Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Saunders
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Complex intro to history of U.S. ideas about race.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
STAMPED (FOR KIDS) tells the story of competing ideas about race and racial progress as they have evolved in the United States from the colonial period to the present. Adapted from books on this subject for adults and teens, this is a chapter book intended for children 6-10 years old. Three kinds of ideas (and people) are identified and profiled: "Haters" (segregationists) believe Black people are different from and inferior to White people and preach separation of the races. "Cowards" (assimilationists) believe Black people are damaged, whether through external or internal causes, and focus on how they can win the approval of Whites. Antiracists believe there's nothing wrong with Black people, and focus on dismantling systems of racism.
Is It Any Good?
This adaptation of the adult and teen books is moderately successful. Like its predecessors, Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You, which was adapted by Sonja-Cherry Paul, in collaboration with New York Times best-selling authors Jason Reynolds New York Times-bestselling authors Jason Reynolds (All American Boys) and Ibram X. Kendi (Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You), explains the history of ideas about race in the United States. However, the explanation seems inaccessible to 6- to 8-year-old children at the younger end of the publisher's target audience. The content veers between young-kid-friendly discussions like, "Think about the power of stories. Our favorite characters make us feel brave and better about ourselves and the world," to very adult-oriented, abstract language and concepts like, "The No Child Left Behind Act ... decreased funding to schools ... Schools attended by mostly Black students were already underfunded and lacked the resources of schools attended by mostly White students." Younger children may not be capable of engaging critically with the authors' claims.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about heroes mentioned in Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You. What makes you look up to someone?
What did you learn in this book that you didn't know before? How do you think ideas about race have affected U.S. history?
How is this book different from other books you've read about history?
Book Details
- Authors :
- Illustrator : Rachelle Baker
- Genre : History
- Topics : Activism , History
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : May 13, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 6 - 10
- Number of pages : 176
- Available on : Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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