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Received an email recommending this book for kids by Angelot Ndongmo
This Charming book about a little girl's pride in herself should be on every family's bookshelf. Delightfully written and beautifully illustrated, Loving Me deserves to be a classic for all little girls.
Great bookstore, and they also have a wide selection of afrocentric dolls some of your daughters may enjoy playing with.
I think some of you may also appreciate the Author's interview:
" Q - This book does an excellent job in building up the self esteem of our little girls. In your opinion what type of things should parents do to help reinforce their daughter’s sense of self pride?
A - I don't think black women truly understand the impact of 'blond' Barbies and Cinderella stories on their young girls yet (thankfully they have black versions now). I am no expert, but I feel parents should do the best they can to understand how critical it is to surround their children with dolls, materials and/or books that enrich their experience when learning about who they are or their history.
Using positive reinforcement always helps, so dish it out as much as possible! Everything is easier said then done, especially if you are entering un-chartered territory. Just remember that we are the only community who raise our children with tools and images from other communities. How often do you see an Asian or Caucasian child playing with a black doll? Or reading black materials? Now ask yourself how often you see black children reading Caucasian tales or playing with Caucasian/Asian inspired dolls? I don’t even think we are aware of it or how damaging it really is to our young children’s’ self esteem.
I can only leave you with a very memorable story I came across, during a time when I set out to question a 'black' female friend of mine from South Africa, who had the most confidence in her skin and an unshakable love of self. I had to know what her secret was, so I asked her why she was so comfortable with whom she was and didn't struggle like many of the kids here in North America or the ones she yells about 'back home'. What she revealed was that her father would only allow 'black' things in the house. It could be anything from rock n roll to disco, African music to the opera. As long as it was by a person of 'black' descent, she could have it inside the house. Her father was a freedom fighter and refused to allow his daughters fall into the negative trap of wishing they were anything but themselves. He would take pride in her 'good, strong hair' (a.k.a. kinks) and often told her how beautiful he thought she was. She went on to tell me an unusual story of how a black family member of hers had adopted a Caucasian little girl. They went to a family gathering and this little girl was sent off to play with the other children. When they sat down to eat, the little girl came to the table with a whole bunch of her adoptive mother's dark brown foundation on her face. The mother began to get upset, while everyone else broke into laughter. The little girl burst into tears and expressed her desire to look like the rest of her family. In that moment everything came full circle for me. I was once just like that little girl wanting to assimilate!
Once I found books, music and things that catered to my identity, particularly a good dose of history on African people, I understood that I was everything I was searching to be, but I just didn't know it at the time! "
interview and shopping at KNOWLEDGE Bookstore
This Charming book about a little girl's pride in herself should be on every family's bookshelf. Delightfully written and beautifully illustrated, Loving Me deserves to be a classic for all little girls.
Great bookstore, and they also have a wide selection of afrocentric dolls some of your daughters may enjoy playing with.
I think some of you may also appreciate the Author's interview:
" Q - This book does an excellent job in building up the self esteem of our little girls. In your opinion what type of things should parents do to help reinforce their daughter’s sense of self pride?
A - I don't think black women truly understand the impact of 'blond' Barbies and Cinderella stories on their young girls yet (thankfully they have black versions now). I am no expert, but I feel parents should do the best they can to understand how critical it is to surround their children with dolls, materials and/or books that enrich their experience when learning about who they are or their history.
Using positive reinforcement always helps, so dish it out as much as possible! Everything is easier said then done, especially if you are entering un-chartered territory. Just remember that we are the only community who raise our children with tools and images from other communities. How often do you see an Asian or Caucasian child playing with a black doll? Or reading black materials? Now ask yourself how often you see black children reading Caucasian tales or playing with Caucasian/Asian inspired dolls? I don’t even think we are aware of it or how damaging it really is to our young children’s’ self esteem.
I can only leave you with a very memorable story I came across, during a time when I set out to question a 'black' female friend of mine from South Africa, who had the most confidence in her skin and an unshakable love of self. I had to know what her secret was, so I asked her why she was so comfortable with whom she was and didn't struggle like many of the kids here in North America or the ones she yells about 'back home'. What she revealed was that her father would only allow 'black' things in the house. It could be anything from rock n roll to disco, African music to the opera. As long as it was by a person of 'black' descent, she could have it inside the house. Her father was a freedom fighter and refused to allow his daughters fall into the negative trap of wishing they were anything but themselves. He would take pride in her 'good, strong hair' (a.k.a. kinks) and often told her how beautiful he thought she was. She went on to tell me an unusual story of how a black family member of hers had adopted a Caucasian little girl. They went to a family gathering and this little girl was sent off to play with the other children. When they sat down to eat, the little girl came to the table with a whole bunch of her adoptive mother's dark brown foundation on her face. The mother began to get upset, while everyone else broke into laughter. The little girl burst into tears and expressed her desire to look like the rest of her family. In that moment everything came full circle for me. I was once just like that little girl wanting to assimilate!
Once I found books, music and things that catered to my identity, particularly a good dose of history on African people, I understood that I was everything I was searching to be, but I just didn't know it at the time! "
interview and shopping at KNOWLEDGE Bookstore