 Head back to school this year with inspiration and encouragement from fabulous children's books! Whether you're reading them with your kids in the days leading up to school or spending time exploring stories during nightly read alouds after the school year begins, you are sure to love and appreciate this top 10 list of back-to-school children's books with Black main characters.  Lola Goes to School written by Anna McQuinn and illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw Lola Goes to School follows one of our favorite series characters going to school for the first time. This sweetly-crafted book with beautiful drawings is a must for rising kindergartners going to school for the first time. Check out this free read aloud on YouTube.  The King of Kindergarten written by Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton This empowering story will give new kindergartners the confidence and enthusiasm to kick start the new school journey with pride. "The King of Kindergarten" follows a little boy taking on his first day at school, taking in new experiences, and sharing his achievements with his family. Check out a free read aloud here.  The Queen of Kindergarten is an outstanding companion to the award-winning book "The King of Kindergarten". This colorful lyrical children's book features a little girl named MJ and all the special qualities she takes with her to kindergarten, including her friendliness and kindness. Check out a free read aloud here.  Nana Akua Goes to School written by Tricia Elam Walker and illustrated by April Harrison Nana Akua Goes to School is a moving story that celebrates cultural diversity. This story follows a shy girl who brings her West African grandmother, whose face bears traditional tribal markings, to meet her classmates. This is a perfect back to school book for students of all ages. Check out a free read aloud here!  The Day You Begin written by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Rafael López The Day You Begin is a poignant and heartening book about finding the courage to connect, even when you feel scared and alone. Woodson's warm narration reminds us that we all feel like outsiders sometimes, and how brave it is that we go forth anyway. And sometimes, when we reach out and begin to share our stories, others will be happy to meet us halfway. Check out a free read aloud on YouTube here!  I Got the School Spirit written by Connie Schofield-Morrison and illustrated by Frank Morrison Every child will be excited for the start of school after watching this joyful celebration of the first day! The young protagonist in "I Got the School Spirit" is ready for school now that summer has ended! She can hear the school spirit in the bell ringing in the hallways and the bus heading up the street! She and her friends sing the school song in class! Check out a free read aloud here!  Henry's going to an HBCU written by Kyle McMurtry and illustrated by Jewel Ham This engaging and relevant children's book for elementary students highlights and celebrates historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to inspire future scholars. Check out a free read aloud here.  Layla, the Last Black Unicorn written by Tiffany Haddish and illustrated by Jessica Gibson Layla, the Last Black Unicorn is about an adventurous Unicorn who is sad that summer is coming to an end. She starts school and meets all the challenges of fitting in. Until her class goes on a trip and she saves the day. Check out a free read aloud here!  Fresh Princess written by Denene Millner and illustrated by Gladys Jose This exuberant story based off of Will Smith’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is a confidence-boosting story for elementary students. "Fresh Princess" is about a strong-willed girl who approaches everyday with her own kind of style. Until she moves and has to figure out this new neighborhood that isn’t like her own. Check out a free read aloud here!  The Noisy Classroom written by Angela Shanté illustrated by Alison Hawkins A young 3rd grader is about to start school again and she is worried about going into Ms. Johnson’s class, as it has been considered the “noisy class.” This wonderful book helps to calm the nerves to reevaluate what you think might be a scary situation and see how fun it could be.
Check out a free read aloud here!
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 By: Alyssa Freeman, Read to Succeed Summer Program Intern Looking for fun, creative, and artistic activities to do as a family? Why not give pottery a try? Creating ceramics not only teaches important lessons about history and culture, but it's a seriously fun activity with a beautiful end result that can be put on display, shared as a gift, donated, used at home, you name it! Check out these five wonderful children's books all about creating with clay followed by five pottery-inspired family activities to go with them. 5 Pottery Themed Books "Many Shapes of Clay: A Story of Healing" written and illustrated by Kenesha Sneed This book is filled with social-emotional lessons and dives into the idea of finding yourself through creativity. "Many Shapes of Clay" addresses the topic of grief and how to find beautiful things through it. The main character discovers that healing can be a creative process. Check out this free read aloud of "Many Shapes of Clay" here!  "When Clay Sings" written by Byrd Baylor and illustrated by Tom Bahti A beautiful poetic book that highlights Native American pottery design, "When Clay Sings" shows how you can find inspiration in anything. This book features wonderful illustrations and is an amazing book to read to your kids. Check out this free read aloud of "When Clay Sings" here!  "The Magic of Clay" written and illustrated by Adalucía "The Magic of Clay" is a stunning non-fiction book with tons of facts about clay–from clay's chemical makeup to the process of making it into pottery pieces. A lovely book for any future ceramic artists in the making!  "The Pot That Juan Built" by Nancy Andrews-Goebel "The Pot That Juan Built" is an ingeniously crafted story about premier Mexican potter, Juan Quezada. Using rhyme and rich illustrations, the author tells the story of the materials and methods Juan used to build and paint his beautiful pot. Check out this free read aloud of "The Pot That Juan Built" here!  "Shaped By Her Hands: Potter Maria Martinez" by Anna Harber Freeman & Barbara Gonzales and illustrated by Aphelandra A compelling story about renowned Native American potter Maria Martinez, "Shaped By Her Hands" embraces themes of family, creativity, and persistence. Maria developed a brand new firing technique that transformed the field for clay artists. Check out this free read aloud of "Shaped By Her Hands" here! 5 Pottery-Inspired Family Activities Looking for a fun way to start creating with your family? Check out these five fun ideas, and leave a comment with any other ceramics-inspired family activities you love! 1. Visit your local pottery place! Hands-on pottery studios are a fun, hands-on way to spend time together as a family! Swing by Asheville arts staple “Fired Up!” to paint your own pottery to go or swing by “Claying Around LLC” or “Batton Clayworks” for art-infused clay sculpting activities. 2. Make your own clay at home Visit familyeducation.com to learn how to make clay at home with your kiddos! Family Education offers recipes for several varieties of clay and walks you through the process step by step. You can also find several YouTube videos on how to make clay from dirt. 3. Visit a local craft fair Enjoy a day out in your community with your family exploring pottery and ceramics products made by local creatives and makers. Some great craft fairs around Asheville and Buncombe County include Come to Leicester, Big Crafty, and Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands. 4. Bring a clay set home Discover fun easy-to-use clay sets for kids at big box vendors like Walmart or Amazon. Not only is modeling clay great for using imagination and fine motor skills, but kids can also practice reading and math with clay. For example, you can encourage kids to create letters of the alphabet with clay, say their sounds, and blend them together into a word. 5. Take a pottery class Discover how to make pottery and ceramics on your own or with your kids via local classes. Check out Village Potters for classes, workshops, and advanced studies, Batton Clayworks, or Odyssey ClayWorks to get started in Western North Carolina. A very special thanks to Read to Succeed sponsor, Table for Two Pottery!  This month we recognize Table for Two Pottery, a long-time supporter of the literacy mission of Read to Succeed.
On August 20-21, 2022 you can find Table for Two among other artists at the Come to Leicester Artist Studio Tour. For more information, visit www.cometoleicester.org |
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Read to Succeed Asheville/Buncombe (R2S) is a local, independent nonprofit on a mission to help close the Archives
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Read to Succeed is on a mission to help close the race-based opportunity gap through community-powered literacy programming that engages children, families, and community partners. |
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