Children's Books: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Hey wonderful people! Welcome back! It's me, the Afro Librarian. Yes, I'm African-American. But the "afro" in the Afro Librarian refers to my big fro. Yup, my fro is finally SUBSTANTIAL, and I wanted to give honor to God... and to my fro. ;) Hence:

THE AFRO LIBRARIAN!!!!

Just wanted to clear that up. 

So... One of the many things I do in my spare time is babysit. I love it cuz kids are funny! Whew. I mean, there's nothing like a seven year old criticizing your driving AND your sense of direction as though she'd been driving for 47 years.

 "Mama Shukrani", this is not the right way to our class!" 

Exactly. THAT'S the face that greeted me when I looked in the rear view mirror. 7 year old got me out here questioning my life choices... because she was right.  

But I bring up this wonderful child because she. is. BRILLIANT! When I met her at the tender age of 4, she had a book in her hand. As an educator, I know this is a major factor in why she's so brilliant. When her mother found out she was pregnant, she read to her from that day on... and now the child has picked up the torch and is running with it. 

I can't begin to emphasize the importance of surrounding children with books, books and more books. (But this nifty meme I got from http://www.bellavidabyletty.com/benefits-reading-purpose/ can.)

I especially agree with the next to the last one, "Makes you looks sexy". Nothing is as sexy as a man reading a book. Pidd. ("Period", for my Ebonic-free readers).

But wait... I'm talking bout the kids right... sorry... I digress.

Those of you with children will be glad to know that reading to your children also has its benefits. 

• It helps develop your child's imagination
• It increases your child's vocabulary 
• It enhances their concentration and focus
• It calms and relaxes them at bedtime

Reading is also a good way to bond with you children, so let me give you a nifty link to help you buy books for beautiful Black and Brown babies. I ran up on this wonderful resource and thought this would be the perfect place to share.

Black Children's Books and Videos
http://www.blackchildbooks.com/

BlackChildBooks.com features a comprehensive collection of black oriented children's books sold by Amazon.com (but not through its independent sellers). The site organizes almost all of the African-American-oriented children's books scattered on Amazon.com.

Hope you enjoy the list! Now go out there and buy you some books for the babies!!!

Til next time,

Peace and light

The Afro Librarian