Our girls need us, parents! With the garbage that the media is trying to feed our girls, especially our black girls, they need our support and an alternate to the trash flowing out of our television sets. Here are some of my favorite books that I used with my class. Some have difficult subject matters, but they all have a positive Black girl finding her way through those tough times. Read them yourself, then read them with our daughters (yes, OUR daughters). Talk about them, share your experiences, make the book a starting off point for a deeper bond.

Cousins
Author: Virginia Hamilton
Grade Level : 5-8

This book changed me, truly it did. It is a simple, straightforward book and a quick read, but the characters – ! I had never read a so-called children’s book that embraced such heavy themes in such a way that was so natural and easy. I know that may be a strange thing to write, but I’ve read books where the author hit you over the head so many times with his/her “theme” that it was tiresome. Cammy, our heroine, often sneaks away to visit her Gram Tut in the nursing home. She and Gram Tut have a special bond, even though Gram Tut gets confused about where she is in time and often talks about people that Cammy doesn’t even remember.

Cammy doesn’t quite like her cousin Patty Ann, who wears beautiful clothes, has long hair and plays the piano. Patty Ann’s mother dotes on her and looks down on Cammy and her family, often making hurtful remarks about Gram Tut. The dynamic between the two cousins and the family as a whole is something that every one will recognize. We have all experienced that interfamily jealous that breeds hurtful words. The tragedy that takes place in the book is truly a tragedy. Sometimes, perfect isn’t always perfect. A truly powerful book to share with our daughters.

Second Cousins
Author: Virginia Hamilton
Grade Level: 4th grade
I couldn’t forget Miss Cammy from her first book Cousins, and couldn’t wait to read the continuation. Ms. Hamilton does well in dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy in the first book. Cammy has now found a good friend in her cousin Elodie and the two girls are enjoying the hot summer. The family reunion is coming up and they both are looking forward to meeting the rest of the family, include some second cousins from the city. However, with these new girls come secrets that may threaten Cammy’s and Elodie’s relationship and change her family forever.

This is another powerful book from Virginia Hamilton that has a plot twist that even I, a seasoned reader of all types of books, wasn’t expecting. The beauty of Ms. Hamilton’s writing is that although her narrative delivers pain to Cammy and her family, she brings her heroine through it all with the power of family love. This book is fun, sad, and heartwarming. Gives meaning to the phrase “I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me.” What a great book!

Note: Both books are written on a 3rd grade level – simple and easy to read, but the subject matter, in my opinion should be 4th grade and up. Please use your discretion with your students and your children.

Philip Hall Likes Me, I Reckon Maybe
Author: Bette Greene
Grade Level: 5-8, Reading Level: 5th grade – up

Take a deep breath, readers and put away the tissue. A Newbery award winner, “Philip Hall” is a much lighter read which embraces a universal theme for women and girls the world over – must we change what is our “essential self” in order to be accepted by friends, both male and female? Beth Lambert is just “in love” with Philip Hall who is cute, smart and can beat her in class work as well as sports…..but can he really or is Beth just letting him win? The story takes place in a rural town in Arkansas, which is a great reading experience for those of us from “the city”. The subplot about stealing prize turkeys and the 4-H fair fascinated me as much as the dynamics of the relationship between Beth and Philip.

I’m not going to give away the ending here, so you’ll have to read the book to see if Beth stays true to herself and goes after her goals rather than staying in Philip Hall’s shadow.

Circle of Gold
Author: Candy Dawson Boyd
Grade/Reading Level: 4 – 6

What a lovely book! Mattie and Matt are twins, both concerned with the headaches their mother suffers after the death of their father. Mama works so hard and she never seems to be happy! Matt gets away from it all with his friends and basketball, but Mattie worries about her mother because they never do the fun things they used to do.

One day, Mattie sees a beautiful gold circle pin in a department store and knows right away that’s the thing to make her mother smile. But she doesn’t have enough money to purchase the pin…unless she wins the essay contest! Will Mattie be able to purchase the pin for her mother? As if that weren’t worry enough, she has to worry about the prettiest and richest girl in school bullying her and her friends.

This is a beautiful book about the yearning of a child to make her mother happy. Although Mattie has her own problems, bullies, losing her babysitter’s job, she still tries to keep her mother’s happiness above her own. Read this heartwarming book with our daughters and enjoy.