and its socio-economic impacts in a way that is empowering. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
A Kids Book About Anxiety by Ross Szabo
I think all of us suffered or are suffering from anxiety and depression from living through a global pandemic. I would pair these books together to show the continuum of how anxiety and depression are not the same but often causally linked together. Ross Szabo is a pioneer of the youth mental health movement. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
A Kids Book About Depression by Kileah McIlvain
Kileah shares her personal story about depression and how she found help. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
A Kids Book About Immigration by MJ Calderon
MJ Calderon shares his own story of his family’s migration from Mexico to the United States as undocumented immigrants. His story humanizes the term “illegal alien” and builds understanding and empathy around the complicated topic of immigration. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
A Kids Book About Bullying by Elizabeth Tom
Elizabeth Tom is a teenager who was bullied starting in fourth grade because of her disability and she explains the vicious circle of bully and victim. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
A Kids Book About Disabilities by Kristine Napper
Kristine Napper teaches middle school and uses a wheelchair. She explains how to treat and talk to someone with a disability. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
A Kids Book About Body Image by Rebecca Alexander
Let the voice that says, “I’m hungry,” speak louder than the one that says, “I have to be skinny.”
While it seems that girls are more prone to body image issues such as eating and exercise disorders, it also affects boys. And body image dysmorphia is widely prevalent in girls. In the United States, as many as 10 in 100 young women suffer from an eating disorder. Author Rebecca Alexander is the founder of Founder & CEO of AllGo, a community review platform where plus-size people rate the comfort and accessibility of public places so others can know what it’s like before going out. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
A Kids Books About Sexual Abuse by Evelyn Yang
Evelyn Yang’s husband, Andrew, ran for the presidency of the United States and she took this opportunity to raise awareness of social justice causes that were deeply personal to her. She was sexually assaulted by her OB-GYN while pregnant and her bravery in sharing her experience has helped countless others. Did you know that sexual abuse affects 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys before age 18? Her book helps to empower readers by teaching them safety and awareness against sexual abuse. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
A Kids Book About Feminism by Emma Mcilroy
Emma Mcilroy explains that being a feminist means that you think that everybody should be treated the same way, i.e. boys are not better than girls. She is the Co-Founder & CEO of Wildfang. Wildfang is one of the fastest-growing retail brands in the U.S. and exists to help every kind of woman become the best possible version of herself, smashing gender roles and the patriarchy in the process.[picture book, ages 4 and up]
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p.s. Related topics:
Book Lists for Difficult Situations
Antiracist Books for Kids, Teens, and Adults
White Fragility Books for Kids
A Unit to Teach Kids About Microaggressions
A Unit on Skin Color: Picture Books & Videos
Top Children’s Books to Help You Address the Diversity of Human Race
Keeping Kids Safe from Inappropriate Touch
New Picture Books to Teach Consent
Domestic Violence Awareness Books for Kids
Top 10: Best Books for Kids that Deal with Bullies
Top 10: Multicultural Picture Books on Bullying
Picture Books About Anxiety for Kids Who Worry
Picture Books About Children and War
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My books:
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
What do these books look like on the inside? I tried out Amazon Look Inside, but it didn’t go past the endpapers. Are there images? Big text like the cover?
I did not know this was a series. Thanks for the review and for posting it as part of MCBD!
— BiculturalMama.com