“Why is mamá brown? Why is daddy yellow? Why baby is yellow?” my three-year-old asked me one day during bath time.
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Her question took me off guard. It never occurred to me that race was something that a little girl who was still learning how to talk would be curious about. I don’t remember exactly what I told her but I do remember how excited I felt to know that she was curious about the differences and similarities of her multicultural family.
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From that day on, I was more intentional in choosing books with diverse characters. But it didn’t take me long to notice that there weren’t many children’s books where families like mine could see themselves in the pages of a book. Despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published have diversity content.
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Loving Lion Books: A Book that Roars with Love
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I was excited to be contacted by Loving Lion Books, a children’s book company who create children’s books “that celebrate the beauty and fun of everyday life for kids and feature kids of color in their books.” The first book, Love Family, allows customers to customize the ethnic/racial look of their main characters from a menu of options.
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I asked my six-year old to choose the main characters that most reflect her family and this is what she ended up choosing:
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After choosing the characters, the book is ordered and is sent to your doorsteps in a nice package.
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Isn’t this so awesome?
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The book is sturdy, high quality with stunning illustrations. We love that the other characters of the book also represent kids from different ethnic/racial backgrounds. This was especially touching to us since it reflect perfectly the other part of our family.
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Love Family is written by Norah Cooper and illustrated by Joelle Nelson. It talks about a big family get-together and the joy of a little girl to be playing with her cousins while they wait for dinner. This warm and fun story brought so many memories to my kids of our own family gatherings. It might have left them a little homesick! If you are looking for a book that reflects your loved ones or multi-ethnic community, Love Family from Loving Lion Books is a great option to add to your library!
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Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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