20 Books, Movies and TV Shows that Affirm Brown Girls

Affirming Black Children Affirming Black Girls
by –

By Sundi

When I was in college I remember seeing the study where young African American girls had to choose between a black doll and a white doll and point to which one was good and which one was bad.  The girls routinely chose the black doll as bad and the white doll as good.  It really saddened me to see this, but it wasn’t totally surprising.  If African American girls do not see positive images of themselves on screen or in books, and they only see Caucasian girls or dolls as the standard of beauty and positive behavior, then they will begin to make those associations.

I knew that when I had daughters I wanted to make sure that they were continuously presented with positive images of brown girls that mirrored them.  It may seem superficial to do so, but I think it’s extremely important to make sure that our daughters see reflections of themselves on television, in books, and with the toys they play with.  Doing this, along with affirming them with our own words of encouragement and knowledge sharing is important.

Here are some movies and TV shows that are great for African American girls:

  • The Princess and the Frog
  • Super Why– Princess Presto is an African American princess.
  • Doc McStuffins
  • Polly featuring Keisha Knight Pulliam– an old classic that I absolutely love!
  • Happily Ever After: Fairytales for Every Child featuring remakes of classic fairytales.  12 Dancing Princesses, Hansel and Gretel, and Beauty and the Beast feature African American leading ladies.

    •  
    My daughter is 5, and so far, I share books that don’t talk about race directly.  Instead, I like to focus on books that feature African American little girls that look like her, but they’re doing normal things totally unrelated to race.  I’ve read most of these books to my daughter over the past few years, and she loves them.  A few I just discovered and they are wonderful.

    Pre-K to 2nd grade

  • Summer Jackson Grown Up by Theresa E. Harris
  • Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn
  • Little Diva by LaChanze
  • Jump at the Sun fairytale classics such as Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel, Cinderella, etc., that feature African American leading ladies.
  • Please Baby Please and Please Puppy Please by Spike and Tanya Lee
  • Princess Truly and the Hungry Bunny Problem by Kelly Greenawalt
  • Dancing In the Wings by Debbie Allen

    •  
    7 to 12 years old

  • Sugar Plum Ballerinas series by Whoopi Goldberg
  • Ruby and the Booker Boys series by Derrick Barnes
  • Keena Ford books by Melissa Thomson
  • Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon
  • President of the Whole Fifth Grade by Sherri Winston
  • Liberty Porter, First Daughter series by Julia DeVillers
  • Amy Hodgepodge series by Kim Wayans

    •  
    As I read, I like to point out things that are similar about the character to my daughter.  I point out how pretty the girls’ curly hair is, or how cute her braids are.  Also how kind she is being to others, or another positive character trait.  I really like to point out the positives in these brown girl characters and relate them to how she is.

    Ladies, what would you add to this list?

    Sundi is a mom of four who lives with her husband outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

    About Sundi

    • maxine

      I love this article,as it reflects on the importance of encouraging our children to relate to characters from books etc that look like them
      However I don’t believe that the doll experiment is always an indication of what race is seen as bad,good etc purely because children see the world different then we do,many are not mentally mature enough to see the obvious issues of racism etc or see the issue for something more serious,children are not clouded with suspicion or prejudices like adults and it was probably to do with what’s more appealing in their eyes,often with adults we tend to look at the smaller picture and as a result judge with a critical eye,when we don’t always need to.

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      • lovethis

        Um… I don’t know that there’s any way to justify the fact that black children — in enforcement with what they see in society, and frankly in the black community — associate dolls that look like them with things that are “bad”. And white dolls with things that are “good”.

        Also, the children were not just asked to pick a doll, they were asked to describe. Many described the white doll as “pretty” and the black doll as “ugly”, although the dolls were exactly identical, except for skin and hair color.

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    • maxine

      Correction-helps our children relate to characters from books etc that look like them in order to giving them a more positive view of who they are.

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    • Ashanti

      ~Nikki and Deja Series by Karen English
      ~Danitra Brown series by Nikki Grimes
      ~Dyamonde Daniel series by Nikki Grimes
      ~Talkin’ about Bessie: the story of aviator Elizabeth Coleman by Nikki Grimes
      ~Hopscotch love, poems by Nikki Grimes
      ~Words with wings poems by Nikki Grimes

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      • LibraryLady

        I will have to check out the Danitra Brown series. It looks good!

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    • http://www.myblackfriendsays.com myblackfriendsays

      Thanks for this. My daughter is only 5 months, but I’m pinning for future reference (:

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    • Amanda

      My dad read Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters to me every night growing up. He did the same for my sister as well. I still have the original book he purchased when I was born.

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    • Camille

      I’d recommend The Children’s Band series by Tiffany Alexander. http://www.childrensband.com/

      They’re stories about a diverse group of friends. The author says “If we teach our children now about saving money, taking care of their bodies, and dealing with challenges, they will grow into adults who do the same.”

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    • Ama

      Avatar: The Legend of Korra on Nick Toons is a good show for older brown girls who like action. It is about a superpowered brown teenager and her growth into her inherited role as a world leader.

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    • Zee

      Raising Dragons by Jerdine Nolen is another to add to this list 🙂

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    • Laura

      We also like Word Girl on PBS.

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    • DMW

      Coffee Will Make You Black- April Sinclair

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    • Shanaal

      I would recommend the Keisha Cane series for young readers. The illustrations are gorgeous, the language is accessible for children, and the moral of the story is relevant to kids’ lives. Learn more at: http://www.blackenterprise.com/money/with-keisha-cane-book-series-a-young-author-champions-child-literacy/
      or buy the book at:
      http://www.foxxology.com/#!books/cnec

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    • Truprazer

      Thank you for sharing! I would also add Little Bill to the TV shows. Although it’s about a little boy, his sister and mother are very affirming characters.

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    • Stephanie

      This article is great! Thanks so much for sharing.

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    • http://www.alienstarbooks.com Ruth DJ

      You’re doing the right thing. It is so important for kids to see themselves in their toys, books, movies.

      I have a little book website dedicated to science fiction and fantasy for teens and young adults of Color, Alien Star Books http://www.alienstarbooks.com. Please feel free to stop by or use it as a resource. There’s a few books for younger readers — and some for more mature readers too, with parental warnings.

      It all started because my Black/Mexican/Italian/Welsh/Cherokee/Native/White son had to read a book for school, and he finally picked one because the main character was Black (Tunnel in the Sky by Robert Heinlein). While looking for more books that he might like, it really hit me that my two favorite genres were a barren wasteland for People of Color…

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    • Keisha

      I also recommend the Juipter strong series. . The main chatcater is young black female. The author and illustrator are both black

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    • http://www.myfocsi.com Erika

      Miya’s Hair Day by Erika Parker-Smith…Great affirming book!
      One side note on that Black Doll Study that gets left out of many conversations: The dolls used in the study, went beyond skin tone. The children chose the doll that looked “friendlier”. Most African American Dolls, up until very recently, featured dolls that had scowls or frowns; while White Dolls had smiles or more “angelic” facial expressions.

      There is even a Documentary on the subject: Why Do You Have Black Dolls? https://www.facebook.com/whydoyouhaveblackdolls

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    • Dotti

      For parents please check out the book Different and Wonderful: Raising Back Children in a Race-conscious Society. My mother wrote the book years ago :-). It’s an older book, but still a great book for guidance. It talks about the doll study as well.

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    • http://Www.drdeedeedynamo.com Oneeka Williams MD, MPH

      I recommend the Dr. Dee Dee Dynamo Book Series which features a 9 year old black girl super surgeon who jets around the Universe healing problems with her gifted hands. It provides a powerful, positive image for all girls and especially girls of color, creates a platform to get girls excited about the STEM fields early and promotes a love of reading. Kids love it!!!!

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    • Robyn

      This book about an Inuit girl is great for girls aged 5-9: “Very Last First Time” by Jan Andrews, about a girl’s first solo trip under the ice to collect mussels when the ocean’s tide goes out.

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    • Erika

      Keisha Cane and her very Sweet tooth by Ashley Foxx.

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    • Ashanti

      Your welcome LibraryLady. Back in the 80s the first book I ever read about a brown girl was called Ludell by Brenda Wilkinson. I still have that book. I read this interesting book with my niece called Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson when she was in 4th grade.

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    • http://Swanofdreamers.blogspot.com Shell

      Here are some of my favorites:
      A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court starring Keisha Knight Pulliam (from 1989)
      Phoebe and The General, it has been renamed now as, Phoebe the spy by Judith Griffin. One of my favorite books as a little girl.
      Twitches and Twitches Two starring Tia and Tamera Mowry.

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    • rominica

      Majic Attic club- Keisha’ s edition saving them for my granddaughter, keisha’ daughter to read!!!

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    • http://www.tutusgreenworld.com Tulani

      TuTu Goes Green is my first book. It is about how a little black girl lives “green” everyday. The target audience is 4yrs-8yrs. Please check it out! http://m.barnesandnoble.com/w/tutu-goes-green-tulani-thomas/1104288067?ean=9780984601202

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    • http://eringopaint.etsy.com erin pickering

      Great list! We own or have read most of these, and my daughter loves them.
      also I would recommend
      “Shades of Black, a Celebration of our Children” by Sandra L Pinkney. “Happy to be Nappy”, and “Cinnamon Baby”

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    • http://www.bencouraged.net Rev. Teirrah McNair

      Please share the gift of “Lucille Nadine Alexander’s Birthday” with your readers too. She’s not a doll but she’s a seven year old brown girl on a mission that other children of color, especially, are falling in love with globally. Lucille is a storybook character available as a book and as a DVD. To hear more about little Lucille, readers can visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgRn-FnsVLw

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    • http://www.brownfirlgifts.com Melissa Lee

      Thanks for doing this! This is why I started my own company called Brown Girl Gifts — http://www.browngirlgifts.com

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    • http://www.browngirlgifts.com Melissa Lee

      Thanks for doing this! This is why I started my own company Brown Girl Gifts — http://www.browngirlgifts.com

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    • Sundi

      Since writing the article, I have found a few more gems to add to this list. I can’t wait to share them with my daughter!

      Age 4-9:
      Princess Cupcake Jones and the Missing Tutu by Ylleya Fields
      I’m a Pretty Little Black Girl by Betty Bynum
      Penny and the Magic Puffballs by Alonda Williams
      Lottie Paris Lives Here by Angela Johnson
      Lottie Paris and the Best Place by Angela Johnson

      Grace for President- 7-12 age group

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    • kj

      Tv/Movies: Disney’s Proud Family, Sister Sister, Moesha, That’s So Raven, Crooklyn

      Books: Just an Overnight Guest by Elenora E. Tate

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    • LaQuetta Ruston

      What About My Hair by LaQuetta “Ellis” Ruston

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    • Norma Warren

      Please visit Brown Girls Books Young Adult Division at http://browngirlspublishing.com/bgb-kids-and-teens/. Our Kids and Teens Books are written by and for children.

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