Martin Luther King Jr. was a guiding light during my formative years. As the only brown girl for miles, I often had to choose between retaliation and peaceful protest. Dr. King’s word’s gave me enough hope to choose communication, education, and an open mind.

Every MLK Day, our family adds a new children’s book to our library that celebrate equality, tolerance and diversity. This year, we added “Mixed: A Colorful Story” by Arree Chung.

Mixed: A Colorful Story By Arree Chung

This book is delightful, inspiring, and the best testament of all, my kids wanted to read the books 3 times in one day. It covers tough topics such as supremacy, segregation, and building bridges in a simple format that teaches celebrating how we are different and how together we make a more beautiful world. Purchase on Amazon.

Strictly No Elephants By Lisa Mantchev

Since I first purchased this book, it has climbed in popularity and is now one of Amazon’s top children’s book recommendations. At 3 and 4, my kids have already encountered, “you can’t play with us,” this book inspires your child to problem solve in those situations and rise above. Purchase on Amazon.

Paddington By Michael Bond

War creates refugees. Children’s author, Michael Bond knew it first hand, serving in WWII. He shared with The Daily Telegraph in 2007, “Living in Reading during the war, I can remember train-loads of refugees coming down from London. A lot of the children had luggage labels round their necks with their names and addresses on them … I felt it would say a lot about the Brown family that they were prepared to take in a refugee like Paddington.” A story from 1958 still resonates today. Purchase on Amazon.

The Sneetches and Other Stories By Dr Seuss

A collection of stories from Dr. Seuss written in 1953.
It is composed of four separate stories with themes of tolerance, diversity, and compromise. Purchase on Amazon.

As I’ve written before, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X both inspired my fight for equality, a value mentioned several times in the Quran:
‘And mankind is naught but a single nation” (Quran 2:213). I hope this list serves you well.

Peace & Salam,

Natasha