Here are 100 books that Our Skin fans have personally recommended if you like
Our Skin.
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I’m an award-winning children’s book author and photo-illustrator of over sixty picture books. I got my first camera when I was five years old and have been taking pictures ever since. I realized in college that photography was my passion, and I studied photojournalism at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Soon after I received graduate degrees in early childhood education and museum education at Bank Street College of Education. After teaching kindergarten, first, and second grade, I combined my passions to create books. My books have always been about inclusivity and diversity. I hope all children can find themselves in my books to help them navigate the world they live in.
I loved this book because it is for younger kids who are just noticing details and differences in their new friends and people they have in their world.
Children are often asked to make self-portraits, and this book helps children focus on who they are, what they look like, and how to best try to represent themselves.
A positive and affirming look at skin color, from an artist's perspective.
Seven-year-old Lena is going to paint a picture of herself. She wants to use brown paint for her skin. But when she and her mother take a walk through the neighborhood, Lena learns that brown comes in many different shades.
Through the eyes of a little girl who begins to see her familiar world in a new way, this book celebrates the differences and similarities that connect all people.
Karen Katz created The Colors of Us for her daughter, Lena, whom she and her husband adopted from Guatemala…
Floretta- the story of an old woman who discovers life beautifully anew thru the helping hands of a child. The chakra colors of dawn and twilight are woven through the pages as the cycle of life is magically composed. The subject of “heaven,” has the potential to open discussions with…
I’m an award-winning children’s book author and photo-illustrator of over sixty picture books. I got my first camera when I was five years old and have been taking pictures ever since. I realized in college that photography was my passion, and I studied photojournalism at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Soon after I received graduate degrees in early childhood education and museum education at Bank Street College of Education. After teaching kindergarten, first, and second grade, I combined my passions to create books. My books have always been about inclusivity and diversity. I hope all children can find themselves in my books to help them navigate the world they live in.
This book is great for young kids as an introduction to the fact that we all come in many different skin colors and the joy of these differences is a good thing.
I really like the rhymes which add a playful tone for young readers. I also really like the energy of this book that makes for a fun read aloud.
“A cheeky meditation on the everyday miraculousness of skin. . . . It’s freewheeling fun.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Is there anything more splendid than a baby’s skin? Cocoa-brown, cinnamon, peaches and cream. As children grow, their clever skin does, too, enjoying hugs and tickles, protecting them inside and out, and making them one of a kind. Fran Manushkin’s rollicking text and Lauren Tobia’s delicious illustrations paint a breezy and irresistible picture of the human family — and how wonderful it is to be just who you are.
I’m an award-winning children’s book author and photo-illustrator of over sixty picture books. I got my first camera when I was five years old and have been taking pictures ever since. I realized in college that photography was my passion, and I studied photojournalism at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Soon after I received graduate degrees in early childhood education and museum education at Bank Street College of Education. After teaching kindergarten, first, and second grade, I combined my passions to create books. My books have always been about inclusivity and diversity. I hope all children can find themselves in my books to help them navigate the world they live in.
I love this book because it is photographs showing real kids and real skin colors.
I also love that it is bilingual. I like that it offers information about our ancestors and how geography makes a difference in your skin color because of the amounts of sun and melanin. It also includes activity ideas.
Celebrate the essence of one way we are all special and different from one anotherour skin color! This bilingual (English/Spanish) book offers children a simple, scientifically accurate explanation about how our skin color is determined by our ancestors, the sun, and melanin. It’s also filled with colorful photographs that capture the beautiful variety of skin tones. Reading this book frees children from the myths and stereotypes associated with skin color and helps them build positive identities as they accept, understand, and value our rich and diverse world. Unique activity ideas are included to help…
An engaging picture book for children that celebrates what it means to be American!
What does it mean to be American? Does it mean you like apple pie or fireworks? Not exactly. This patriotic picture book is perfect for Memorial Day, Independence Day, Election Day, or any day you want…
I’m an award-winning children’s book author and photo-illustrator of over sixty picture books. I got my first camera when I was five years old and have been taking pictures ever since. I realized in college that photography was my passion, and I studied photojournalism at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Soon after I received graduate degrees in early childhood education and museum education at Bank Street College of Education. After teaching kindergarten, first, and second grade, I combined my passions to create books. My books have always been about inclusivity and diversity. I hope all children can find themselves in my books to help them navigate the world they live in.
I love this book because it is an activity book about skin color.
It helps children think about color and race in a thoughtful yet simple way to better understand the subject. I also like how it acknowledges families and ethnicities and how, even in one family, skin colors can be different.
Different Differenter is a beautifully-illustrated, full-color, activity book for children that thoughtfully addresses everyday skin color consciousness (and bias) in a way that's easy to understand.
Children's rich observations and questions about color, caste, race elicit accurate yet straightforward responses. Jyoti's art-and-craft-based book takes you on a playful and creative discovery to find answers that work for you and your family--while creatively introducing facts of history and 15-plus new words. Make art. Perform a play for the nanas when they're in town. Eat a yummy homemade dessert. Ooh! and aah! about how each member of the family has a different…
I’m a Panamanian American author and mother of two bilingual and bicultural children. I live a life between two beautiful languages and cultures, but that intersection is not always easy. In Squawk of Spanish, I explore the issue some children face when they don’t feel comfortable speaking the language of their grandparents. On this list, I’ve included a sample of books that celebrate some of the day-to-day joys and challenges of growing up Latine in the US. I hope you enjoy it!
Mariana visits her extended family in Mexico for the first time and feels overwhelmed with new sounds, faces, smells, and words that are supposed to mean family.
I think this book depicts the experience of second and third generation kids perfectly, especially as they visit their parents’ childhood home. I love the message it sends that family and love transcends language and cultural divide.
A heartwarming picture book about a young girl on her first trip to visit family in Mexico, who learns there is no language barrier when it comes to love-from debut author Monica Mancillas and rising star illustrator Erika Meza. Perfect for fans of Where Are You From? and Mango, Abuela, and Me.
Mariana is visiting her abuelita and extended family in Mexico for the first time. Her tummy does a flip as she and Mami cross the frontera.
There are all new sights, smells, and sounds. And at Abuelita's house, Mariana is overwhelmed by new faces and Spanish phrases she…
I am a former primary teacher, now a gardener and more recently an author of children’s books–maths features heavily in my writing! My love of maths began when I started teaching it and really took off when I explored maths alongside the concept of Growth Mindsets. Through much study I found that the majority of children can access a good level of maths by adopting a Growth Mindset. Maths is a fascinating subject area, full of beauty and patterns, complexity and wonder; hopefully, over the years, I have inspired at least a few children to feel the same.
I love this book because it involves delicious rhymes, bewildered teachers and backward counting. It’s ideal for children who are learning to count up to and backward from ten. An example of the rhyming pattern:
‘Six delicious teachers, stalking through the grass,
Singing songs and waving sticks and marching extra fast.’
The illustrations of the monsters and teachers are as comedic as the story; it’s a great romp of an adventure with a satisfying twist to finish.
An irreverent and zany counting book that is gently thrilling and written in a deliciously infectious rhyme with witty and whimsical illustrations.
Ten silly teachers have missed the last bus home. But LOOK - a shortcut through the forest! They'll be back in time for tea! Off they skip, unaware that in the woods a hungry horde of mischievous and hilariously goofy monsters is waiting... An irreverent and zany counting book that is gently thrilling with witty and whimsical illustrations.
In a time of alternative facts and the loss of a shared sense of reality, A Foot is Not a Fish playfully illustrates the difference between what is true and what is not through absurd fun comparisons that every child—and parent—will instantly understand.
I’ve loved children’s books for as long as I can remember. When I became a Kindergarten teacher, I often used children’s books to springboard lessons and activities with my class. Years later, when I became a mom, I wanted children’s books to be a special part of my children’s lives as well. Reading to my kids before bed became a nighttime ritual we all enjoyed. Another activity we regularly enjoyed was baking. As such, children’s books that have food at the forefront were a natural bridge to kitchen adventures with my children. Here are a few of our favorite books to help spark cooking and baking fun with your kids!
I love how many connections there are to the kitchen and literacy in this sweet story.
I read this book to my kids and then had fun planning (by writing and drawing just like Max) our own special cake to bake! Perhaps try your hands at baking an angel food cake with raspberry fluff icing just like Ruby’s, or maybe try Max’s “dirt” cake made of chocolate cake and gummy worms!
When my kids were younger, I always kept a little notepad in their play kitchen where they could play “restaurant" and take my order or make grocery lists. Before they could actually write, they would draw pictures to represent words, just like Max does in Bunny Cakes.
This book also includes: kitchen tool/appliance identification; reviewing basic cake baking ingredients; and pre-writing stage of drawing pictures to represent words.
It's Grandma's birthday, and Max wants to make her an icky, worm-infested cake. But Ruby says, "No, Max. We are going to make Grandma an angel surprise cake, with raspberry-fluff icing." Will Max let his bossy older sister keep him out of the kitchen? Or will they both become bunnies who bake?
I have loved stories since before I could read, and writing is a wonderful way to share that joy with others. I am the owner of Fairytale Princess Parties in Ottawa, Canada, bringing beloved princess and superhero characters to life for kids every weekend! After running the business for eight years, I decided to expand it to create Fairytale Stories, a children’s book imprint with princess stories to inspire, encourage kindness, and have fun. With my experience writing novels (I am also an author of historical fantasy) as well as storytelling at children’s parties, it was a perfect match, and I am excited to see how it grows.
Another classic, Angelina Ballerina, follows the story of Angelina, a mouse who loves ballet.
As a child, I too wanted to be a ballerina just like Angelina and found myself dancing along, twirling with this imaginative mouse in her adorable pink bow! The illustrations are so detailed and truly draw you into the world of Angelina.
When Angelina received her own ballet dress and slippers, I felt such a whimsical joy and would dress up along with her. This is a wonderful choice for children who have a dream and dancing feet that just won’t stop!
In an encore performance, Angelina Ballerina returns in this refreshed picture book from acclaimed author Katharine Holabird and celebrated artist Helen Craig!
Angelina is a pretty little mouse who wants nothing more than to be a ballerina. She dances all the time-at home, at school, even in her dreams! In fact, she's so busy dancing that she forgets all about the other things she's supposed to do, like cleaning her room and joining her family for breakfast!
Her parents don't know what to do-especially after her arabesques in the kitchen knock over the milk! Then one day they come up…
My grandparents played a pivotal role in my childhood, living with us and raising my brother and me while my parents worked long hours. Some of my favorite memories of those years are lying in bed as Abuelo told me stories that made me laugh instead of making me sleepy, cooking picadillo with my abuela in the kitchen, and going on long walks along the beach with my abuelo. Though they didn’t speak to me in Spanish, they taught me to sing nursery rhymes and enticed me with sticks of Big Red gum to get me to learn how to roll my r’s.
I love this book because it reminds me of cooking with my grandmother. But I especially love it because it expertly deals with a classic struggle facing young children: what do you do when you make a mistake with significant consequences?
Hernández-Bergstrom deftly addresses this in an accessible and fun way (I love humor!) and shows how children can ask for help from trusted loved ones. I love it when picture books deliver these lessons without being preachy! The illustrations heighten the casual, fun mood. The recipe for flan at the end is an added bonus and something that grandparents and grandchildren can make together.
Anita loves to bake with her abuela, especially when they are using her grandmother’s special recipes for Cuban desserts like flan!
Anita is making flan for Abuelo’s birthday, but when she accidentally breaks Abuelita’s treasured flan serving plate from Cuba, she struggles with what to do. Anita knows it’s right to tell the truth, but what if Abuelita gets upset? Worried that she has already ruined the day, Anita tries to be the best helper. After cooking the flan, they need a serving dish! Anita comes up with a wonderful solution.
When a girl in India discovers a Stone slab on a weedy patch of land she calls to her friends, "Look! Look!" The children clear away the weeds and garbage and find more stones. They called their families to come and see. Word travels to villages nearby and more and…
I have always loved animals and felt a deep empathy for every living creature. But it wasn’t until the COVID lockdown that I truly connected with them. Locked up with a partner, a boy, two dogs, and three cats in a small house with a yard, I realized that it's not just us taking care of them—they're doing their best to take care of us, too. Trained in art since childhood by my mom, it was during the COVID lockdown that I began to draw our furry companions in earnest. I spent every waking hour capturing their funny and endearing moments, ultimately putting it all together in a picture book.
This is a classic. The enchanting illustrations and delightful humor mesmerized my 3-year-old, who kept asking to read it over and over throughout his childhood and insisted on buying the rest of the books in the series.
The interactive lift-the-flap elements really capture young readers' attention, and the character, Spot, is simply irresistible.
In Eric Hill's classic Where's Spot? lift the flaps to find Spot!
In Spot's first adventure children can join in the search for the mischievous puppy by lifting the flaps on every page to see where he is hiding. The simple text and colourful pictures will engage a whole new generation of pre-readers as they lift the picture flaps in search of Spot. A No.1 bestseller since it was first published in 1980, this interactive favourite has stayed in the charts ever since.
This is a bigger, brighter paperback edition of Eric Hill's iconic first lift-the-flap book.
