This is not a perfect book, but it's so necessary.

I think Betsy Bird's goodreads review said everything I'd want to say about this book. I'll just add: the subject heading for this book is "Whites -- Race Identity -- Juvenile Literature" and it's the only book my large library system has with that subject. ( )

This is a horrible piece of propagandistic horseshit - the maunderings of some dim-witted white woman - loathsome in her own perceived racial deliciousness - all darkies be good - white people are bad - despite the fact that for the last 50 years we bad Caucasians have done everything humanly possible to drag black people forward with, it should be noted, limited success - she makes it seem as if 1852 is still upon us - right now in the USA any black person with any drive and with even a modicum of intelligence will be given every chance, every benefit, every available resource by which he or she can become educated or trained - after all our efforts none of us would - unlike the Mother in the book - allow our little white girl to join a group of blacks on a playground - too dangerous - instead of this trite nonsense read Thomas Sowell. ( )

Read this with my 6 and 8 year olds. It was a powerful way to get across that color does matter. ( )

"A necessary children’s book about whiteness, white supremacy, and resistance.

Higginbotham’s text includes both dialogue among white adults and a white girl grappling with her growing race consciousness and additional text that references and unpacks the ideas in that dialogue. The connective tissue between these two essential pieces of the book can be weak, but the book as a whole is sure to spark conversations, and its collage art and DIY aesthetic may encourage creative expression. The dialogue begins when the girl overhears snippets of a news story about a police officer (whose white hand is shown holding a gun) killing an unarmed black man. “Oh no, not again,” says her mother, covering her eyes, and the girl asks “What? Mom. What ‘not again’?” Instead of responding, Mom turns off the TV and dodges questions, asserting, “Our family is kind to everyone. We don’t see color.” The girl grows increasingly frustrated and eventually seeks information independently while also asserting that she does see color and knows “that what that police officer did was wrong!” Precisely how she came to this raised consciousness isn’t clear, and no adults seem sympathetic or overtly supportive. Narrative text directed at readers (perhaps also absorbed by the girl as she reads?) highlights white people engaged in anti-racist activism, and it avoids undermining itself by also placing historical and contemporary black activism at the center. Curiously, however, the text excludes people of other races from its discussion.

Important, accessible, needed. (Picture book. 5-12)" www.kirkusreviews.com

The theme is one I was all in for and parts of the book had me nodding my head in agreement and saying "Yes, white people! Tell your kids about these things and start thinking about what it's like for people who look different than you do!" The book in it's entirety, though, just felt lacking. It kept feeling like it would get close to making a great point about what racism is or describing some situation so a child would understand it, but then the implied news story or incident would fall flat because of lack of explanation. The book is about how parents can keep kids in the dark about racism and terrible things happening because of it in the world today so they need to speak up and demand to be let in on the conversation, yet this book is hiding many things.

Honestly, I wouldn't read this again. I had to fill in so many gaps while reading with my kids that I would've been better off if I just came up with the content myself based on the pics in the book or, idk...um...TALK TO MY KIDS AS THINGS HAPPEN, as well as having ongoing conversations to combat systemic and individual racism. Shouldn't we all be doing this? Shouldn't we help our children to understand what is happening and why when they see or hear bad things? Shouldn't shutting racism down start with white people making sure we aren't creating racists and also trying our hardest to shut down those white supremacist KKK fuckers who already waste too much air and space on this planet? ( )