Antiracist Baby (Board Book)

by Ibram X. Kendi, Ashley Lukashevsky (Illustrator)

Overview

A #1 New York Times Bestseller!

From the National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning and How to Be an Antiracist comes a fresh new board book that empowers parents and children to uproot racism in our society and in ourselves.

Take your first steps with Antiracist Baby! Or rather, follow Antiracist Baby's nine easy steps for building a more equitable world.

With bold art and thoughtful yet playful text, Antiracist Baby introduces the youngest readers and the grown-ups in their lives to the concept and power of antiracism. Providing the language necessary to begin critical conversations at the earliest age, Antiracist Baby is the perfect gift for readers of all ages dedicated to forming a just society.

Featured in its own episode in the Netflix original show Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices, Good Morning America, NPR's Morning Edition, CBS This Morning, and more!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593110416
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/16/2020
Pages:	24
Sales rank:	49,925
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 3 Years

About the Author

Ibram X. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is the author of many books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller How to Be an Antiracist and the National Book Award winner Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which was remixed for young adult readers by Jason Reynolds into Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, and adapted into a graphic novel by cartoonist Joel Christian Gill. Dr. Kendi was awarded a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as the “Genius Grant.” Find Dr. Kendi online @ibramxk on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.

Ashley Lukashevsky is an illustrator and visual artist who uses illustration and art as a tool to strengthen social movements against systemic racism and sexism. Before moving to illustration full-time, she was the art director at KINDLAND and the social impact designer at LA2050, an initiative to create a positive shared future for all Angelenos. Learn more at her website http://www.ashleylukashevsky.com or follow her on Instagram @ASHLUKADRAWS.

Editorial Reviews

05/25/2020

National Book Award winner Kendi addresses youngest readers in this board book introduction to combatting racism, which outlines nine steps for rearing accountable kids. Each spread begins with a numbered rule, then follows with a rhyming explanation. Starting with “Open your eyes to all skin colors” and ending with “Believe we shall overcome racism,” Kendi provides broadly actionable pointers to dispel societal misconceptions: “Point at policies as the problem, not people./ Some people get more, while others get less.../ because policies don’t always grant equal access.” Boldly outlined, inclusive illustrations by Lukashevsky complement the text by showing a world populated by people of various skin tones, sizes, identities and orientations, religions, and abilities. Though the advanced diction (“there’s no neutrality”) gears the volume more toward caretakers than infants themselves, the book will nonetheless serve as a mindful companion for families striving together toward a more equitable future: “Antiracist Baby is bred, not born./ Antiracist Baby is raised/ to make society transform.” Ages up to 3. (June)

Publishers Weekly

06/05/2020

Toddler-PreS—Kendi and Lukashevsky offer a beautifully designed set of guidelines for parents (and anyone, really) to practice anti-racism. This bright and welcoming board book speaks directly to new parents. The opening illustration, rendered in lush primary colors and bold lines, features a smiling baby riding in her father's baby sling as he participates in a peaceful protest. Other protestors of different ethnicities hold signs advocating for equity, climate change, and Black Lives Matter. Kendi is direct with his prose: "Babies are taught to be racist or antiracist—there's no neutrality." The text then offers nine steps to make "equity a reality." Each step is presented with a short explanation that rhymes, accompanied by more of Lukashevsky's inviting and cheerful illustrations. This excellent board book answers questions so many people are asking right now: What can I do? How can I help? Kendi's choice to speak directly to new parents in this format works quite well. His succinct, impactful prose makes for an accessible guide to anti-racism for everyone. Lukashevsky's artwork elevates the text even more with brilliant color and charming details that will inspire readers to linger on each page. VERDICT The timely and relevant anti-racist message so excellently delivered in this book makes it worthy of a place on all library shelves.—Kristy Pasquariello, Westwood P.L., MA

School Library Journal

2020-06-03
This book may be nominally for babies, but its audience is an adult one.

Kendi makes this clear in the first two double-page spreads: “Antiracist Baby is bred, not born. / Antiracist Baby is raised to make society transform. // Babies are taught to be racist or antiracist—there is no neutrality. / Take these nine steps to make equity a reality.” Although this board book hardly substitutes for How To Be an Antiracist (2019), Kendi’s exploration of the topic for adults, it does serve to remind caregivers that raising an antiracist child is a conscious process. Importantly, points No. 1, “Open your eyes to all skin colors,” and No. 2, “Use your words to talk about race,” aim to correct anxious, usually white caregivers’ tendencies to “deny what’s right in front of you” when their children point out people who look different from them. To these and Kendi’s next seven points, Lukashevsky pairs bold, thickly outlined cartoons of babies and adults of many different skin tones, gender presentations, and body types. A couple of the depicted caregivers have tattoos; one wears the hijab. Several sets of parents can be read as LGBTQ+. The bright colors should keep babies and toddlers engaged while adults work to master the couplets, which do not always scan evenly. Some points are harder than others: “Confess when being racist,” for instance, may require several reads to internalize.

Antiracism’s starting point. (Board book. 6 mos.-3)

Kirkus Reviews