written by Love Isn’t Enough columnist Bianca Laureano
Ambitious high school senior Efrain Rodriguez dreams of escaping the South Bronx for an Ivy League college like Harvard or Yale. But how is his family going to afford to pay for a prestigious university when Moms has to work insane hours to put food on the table [...]

written by Love Isn’t Enough editor Tami Winfrey Harris; originally published at What Tami Said
Regular followers of this blog know how much I love books and believe in the power and importance of reading beginning at an early age. I take so much enjoyment in reading and books have played such an important role in [...]

written by Anti-Racist Parent contributor Jennifer, originally posted on Mixed Race America
Yesterday, as I was perusing the New York Times, I noticed that columnist Nicholas Kristof has a list of “The Best Kids’ Books Ever.” Since I LOVE reading and developed my love of reading as a child, I was interested in his list.
So I [...]

written by Anti-Racist Parent columnist Deesha Philyaw’
“The bad parents are running amok! They’re everywhere you turn, talking about postpartum depression, confessing that their kids are addicted to SpongeBob, throwing their breast pumps in the garbage!”
“…there is a loud and lusty temper tantrum being thrown by American parents. And who can blame them? They are finally [...]

crossposted from What Tami Said
Are you hip to the Diversity Rocks! 2009 Challenge? It aims to “ensure racial and ethnic diversity in the authors that we read.” Organizer Ali explains:

What if we only read authors who were just like us? How boring would that be?
But when I take a good hard look at the books [...]

Dear Anti-Racist Parent,
My neighbors and I all have boys in the 3rd grade. A few weeks ago, their teacher was reading a story that included the n-word which prompted the kids to ask “what’s that?”. The teacher gave a brief explanation something like “a derogatory word used to describe dark-brown people.”
This has prompted much [...]

by Anti-Racist Parent columnist Natasha Sky
My son was writing in his workbook the other day. We’re homeschooling in the eclectic-semi-unschooling-style; the workbooks have been around for over a year–my kids think they’re fun. The books are actually a great distraction for a cranky kid who is not going on the errand with Dad. This workbook [...]

by Anti-Racist Parent columnist Dawn Friedman
By now you may have read the article about Tintin in the Congo – the racist children’s book that’s being shelved in the (adult) graphic novel section after a lawyer registered a complaint saying, “I was utterly astonished and aghast to see page after page of representations of black African [...]

by Anti-Racist Parent columnist Tereza Topferova
Part I: My Many Colored Days
I took my son to a thrift store last month and bought a few toys, including a pink stroller and a black doll, and books. When we got home, I read one of them, My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss, with my son. [...]

by Carmen Van Kerckhove
Congratulations to Rice Daddies, the group blog by Asian American dads, which turns 1 year old today! They’re celebrating with a children’s book review contest.
From now until Feb. 23, readers can submit (email to daddyinastrangeland@mac.com) reviews of their favorite children’s books from their own childhood that they want to share with their [...]

by Anti-Racist Parent columnist Jason Sperber, originally published at Rice Daddies

I’ve always been that friend or relative that you either love or absolutely hate around gift-giving time: I like to give books and “educational” stuff. Of course, that also means that I love to get those kind of presents too, and I hope The Pumpkin picks up that tendency from me. Here’s a list of all the multi-culti and/or educational presents my toddlergirl received this Christmas (and no, they weren’t all from me!):