can any one recommend any good ethnic rolemodel books

[magicfarawaytree]

we live in a predominantly white area and dont and other than my family dd has little contact with other ethnic children and school is also predominantly white. dd looks white which is fine but I dont want her doing a Thandie Newton on me and picking one of her heritages over the other if I can help it.

I would be interested in this sort of book too

(sorry magicfarawaytree - who is Thandie Newton and what did she do?)

she was in beloved and james bond - stunning mixed race - she used to feel she had a foot in both worlds now she considers her self to be black. for me personally am so proud of all my line of heritage that it would be sacrilige for me to affiliate myself to only one. dont want dd to suddenly become 'white only'. want her to feel pride in her heritage.

DD has a really bad self image atm and she really struggles with being the only "ethnic" child in a white school. I am white british & her dad is Jamaican

She is very anti her hari and skin (due primarily to the bullying she has endured - hopefully this will end soon)

I am scrapbooking with her about +ve role models etc, but it isn't really working

What do you want the book to do, magicfa'tree? does it need to be about a girl? Does it need to show her doing something heroic, or can she just be ordinary? What age do you want to target?

I went to a predominantly white school in se london (it was a less affluent school and race was only a minor cause of playground bullying ( faster runner in school was blace, the best footballers = black, tallest person = black - small things but significant in our little world interms of prestige. I do remember being called nig nog etc but dont remember much of the name calling partly because I stood a good head taller than other children so there was much more name calling re height but not bullying per se. Its funny and sad to think that that was the norm. we had good ethnic friends as well which helped.

My DD is nearly 9 and reads extensively

I want her to understand her black heritage - but have reservations about the urban youth culture that is prevelant in the media

She is learning about Jamaica and small amounts about africa/slavery but my DH finds that subject hard to discuss

I want her to be proud that she is both white and black - atm she tried to hide/play down her black characteristics

(sorry magicfarawaytree - for jumping into your thread)

What about \link{http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/malorie-blackman/\this author's books}? I've read one of them, but don't know if it's what you wanted.

I want the book (s) to be about the accomplishment of the not just black but mixed race and other ethnic people who have have a positive influence through out history. I remember when I was at school being take with the story of boudica - a woman of great strenght and courage as she was portrayed. I want to talk about the achievements these people have made and also talk about where they have come from, what makes them different, what makes them the same, how they were treated good and bad aspects. jsut basically laying down the foundations much as we do about people who come from different financial backgrounds. I dont want my child picking out ethnic faces as those she would least like to play with as we say on child of our time.

\link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books-uk&field-author=Medearis%2C%20Angela%20Shelf/026-3048163-1872415\Or maybe these}.

i think that's a lot for one book to do, you might need to narrow it down by ethnic groups.
These are supposed to be \link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/026-3048163-1872415\black history for children} books.

zebrabra -thanks for the links - the last link had a bug on it and so could not see what you were directing me to. yes fiction with ethnic characters definitely good. but also non fiction - I caught the end of something on tv that was about ethnic role model I had never heard of but who acomplishments I was familiar with but cannot find it. it is things like that to balance with the slavery aspect of heritage that I would like to subtly lay the foundations for. I think I will need several books but it just knowing where to start.

katymac feel free to to jump into thread

How old is your DD?

There must be some good biographies of Condi Rice about. And Colin Powel....
Sorry about the link, wrestle with Amazon until you manage to type "black history" into a search only among children's books; 135 results!

that the problem with those search funtion the minute you out in black .......it just generalises

dd is 4 - starts reception in september. and know how savage the playground is trying to start preparing her self esteem.

Amazing Gracie is lovely

And Mars sent me a lovely book with princesses from all cultures

DD was told "princesses can't be brown" and "you can't be called Rose as Roses aren't brown"

It's been very hard

I want her to love her beautiful face and gorgeous hair (tho' I really struggle to keep it looking beautiful - everytime I find a nice product - it stops being made )

How are you going to tackle the slavery thing?

katymac you should see the way I send dd to preschool sometimes - bed head doesnt even come close. but you people just say doenst it look lovely even when its all matted in a lump at the back! oh the benefits of people being ethnically correct!! thats a bit crap about the princess and the brown rose thing - was that the school or other children? either way not acceptable. actually being mixed race makes your daughter technically red and roses are red - dont these people know a thing. I was always being told red people are one thing or another as a child etc. I remember wanting to be white when I was a child only because I thought their families were less strict and they didnt have to spent an hour +having their hair combed out after it had been washed. On the slavery issue I will tried to use simple allegories to explain it. over simplifying it allegories about people who chooses different was of life, bullying, how ingnorance breeds fear and the ultimate emanciation etc. There is so much information on slavery it seem but none easily available in child friendly format or translatable into child friendly formats of what went before or after slavery.

That's what I found about the slavey stuff

What do you use on your daughters hair?

I've not heard of mixed race being red - we picked a good name

that should read 'katymac you should see the way I send dd to preschool sometimes - bed head doesnt even come close. but you know some people just say 'doenst it look lovely even when its all matted in a lump at the back'! oh the benefits of people ......

I really should read through properly - that was almost offensive.. sorry

I just spray it with water until is soaked and let it dry naturally and the curls stay really nicely for the day. I havent found the perfect hair stuff yet also of things make it crispy but but what i use on my hair is too heavy. I have been recommended avon 2 in 1 but the granny of a little girl at swimming who has really tight curls. what your little girls hair like - dds is a bit like nicole kidmans.

on the red thing for as long as I can remember I have been told that I was 'red'. I was made aware of my colour both black and white people.

I think DD's hair is quite tight curls - they look like ringlets

Does spraying it with water make it weak (that's what my sister in law told me)

I'll try the Avon 2in1 (is that shampoo & conditioner?)

I dont believe that spraying it with water will make it weak. my understanding is that afro type hair waries in thickness along its length, is much more porous and is not actually that strong in general so does need moisture and good care. but spraying it with water throught twice a week is unlikely to weaken it. combing it wet is not great my hairdresser told me so I comb it and my hair thorughly before I wash it or style it and then wash or wet trying not to tangle it that way the curls dont get disturbed, and it dries with a much fatter tidier ringletty curl. the avon stuff is a detangling shampoo conditioner. and the little girl has tight ringlets that look lovely. I want to try some kms stuff as someone I once met had gorgeous ringlets that she said were normally frizz except for kms, it also didnt make them crunchy I thought as she get older I could use that on it from time to time. I also want to try some of the twisted sista stuff that I keep hearing about. when my hair was natural i always found it hard to get the right stuff some way to heavy some too suited to european hair.

should read comb my hair and dd's hair....

I was using Twisted Sista and it was lovely - but I can't get it anywhere

I'll have a look for KMS

Have you looked at this website \link{http://www.black-history-month.co.uk\here}? It is linked with Black History month which takes place in October.