#5 The Tiki and Ronde Barber Books
Ok, now, I know, I know, I know — black, twin, sports-obsessed boys is a pretty niche market. But these books would be great for any sports fanatic (you don’t have to be a twin to be fascinated by the life of twins, and you don’t have to be black, or a boy, to love these books). We started out with the Barber brothers’ picture books (all illustrated by Barry Root — By My Brother’s Side; Game Day; and Teammates), which are awesome. And now we’re growin’ on up with the Barber books, as we’ve migrated onward to the chapter books. Kyle and Owen love these books for all the obvious reasons. I love these books because of the way they explore the twin relationship, focus on moral dilemmas, and highlight the power and influence of a very strong mother. This series of chapter books include:
- Kickoff!
- Go Long!
- Wild Card
- Red Zone
- Goal Line
- End Zone
We are really looking forward to the Barber brothers’ new books. They are not yet released, but we’ve already pre-ordered them. Jump Shot (a basketball book), is due out in November, and Extra Innings (a baseball book), is expected in February.
While I don’t remember the exact conversation, I do remember my daughter, when in about 3rd grade, coming home extremely upset that the books she was reading only had white people in them and the majority of her third grade class was black. She didn’t understand how they could enjoy reading books that weren’t about them!
Living in an urban area, I 100% agree that black children need books with black heros, villans and role models!
My sports obsessed boys are huge fans of the Barber brothers’ books! They even got to meet Tiki in person a few years ago, and were totally star struck!
Thank you for this! I have been looking all over for books for my son that have characters that look like him! He is a twin… But his ‘other half’ is a sister and she is in love with the sugarplumb ballerinas, her brother is not amused.
He will love these books! Thanks again!
A great list, thank you for taking the take to share!
Thanks for this great list! Do you have any additions since 2013. I am looking for great books that my black fourth grade boys would love to read.
Very interesting subject, thank you for posting.