Books to Teach Civil Rights
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Do you know how to start a conversation about civil rights with your young children? Sometimes, sharing a book together can open the door to a conversation and questions kids might be thinking about. Children are never too young to start learning about tolerance and equality.
These civil rights books are wonderful conversation starters for teaching kids to stand up for what is right and to learn from leaders and heroes from the past. There are many wonderful civil rights themed books for middle and young adult readers, which we will feature in a separate post. But even older kids will enjoy these picture books for their stellar artwork and storytelling.
Add these diverse books to your library, and encourage your kids to ask questions as you read and learn together.
Our favorite civil rights books for kids
- The Story Of Ruby Bridges: Special Anniversary Edition
- Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad
- Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- I Have a Dream
- Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
- The Other Side
- Ruth and the Green Book
- When Grandmama Sings
- White Water
- Back of the Bus
- Belle, The Last Mule at Gee’s Bend: A Civil Rights Story
- Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation
Also, this review post features a book for young readers who are just beginning to read short chapter books: The Story of Harriet Tubman.
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I actually have a couple of board books that deal with this topic – one for MLK and one for Rosa Parks. They have more words than usually accompany a board book, so are better for preschoolers than toddlers, but their durability is a plus.
These are some of our very favorite Civil Rights Movement books! We just studied it this past year and I was in love with so many of the wonderful books we found.
I hope the first half of your January’s been fantastic!
Thank you for sharing these!