BOOKS THAT CULTIVATE JUSTICE & NURTURE WELLBEING
Vibrant picture books to help us build a better world! Complex social justice topics explained simply and clearly for kids of all ages (and grownups too!) to foster reflection, conversation, connection, and change! Perfect for parents, educators, homeschoolers, curious kids, and anyone trying to do their part to make the world a better place for us all.
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Class, Classism, & Economic Justice
Available everywhere books are sold online October 6!
The Awesome Kids Guide to Class
Why do some people have more money than others? What is class? What is classism? What is economic justice? What can kids do to make sure everyone is treated fairly?
The Awesome Kids Guide to Class tells the sweeping story of how humans have worked together to meet our needs for food, water, shelter, and care. This vibrantly illustrated, diverse picture book includes:
An overview of economic history from gathering & hunting through the invention of agriculture and the division of labor to our current money-based system in the United States of America.
Simple explanations of complicated concepts like class, classism, economic justice, money, status, privilege, oppression, and implicit bias.
Profiles of inspiring diverse activists who have fought for economic justice in work, unions, housing, healthcare, and more!
A graph of current U.S. class categories by percent of the population and wealth, along with a relatable example of class in our food system.
A checklist of 10 concrete actions kids (and grownups) can take to change the world!
A comprehensive guide for parents, teachers, homeschoolers, and curious kids of all ages!
Share: A First Book About Class & the Economy for Awesome Kids
Share: A First Book About Class & the Economy for Awesome Kids is a vibrant lyrical picture book that takes readers on a short journey of economic history from our days as gatherers and hunters to our current money-based system. Share introduces the concept of class—some people having more money and status and others having less—and ends with a hopeful vision of a world in which we all have a fair share!
Work: A First Book About Valuing Everyone’s Labor for Awesome Kids
Work: A First Book About Valuing Everyone’s Labor for Awesome Kids is a vibrant picture book about the value we all have, the things we all need, and the work we all do. From farmers and business owners to artists, caretakers, and even kids, everyone works! Using the food industry as an example, Work highlights that in our current system not all of us can afford to meet our needs and concludes with the positive message that we should value everyone’s work!
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FREE Discussion Guide
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Race, Racism, & Racial Justice
The Awesome Kids Guide to Race
What is RACE? What is RACISM? What is RACIAL JUSTICE?
The Awesome Kids Guide to Race tells the sweeping story of race in the United States of America. This beautifully illustrated picture book includes:
Profiles of inspiring activists who are Black, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, White, Latine, MENA, and Multiracial so all kids can feel proud of who they are!
Interesting facts about the contributions of racially diverse groups from around the world!
Simple explanations of complicated concepts like race, racism, white privilege, implicit bias, and antiracism!
An overview of racial discrimination and activism in the United States, past and present!
A checklist of 10 concrete actions kids (and grownups!) can take to change the world!
A comprehensive guide for parents, teachers, homeschoolers, and curious kids of all ages!
Illustrated by Christina O.
Together: A First Book About Race for Awesome Kids
Awesome Kids of Every Race Live Together in the United States!
Together, is a beautifully illustrated picture book celebrating the amazing racial diversity of the United States! Together, features fun facts about each group and shares a message of unity and inclusion appropriate for even the youngest children.
A feel good introduction great for parents, teachers, homeschoolers, and curious kids of all ages!
Illustrated by Christina O.
Vibrant picture books to help us develop the tools we need to be whole, healthy, happy humans. Each book is written for kids of all ages (and grownups too!) in a fun and sometimes silly way to nurture wellbeing while fostering reflection, conversation, connection, and change! Perfect for parents, educators, homeschoolers, and anyone wanting a reminder of what it means to be human.
Feel: A Short Guide to A Lot of Emotions for Awesome Kids
a colorful, lyrical book that uses bold graphic text to represent 70 different emotions. Laugh, scream, cry, and hug as you expand your emotional vocabulary and learn to identify the many feelings that come and go for us all!
Care: A Short Guide to Caring & Sharing for Awesome Kids
recognizes the shared needs of every human on earth and celebrates each person's inherent value with colorful, diverse illustrations and lyrical text. From babies to elders, care invites readers to share with each other so that we can care for us all.
Bodies: A Short Guide to How We’re Different for Awesome Kids
is a striking black and white lyrical book about the many ways humans are unique! From the diverse ways we look to the various things we need and like, every body is different. Great for babies’ new eyes and awesome kids’ growing minds!
Outside: A Short Guide to Connecting with Nature for Awesome Kids
takes readers on a colorful, lyrical journey to the great outdoors! From biking and hiking to daydreaming while looking up at the clouds, Outside is full of fun ideas to help us connect with the natural world wherever we are.
Author, Shayla Reese Griffin, PhD, MSW talks about her picture book series, “Short Guides for Awesome Kids”
COMING IN 2027!
The same great messages for your inner artist!
FEEL: A Coloring Book of A Lot of Emotions for Awesome Kids is a lyrical coloring book that uses bold graphic text to represent 70 different emotions. Laugh, scream, cry, and hug as you express your own emotions through color and design while expanding your emotional vocabulary and learning to identify the many feelings that come and go for us all!
CARE: A Coloring Book About Caring & Sharing for Awesome Kids recognizes the shared needs of every human on earth and celebrates each person’s inherent value with diverse illustrations and lyrical text. From babies to elders, Care invites you to share with each other so that we can care for us all while you create your own colorful story.
OUTSIDE: A Coloring Book about Connecting with Nature for Awesome Kids takes you on a lyrical, artistic journey to the great outdoors! From biking and hiking to daydreaming while looking up at the clouds, Outside is full of fun ideas to help you connect with the natural world wherever you are and explore your inner artist as you create your own colorful story.
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Economic Justice Checklist
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Racial Justice Checklist
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Standards for Justice
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"Feel" Reflection Guide
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"Outside" Checklist & Observation Guide
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"Care" Reflection Log
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"Bodies": How I Am Different-About Me
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Discussion Guide: Class
In Those Kids, Our Schools (Harvard Education Press, 2015), Shayla Reese Griffin examines patterns of racial interaction in a large, integrated high school and makes a powerful case for the frank conversations that educators could and should be having about race in schools. Available through all major retailers. Contact Justice Leaders Collaborative for bulk orders.
Race Dialogues (Teachers College Press, 2019) helps individuals develop the skills needed to facilitate difficult dialogues across race in high school and college classrooms, in teacher professional learning communities, and beyond. Available through all major retailers. Contact Justice Leaders Collaborative for bulk orders.
About the Author
Shayla Reese Griffin, PhD, MSW, is co-founder of Justice Leaders Collaborative & Justice Leaders Press, which are committed to dismantling oppression, cultivating justice, and nurturing wellbeing through training, consulting, resources, and books.
Shayla is the author, and sometimes illustrator, of the children’s book series Awesome Kids Guides to Social Justice, First Books About Social Justice for Awesome Kids, and Short Guides for Awesome Kids. She has also written two adult books, Those Kids, Our Schools: Race and Reform in An American High School and Race Dialogues: A Facilitator's Guide to Tackling the Elephant in the Classroom.
When she isn’t creating books or talking about social justice, she can be found in her flower garden pondering perennials. She lives with her spouse and three children and gets her best ideas at 3 am.
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