Parents' Guide to

Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You

By Barbara Saunders, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Complex intro to history of U.S. ideas about race.

Book Jason Reynolds , Ibram X. Kendi , Sonja Cherry-Paul History 2021
Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 14+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Carrie L.
Carrie L. Parent of 10-year-old
September 5, 2023
age 18+

Too Biased - Not an accurate historic resource

This book does highlight parts of American History that are often overlooked and are important to include, but the authors focus Only on the negatives of American history. Our history is a complex one that should be presented to children from an unbiased perspective. The book is written as if it is presenting fact, yet in reality, there is a confusing mixture of truth, opinion, and a distortion of facts. Some claims were so egregious I had to look them up - and found them to be false... statements about Lincoln, John Locke, Aristotle (and more).... all wrong. Children would have a hard time knowing that this is not an accurate history book.
cbflgrl8806
cbflgrl8806 Parent of 11 and 13-year-old
April 3, 2022
age 9+

Education For Real World Application

This book was full of background information that tends to get over looked, dismissed, or deemed unimportant in schools.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
See all 2 parent reviews

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?

Our review:
Parents say: (2 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

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

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