Black History Month Books - Mixed Me!

February is Black History Month. Black lives should be celebrated and honored every day of the year. That being said, maybe this is a month you take to go a little deeper or learn something new.

I've mentioned before that I think children's literature is leading the way on increasing diversity. Years ago it was hard to find any books featuring black characters and/or written by black authors/illustrators. While there are still miles to go, there have been many new great books published recently. This month, I'll share some of these with you!

Mixed Me! by Taye Diggs, illustrated by Shane W. Evans

Years ago, Diggs and Evans worked together to write the story Chocolate Me! Diggs explains that it was based on his own childhood. Other kids would often comment on his dark skin and ask why it looked like chocolate. He was inspired to write the story for other kids who might get asked the same questions, or kids who were curious. I loved having this book in my classroom! Now Diggs and Evans have teamed up again. Oscar and I checked this book out from our library (side note: our libraries are open again!) and we loved it. 

In Mixed Me, we meet Mixed-Up Mike, or at least that's what everyone calls him. He has hair that's "like wow" and he mixes up his shoes, socks, friends and food. But that's not all that's mixed. Mike's mom and dad have different colored skin. Even though the other kids ask about this, he says his parents tell him they mixed together to make the perfect child. While I've read plenty of books featuring characters of one race or another, rarely have I found one that talks about being mixed. So many students in my classes over the years have been mixed - and all sorts of different mixes!

Shout out to Diggs and Evans for this new addition to their book lists!