Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Saunders
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Revealing record of young man's awakening to antiracism.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
When HOW TO BE A (YOUNG) ANTIRACIST begins, one coauthor, Nic Stone, introduces herself as the narrator, and readers meet the other coauthor, Ibram X. Kendi, as a young child, before he has learned the lessons that will be delivered in the book.
Is It Any Good?
This book takes a clever, engaging approach to its subject matter. In How To Be a (Young) Antiracist, co-authors Ibram X. Kendi and Nic Stone put young (12 and up) readers into the mind of Kendi when he was their age. In tracing Kendi's gradual awakening to the strains of racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism in his own thinking, they defuse the discomfort that might arise when they ask readers to acknowledge these thoughts and beliefs in themselves.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what "racism" means. Is racism a structural problem, as the authors say? Is it an interpersonal problem?
The young main (Kendi) changes his perceptions over the course of the story. Have you ever changed a major belief about something? What happened?
Why do you think the authors chose to structure the book as they did: as a communication between Stone and Kendi's younger self? Did you identify with the young Kendi?
Book Details
- Authors :
- Genre : History
- Topics : Activism , History
- Character Strengths : Communication , Perseverance , Teamwork
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Kokila
- Publication date : January 31, 2023
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 17
- Number of pages : 208
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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