Representation matters in schools, TV, and even when it comes to books.
The online bookshop ColorPop Books understands this truth. So they’ve curated book bundles for kids written and illustrated by diverse creators.
The online bookstore allows parents to introduce their children to characters and stories about people of color.
According to the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, 12 percent of books published in the U.S. in 2019 featured Black or African primary characters or topics.
ColorPop Books’ bundles are valuable because they make it easy for Black parents to choose books highlighting Black stories. The book bundles include stories written and illustrated by notable names, including Stacey Abrams, Amanda Gorman, and Matthew Cherry.
The bundles are sold for $45 each and include three books and accompanying accessories — like affirmation cards and activity sheets.
The books in the bundles are chosen with specific themes in mind. For instance, The Girls in STEM Book Bundle includes Counting on Katherine, which tells the story of Katherine Johnson, one of the Black mathematicians featured in the film “Hidden Figures.” Whereas The Grief Book Bundle features titles like Candy Wellins’ Saturdays Are For Stella, designed to help kids cope with loss.
The non-profit DonorsChoose, which has provided identity-affirming books to schools across the U.S. as part of their #ISeeMee initiative, developed the book bundle idea. To make matters even better, ColorPop Books is donating $5 from every book bundle sold to continue their Book Donation Fund.
“I know that my three Black daughters, mixed-race Black daughters, respond to books that reflect their lives and with characters that look like them or have similar life experiences,” comedian, television host, and DonorsChoose board member W. Kamau Bell told People. “I think we live in a golden age of media. And what that means is that there’s more choices out there, but then the problem is there’s so many choices, we don’t know where the choices are.”
Photo by ColorPop Books