The Inclusive Atrium

Growing up, there were few options (maybe none) for children’s books centering people of color’s Christian faith. Bibles, flannel graphs, and comic books centered around White characters and a Western-European world view.

In recent years, this has expanded to include more people of color (POC) and more authors and illustrators of color.

Note: I would be less than honest that this list brought with it difficult, painful discoveries about authors. (I recognize some are in part the responsibility of the publishing houses.) But still their choices of illustrators, author’s ghost writers. Also how culturally there is a honoring of lighter over darker skin tones within POC representations (albeit none this honoring were written by POC – perhaps that makes it even more dishonoring). 

Remember to order from your local book seller. The links for the majority of these support Itinerate Literate our local seller.

Please let me know what I’ve missed in this list. 

The color coding denoting people who in their biographies or articles identify as people of color.

• Authors or Illustrators of color are in blue. 
• Foreign authors or illustrators of color are in green.
• Foreign authors or illustrators are in red.

0-6 books 

pass on values especially joy

Story Bibles

“The Bible can help us heal. It can make us think. It can bring us together. It can remind us why we’re here. It can show us the way home.” (What is the Bible by Rachel Held Evans & Matthew Paul Turner).

But for the youngest much of this work isn’t needed. So it is incumbent on us as the adult to carefully examine what we find healing, reminding, and grounding in a book and use the books privately for us in that manner.

We must to ponder the child’s needs so we can support their discovery of core of God’s kingdom. The young child is oriented to joy, rhythm, people like themselves, and learning the names of things in real contextual situations (not in a “dictionary”).

We really recommend reading from the joy-filled Psalms; praying the Lord’s Prayer; and singing the songs of the Church with the littles in your life. Most of the Bible isn’t there to answer questions that the tiniest in our lives have yet.

But, if you or another adults would like your pre-reader to have a “Bible,” here’s a few that are:

• developmentally appropriate (the topics are more appropriate for the little folks
• don’t moralize for the premoral child (God and Santa should never be perceived as synonymous)
• encourage open ended questions by the child that the adult doesn’t need to answer.

Celebrate Wonder Storybook, Author: Brittany Sky (Illustrator is not listed.)

This is the Bible Parkside recommend for families. A colorfully illustrated children’s Bible storybook that engages the child through simple storytelling and “I Wonder” questions. It includes 150 stories!

Children of God Storybook Bible Author: Archbishop Desmond Tutu & a multi-ethnic range of illustrators

Desmond Tutu retells more than fifty of his most beloved stories, artfully highlighting God’s desire for all people to love one another and to find peace and forgiveness in their hearts. Many of the finest artists from around the world have been selected to illustrate the stories. In an attempt to create the first truly global Bible for children, the artists have been invited to portray the stories with the style and richness of their own culture.

Their stunning color illustrations allow readers to experience the Bible stories as if they were there—with Adam and Eve in the garden, with Noah on the ark, with Abraham in the desert, and with Jesus on the mountaintop. Every story shows how God works through history and ends with a short prayer, which personalizes the message for each reader’s own life. Archbishop Tutu’s wisdom, compassion, and sense of humor shine throughout, as he reminds us that ‘We are all God’s children.’ (Back Cover)

Advent and Christmas Books

The award-winning Bryan offers a Nativity story told through the eyes of one young boy. The rhymed couplets introduce a little shepherd who is also apprenticed as a carpenter / in his father’s employ. When a pregnant Mary asks if he knows a place that she and Joseph can stay, he welcomes them to his stable.

Bryan writes that he got the idea for the book while traveling through Africa, which is reflected in both the book’s cultural details and in the diverse characters.

Although the African setting extends the universality, it does make for a bit of confusion. On a two-page spread, the text asks, Was Jesus born in Italy, Russia, Spain, Japan? No. He was born in Bethlehem. A rich and Verdant land. The artwork shows a very different Bethlehem with an African drummer, a giraffe, a zebra, a monkey, and an elephant, all in a jungle setting.

Celebration Song, Author: James Berry & Illustrator: Louise Brieley

“Your born-day is a happening day,” says Mary to Baby Jesus on his first birthday. “I’ll tell you your own own story./ First-how you began.” This jubilant poem, transplants the Nativity story to the Caribbean. The phrasing is swaying with tropical sounds, the verse details an all-out celebration.

The illustrations are done in a Caribbean folk style and in a more modern setting. The “mystery messenger” foretelling Christ’s birth, shown with white feathered angel wings, appears behind the laundered sheets Mary is hanging up to dry. 

This lyrical celebration of the miracle of Christmas is just the right size for little hands! Margaret Wise Brown’s simple, poetic language is brought to life by Floyd Cooper’s spectacular paintings. This perspective on the Holy Family and the miraculous birth of Christ communicates beautifully to the youngest children. 

What A Morning: The Christmas Story in Black Spirituals, Author: John Langstaff & Illustrator: Ashley Bryan. (Hardback)

Music is the very heart of Christmas and for the young child an area of great delight. This beautifully illustrated book offers five spirituals telling the story of the Nativity.

Ashley Bryan’s luxurious illustrations depict a cast of human, animal, and heavenly creatures. You can read the songs, sing them, or even use the included arrangements for piano and guitar. There is useful information for teachers, parents and instrumentalists, included in this book.

La N es de Navidad / N Is for Navidad, Authors: Susan Middleton Elya & Merry Banks & Illustrator: Joe Cepeda (paperback)

Join a joyous Latino celebration of Christmas from A to Z (angel to zapatos). This bilingual poem in English and Spanish highlights the Latino centered sights and symbols of Christmas. There are additional explanations and Spanish holiday words conclude this energetic book with colorful and vibrant illustrations.

General Faith

This picture book’s surprisingly intimate interpretation of the well-known spiritual makes it accessible to young children and their own “whole world.” Nelson uses pencils, oils, and watercolors to create a series of striking, beautifully composed pictures. The opening scene of sun just visible beyond the arc of the earth in space gives way to a San Francisco cityscape with the sun against the skyline.

Psalm 23, Illustrator: Tim Ladwig (Hardback) (Review by: Eerdmans Books)

Through poignant, heart-warming images of an urban African-American family, children experience the comfort and encouragement this favorite psalm still offers–the powerful message that they can rely on the Lord as they thread their way through the risk-filled maze of daily life in the city.

This illustration of the Biblical creation narrative uses the powerful voice of James Weldon Johnson’s poem Creation. Ransome interprets these emerging natural wonders with the reactions of children as they listen to the Black storyteller.

The Lord’s Prayer, Illustrator: Tim Ladwig

The central Christian words of The Lord’s Prayer serve as the text for this rich book. Tim Ladwig illustrates this ancient prayer’s phrases in concrete modern settings. The story illustrates a girl and her father helping an elderly neighbor. The love and guidance the child experiences in her relationship with her dad reflects the heart of the Heavenly Father in ways children of all ages will connect with.

The World is Awake, Authors: Lynsey Davis & Joseph Bottom & Illustrator: Lucy Fleming (Hardback & Board book)

Based on Psalm 118:24 this book engages children with the everyday wonders of our enchanted world and invites the children to respond with thankfulness. It is a bit wordy for young children. You may want to shorten the lines to fit their age.

Personhood

The book opens with two young black girls with hair in cornrows, a rambunctious mutt, and a playful cat engrossed in creative indoor play. The rhyming text seems to draw the girls outside as sunshine spills through their large window. “Dance in the grass. / Go climbing in trees. / Build castles with sand. / Face the wind; feel its breeze.”

Ebullient illustrations in Catrow’s signature style depict the two girls and their pets as they frolic and explore in their own backyard and beyond, employing chiaroscuro with often dramatic effect. Throughout, both pictures and text revel in God’s creation, light in particular and its glowing presence in the sun, moon, and stars as well as within the children themselves. … A life-affirming exploration of the common grace of creation and appreciation of the miraculous in every day. 

No One Else Like You, Siska Goeminne & Merel Eyckerman (Hardback) (Review by: Flyaway)

There are so many people in the world. Over seven billion! They come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors. Some are happy, and some are grumpy. Some live in tall towers in the city, while others live in cottages in the field. Some like to read, and some like to sing. And yet, even with so many people in this world, there is no one quite like you!

When God Made You, Author: Matthew Paul Turner & Illustrator: David Catrow (Hardback & Board book)

Children are longing to know they are valuable. As their differences become more apparent to themselves, their core longing needs to find assurance in their families affirmations and in their faith’s affirmations. Their personalities, traits, and talents fit in to God’s story. The assurance that they are deeply loved and a unique creation is core to their understanding of self and to the bravery of their work to grow into vital members of the world’s community.

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 the approach of discussing race: instead of being colorblind, we can choose to celebrate each color God gave us and be colorFULL instead.