New Early Reader History Books about Amazing Black Women

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The holiday season is over, and we have begun 2022. I took a break for the holidays for the most part but am back. Today I am sharing two new books (well actually they are being released tomorrow (January 4, 2022). They are both Level 2 Readers from National Geographic Kids. Both are about amazing Black women who are in the news these days. We will start with a book about our Vice President. It is National Geographic Readers: Kamala Harris by Tonya K. Grant. 

From the Publisher: 

Explore one of the most powerful and highest-ranking female figures in American history with this biography of Vice President Kamala Harris in this Level 2 reader.

On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris made history. That day, she became the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected as Vice President of the United States. Young readers will learn about Harris’s childhood, her early career, and her journey that led to winning the vice presidency. This early reader also explores how Harris devoted her life to helping others, from serving as the Attorney General of California, to being elected as a U.S. Senator, to working alongside President Joe Biden on the campaign trail and in the White House.

The level 2 text provides accessible, yet wide-ranging information for independent readers. Explore Harris’s life, achievements, and the challenges she faced along the way to becoming a barrier-breaking leader and an inspiration to young people everywhere.

Key features include:

• Expert-vetted text appropriate for ages 5 to 8
• Engaging and brilliant historical images sourced by National Geographic
• Fun approach to high-interest biographies

About the series: This high-interest, educationally-vetted readers series features magnificent National Geographic images accompanied by text written by experienced, skilled children’s book authors. Each reader includes a glossary and interactive features in which kids get to use what they’ve learned in the book. Level 1 readers reinforce the content of the book with a kinesthetic learning activity. Level 2 readers feature slightly higher-level text and additional vocabulary words. Level 3 readers have more layers of information to challenge more proficient readers. For emerging readers, the Pre-reader level introduces vocabulary and concepts, and the Co-reader level provides a collaborative reading experience.

From Me:

Let's face it, Kamala Harris is pretty amazing. She has been the first many times in her life. Of course, the biggest was becoming the first Black, Southern Asian, female Vice President. That right there is a reason to have a biography about her for kids of all ages. This book shares a bit about her life and the amazing firsts in her life and a bit about why they matter. The book is full of photographs--it is from National Geographic Kids after all. The reader gets to see photos of Kamala at different ages as well as some of her family. Throughout the book there are quotes from Kamala. There are also definitions of the larger words. At the end of the book there is a timeline of Kamala's life as well as a short quiz to see what the reader learned. There is also a glossary with pictures as well. This book is perfect for every lower elementary classroom since it teaches about one of our country's leaders. It also is perfect for Black History Month and Women's History Month which are both coming up. 

Our second book is about Stacey Abrams. It is from the same series as the first one. Stacey Abrams has been in the news especially after the last Presidential election. She is a politician but also started an organization fighting to make sure elections are fair. The book is National Geographic Readers: Stacey Abrams by Melissa H. Mwai. 

From the Publisher:

Learn about the voting rights advocate and politician Stacey Abrams and her groundbreaking achievements in this appealing Level 2 reader. Young readers will find out about Abram’s childhood and her early career as a city attorney and as minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives. The reader also explores her run in Georgia as the first Black woman to be nominated by a major party for governor, and how losing that race inspired her to devote her life to making elections and the voting process more equitable for everyone.

The level 2 text provides accessible, yet wide-ranging information for independent readers. Explore Abrams’s life, achievements, and the challenges she faced along the way to leading the fight against voter suppression and becoming a champion for change.

Key features include:

• Expert-vetted text appropriate for ages 5 to 8
• Engaging and brilliant historical images sourced by National Geographic
• Fun approach to high-interest biographies

From Me:

Do you remember all the memes thanking Stacey Abrams when Joe Biden won Georgia in the 2020 Presidential election? Do you know why? This book teaches kids about her and her success. She is an amazing speaker, but her work to ensure fair voting processes is so amazing. Her story is not done but this book shares it until today. It shares about her accomplishments as well as failures. It is a great book for Black History Month, Women's History Month, as well as current events. 

I hope you will check out these new books and use them in your classroom or home if you have kids from 5 to 8. Teaching them history is important and it is important for them to see diversity in that history!