Children's Books that don't feature only white faces

[DaftApeth]

Does anyone have any recommendations for books - mainly for 2yr and 6yr olds (but any ages really, as they will get older!), that feature illustrations that are not all white people?

Is it just me, or is there a dreadful lack of nice books with black/asian faces?

I think you have a point (sadly).
For the 2yo:
Helen Oxenbury books, including Tickle Tickle
Full Full Full of love is good.

For both ages:
Tales from Trotter Street series are good (and some others by Shirley Hughes).

For older kids (age 10-14) the Louis Sachar books are good, tackle race & disability issues well.

Try the letterbox library, they are great for this kind of thing.

At her request I am reading Tabby McTat by Julia Donaldson on a nightly basis to my DD (2.4), and one of the things I love about it is it's based in London and so all the city crowds are really diverse from women in hijab to big men with tattoos and dogs, to Rastafarians, it's just like real life.

Love love love that book. Also (not multicultural but great read) have you tried A Squash and a Squeeze?

Anna Hibiscus books: really nice tales of Anna, who lives in Africa, and her family. Plus they are books you might enjoy, as well as dcs, always a plus

Try Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman, Caroline Binch.www.maryhoffman.co.uk/grace.htm. My DD called Grace and loves it.

Thankyou for these suggestions. The books are for a friend's dcs. I remember her saying that she rarely finds birthday cards/books with multi-cultural faces, so thought I could try to find some as christmas presents.

Particularly like the idea of 'Amazing Grace' as one of the girls is Grace too.

The Shirley Hughes books look like they might fit the bill too.

My 5yr old dd enjoys reading books with stories about what she does and things she can relate to, so I'd like to get some books similar to her favourite stories that also have a range of different cultural faces.

I'm going to Waterstones with my list and have a rummage

my DD has a good set of books but i cant rememeber the proper name. it has kids called kipper and biff in it...il search for a link but that one is quite a good set

the oxford reading tree here

"The bear in the cave" by Michael Rosen has a bear as the main character but has illustrations with people of many different backgrounds.
Handa Hen and Handa's surprise by Eileen Brown are also nice books set in Kenya with Black characters.
Have also come across Cleversticks - about a Chinese boy starting school and The Magic Paintbrush is a traditional Chinese tale with a great storylinewhich are both lovely books.
I have bought a couple of other books for my half Black African, half White British daughter which are about being Black and beautiful - "I love my hair", which talks about different Afro hairstyles and also " I am Black, I am Unique" which is a lovely hardback book with lots of photos of children of different "shades" of Black.
There is also a series of fairytales which have been illustrated with Black characters by the publishers "Run to the Sun", we have Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstalk, but I think they do lots more and you can get them on Amazon.

I'd second the Anna Hibiscus books - good read & nice pics too.

JohnKurtz fairytales are nice.

Grace Lin

There are lots of books that are about being not white, or are set in Africa or China etc. or are about customs from different countries but there are precious few that are just an ordinary story with a non white central character.

''There are lots of books that are about being not white, or are set in Africa or China etc. or are about customs from different countries but there are precious few that are just an ordinary story with a non white central character''

That is exactly what I was trying to say. You put it so much more eloquently than me, Longhaul

Why can't 'Princess Poppy' be black or asian or chinese?

It is very sad that there is lack of books with the central characters being non white.

I remember the childrens bible my mum bought me (20ish years ago mind ) that had a black Jesus and a Chinese Noah.

We are in no way religious, my mum just liked stories with a good moral behind them and the fact that the cast was multicultural.

Shame you cant find too many books out there now.

I dont really like childrens books about being black or asian etc. I think they perpetuate the differences between children rather than emphasising the similarities. IMO my Indian friends daughter is no different to mine, they are both little monsters

The Jamela books by Niki Daly are wonderful. For chapter books you could try Wasim One Star. The Jamela books are set in Africa but Wasim is just an ordinary boy in an ordinary school with ordinary problems.

PS Wasim also wears glasses!

There is a lovely Christmas book called "An Angel Just Like" - great story but it is about the lack of black angel Christmas decorations.
For older children Malorie Blackman's books have characters who just happen to be black and their colour is often irrelevant to the story in the same way that a white child's colour is irrelevant in most children's lit. She writes books for a wide range of ages from 7+ to teens so you need to check that they are age appropriate. Her Noughts and Crosses series does tackle the issue of race and discrimination and is definitely for older readers.

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats was one of the first picture books to feature a black main character and it's still a classic. It's a gorgeous book.

One of the pirates in Three Little Pirates is brown-skinned (also, almost all the central characters are female, and that's never remarked upon either).

More, More, More said the Baby might be verging on too young for your 2yo, but mine still likes it. The families are multicultural (one has a white grandmother and black grandchild) without anything being made of that.

I've had [www.amazon.co.uk/Ruby-Lu-Brave-True-Quality/dp/1416913890 Ruby Lu, Brave and True]] recommended to me.

Will have a scan through the DCs books in the morning.

Bah. Ruby Lu, Brave and True.

A Dragon on your doorstep has kids of all races in it (and even a girl in a wheelchair which I love particularly because one of my friend's DD is so it means she is in the story as far as my DS is concerned)

I tend to read stories that don't have an]children in them at all

Our ultimate fave is an oldie but a goodie "Oh what a Busy Day" by Gyo Fujikawa is amazing...she was one of the very first artist/writers to feature various races in her childrens books and the illustrations are stunning.

The book is available on Amazon but is published in America...I bought mine on Amazon UK though..I first read it in the early 70s as a child when my cousins Dad who was African American sent it to me from California....that copy got lost but I never forgot the book or the illustrations and last year was able to buy it again for my own children.

I cannot recommend it enough...Gyo Fujikawa's ther boks are gorgeous too...the children featured are of every race and the busy illustrations depict the world from a small child's point of view with amazing detail.

You have to buy it!

Have you tried Amzing Grace? Both of mine loved it - particularly my dd, who's a Grace!

I second Ezra Jack Keats. The Snowy Day was both my DH and I's all time favourite as children. Would be perfect for a two year old. I grew up in a climate totally without snow and I still related to it.

The six-year-old would undoubtedly enjoy the Julian Stories by Ann Cameron. They are a black family but that is really incidental to the story. Dad cooks for mum too - thumbs up in my book!

Amazing Grace