Chapter Books: Black Boys Having Fun

Chapter Books: Black Boys Having Fun | Heritage Mom

source: https://heritagemom.com/index.php/2020/07/08/chapter-books-black-boys-having-fun/

Because I was a girl mom first, my boys inherited shelves full of chapter books featuring black girls. I took care to add picture books featuring black boys early on, but my oldest son turned seven last week, and it's definitely time to expand his horizons. Billy and Blaze have been good to him, but I see the way he caresses his sisters' books, and I want him to have his own treasures that he can enjoy alongside theirs because yes, my son reads "girl" books too. And he enjoys them. But there is something extra special about seeing yourself reflected in the pages of a book.

If I included books about black boys playing sports, this list would probably triple, but that is not the only thing I want my son to see. Don't get me wrong, sports are fun, and I have included a basketball and football book (not pictured) in the bunch, but sports do not represent the totality of who black boys are or can be. And although my guy likes to throw any kind of ball around with Daddy in the evenings, he prefers tennis and golf (like father, like son) and spends most of his active time on his bike, his skateboard, the zipline, and the trampoline - in between searching for crawdads and picking cicada exoskeletons off the trees. He's a free spirit, and I want him to know that all of those things in equal number, or in a completely lop-sided arrangement, are more than okay to his mama.

So as I was pulling these books together for the post, I had some thoughts rolling around in my head. One of the thoughts was this:

I've come so far in this journey, and EVEN SO, I still feel butterflies in my stomach when I know that I'm about to present a bunch of books to Charlotte Mason moms that they are not going to consider living books, for the most part. I have 100% settled it in my mind that life-giving books are and always will be a major part of my home, but I can't help thinking that some of you are going to read this list, buy one of the books, and then be disappointed to find that it is not Little Lord Fauntleroy with an afro.

So now that we have established what these books are not, let's talk about what they are.

These books are the bomb!

And let me tell you why.

The pictures alone provide ridiculous mirrors for brown-skinned boys, but the words inside take it even further. The descriptions, for once, reflect back with images and adjectives black boys can relate to and understand. The scenarios are familiar, and my brown babies can stand tall with one of these books in each hand and another under each arm. And who knows? They may even fall asleep with a little "brown boy joy" on the pillow.

And the windows?

Oh, the windows are huge. These books show non-black & brown boys that skin color doesn't change a boy's drive for adventure or his love for his family. Brown skin doesn't make a boy more or less likely to step into a puddle of mischief or try to tackle a problem way too big for his not-yet-a-man britches. And brown skin certainly doesn't make boys, or men, scary.

But these mirrors & windows don't exist because the books are about being black. No. It's just the opposite! In this case, it's because the books are just about boys having fun. The boys happen to be black, but the books are not about the boys being black. Do you see the difference? I know there are a lot of italicized words squeezed up into that sentence, but I'm writing the way that I'm talking, and I'm EXCITED right now.

It's important to read historical fiction that tells of the struggles and triumphs of black people. Important might not even be the word. It is imperative that our children read those books...but they are not enough.

Our children - yours and mine - also need to hear about black boys solving mysteries, dodging shady dogs, taking care of others, building things, talking to people, and just doing fun stuff. No agenda. No school lesson. Just life.

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Notes:

Most of these books are part of a series. I may not have the first book pictured because we have a lot of them and I just grabbed what I could get my hands on first, but I've linked the first book in the series. I love a fun series because once I've cleared the first book, I can usually clear the entire series with confidence and no pre-reading. I don't pace my son on these books. If you can read it, go for it! If you can't read it, bargain with one of your sisters or bug your dad to read it aloud because I'm busy blogging {smile}. These books target 2nd-4th grade. However, I think older reluctant readers will love them and even boys who can read harder books will enjoy gobbling them up as a break from the intensity of their school books. Every scene of every book is not filled with literary genius. Remember what I said earlier? These guys are not Peter Pan or Robin Hood. That's not what we're doing here. When I started introducing these types of books to my kids, I occasionally stumbled across things that weren't necessarily bad, but they were...different. It felt like there was quite a jump from the sweet picture books we'd been reading to some of these books that had things we hadn't really encountered in our typical literature at that time. No curse words or inappropriate relationships - nothing like that AT ALL. Perhaps some of the scenes just have common school yard "nothingness." That's the only word I can come up with. Some scenes of nothingness. My kids are a little older now and my understanding of their needs has evolved, so frankly, the stuff doesn't bother me anymore, but I remember feeling slightly annoyed at times with books like these, and I don't want you to feel that way. I'd much rather a scene of nothingness in a life-giving book than a scene of blatant racism in a "really good" living book.

Exposing children to the finest literature available while leaving them with an impression that "white is fun and black is not" doesn't feel like a win to me. I hope you'll give yourself permission to expand the pool of possibilities in order to expose your kiddos to the awesome boys in these books. Happy reading!

You can find me on Instagram at @HeritageMomBlog.

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