Black History Month is an annual observance here in the United States, Canada; and celebrated also in the United Kingdom during the month of October.
Join me and six other bloggers from the Multicultural Kids Blog together as we celebrate Black History Month. During this month long celebration we will be remembering the contributions of African Americans who played an important role during the Civil Rights movement. Please be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom, and visit the other participating bloggers.
Also, during this month I will have a special series called “Remembering Our Black Ancestors.” This series will cover book reviews, and a special interview with my son’s grandparents both whom grew up in the segregation era. Growing Up Black During the Segregated Era {Interview With My Son’s Grandparents} is part I of my special series interviewing my son’s grandmother.
Today’s post will be a review on the children’s book Rosa by Nikki Giovanni, and A Kid’s Guide to African American History: More than 70 Activities (A Kid’s Guide series).
When I went to the library looking for books about Rosa Parks the librarian recommended this book for our son. She said that it depicted the story of Rosa Parks in a way that appealed to children. In a way that they could understand what happened the day that Rosa Parks stepped into the bus.
I couldn’t agree with her more. My child is 5 yrs. old so the simple story line was good enough to explain the importance of such a historical event on how one woman made a difference. It depicts a Rosa Parks tired of the oppression, tired of the “colored” signs, tired of putting White folks first, and tired of giving in. For the first time when asked to stand up and give the seat to a White person she refused, and was arrested. The book doesn’t go into details about her role in the NAACP but it does offer a glimpse of the strikes that followed. The illustrations are beautiful.
A Kid’s Guide to African American History is a great informational book with plenty of activities: crafts, songs, games, and recipes. The guide offers an introduction to African American history, historical events, and the people that shaped the course of history. The synopsis in each chapter is simple, and easy to follow perfect for our 5 yr. old. I really enjoyed the timeline, and the suggested reading list for children found at the end of the book.
Reflecting on the books that I read to our sweet little boy, also biracial whom will be looked upon as a Black boy; and the thought provoking interview with his African American grandparents (post coming soon), my wish is to instill in him a sense of pride of where he comes from. To know his heritage, and his ancestors past is to know where he comes from, and what he stands for so he can be proud of who he is.
However, he’s still at a very tender age that I don’t want to share the ugliness, and harsh reality of slavery, oppression, racism and prejudice. As he gets older, we will discuss these issues with age appropriate books; and meaningful conversations. 🙂
Now to the blog hop! Multicultural Kid Blogs is sponsoring a blog hop in honor of Black History Month. Please visit the participating blogs below to learn a bit more about the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement worldwide. Join the discussion in our Google+ community, and follow our Black History board on Pinterest! You can also share your own posts about Black History below.
Participating Blogs
Disclosure: Affiliate links are used in this post. If you click on it, and purchase I will receive a small monetary compensation.
I love that you found books appropriate for young children. So many of those I've seen are for older kids. Thanks for participating in the Black History Blog Hop, and I am so looking forward to your series – especially the interview!!
Your book list intrigued me, so I checked with my library, and am off to pick up the "Kid's Guide" today, plus another book by Nancy I. Sanders. Thanks for the inspiration, as I'm not sure this would have floated to the top of my to-do list today without a little push. 🙂
This is a great post Frances! "Rosa" has been on my wish list for a while now but I wasn't sure about the age appropriateness. Thank you so much for your review. "A Kid's Guide to African American History" also sounds like a great find.