Dom and I love to read together.  Rather, I read while he flips the pages so quickly that I can’t keep up.  Same difference.

We check anywhere from 5 – 15 children’s books out of the library each week.  We also have an extensive children’s collection on our own bookshelves.  There are some books that Dom and I love so much that I want to share them with other parents.  So I figure that I’ll do that once a week or so.  Here is this week’s book corner…

Some of the Days of Everett Anderson by Lucille Clifton

Another library find, this book is one from a series of children’s books by one of my favorite poets.  Everett Anderson is a regular African-American boy, and these stories highlight the positives of his skin color.  A few also share the realities of his economic bracket in a matter-of-fact way.

This book contains short poems about each of Everett Anderson’s days in a week.  For instance:

Thursday Evening
Bedtime

Afraid of the dark
Is afraid of Mom
And Daddy
And Papa
And Cousin Tom.

“I’d be as silly
as I could be,
afraid of the dark
is afraid of Me!”

says ebony
Everett
Anderson.

This series was written in the 70s, and the illustrations reflect that.  Rather than seeming dated, however, they instead seem artsy and timeless.

My husband is black, which means Dom is biracial (well, he’s actually triracial, which just confuses things even more).  I want my son to take pride in his father’s skin color.  I was delighted to find these books, as they help me do that. 

I would recommend these books to all parents who want to share our multicultural world with their children.  In Everett Anderson, they will see a boy much like themselves…and that’s the entire point.