I Always Bring Books To Baby Showers

The little libraries I gift my new mom friends.

I've reached a point in life where my friends have started having babies. It's interesting to see them taking on these new roles, mainly because it feels like I was 16 just a second ago, and so instead of saying congratulations, my first thought is, are we even allowed to be doing this? Does this qualify as teen pregnancy? (Apparently, at 28, the answer is no). It's a mindfuck, being the adult in the room, but a welcome one, because I love kids and watching my friends be parents. I love being part of this little person's community, being a play auntie, a safe adult that they'll be able to come to for good food, a book recommendation, and a weekend at the zoo or the museum. And perhaps more importantly, I love gifting, and this is yet another person to spend my money on.

All that to say, I’m going to more baby showers more than ever before. My go-to gift for these is books. Not only have children’s books become cool (they look like art pieces!), they’re also practical, and a great way to show off your bookish taste. There’s books by artists, books by esteemed writers, and vintage books too. The options are endless. I personally like to gift little libraries of five to ten titles, a mix of contemporary new releases and classics I grew up loving. When picking these out, I have one main rule, especially if the baby is Black: if there’s a human protagonist, they need to be a person of color. I grew up reading books with characters that looked like me, and it's important that they see themselves represented positively on the page in a wide range of contexts, not just ones with a social justice message or a biography of an Important Black Person.

There's no one-size-fits-all way to do this, so I'm going to take us through a little library I made last year (I've gotten better at this over time) and one I'm currently planning for my newest little nephew Tyler (Jada, if you're reading this, pretend you don't see it!) and my little cousin Zoë. Another note: try to shop for kids' books IRL if you can. I've found that it's difficult to find new, cool children's titles online and have always had better results when I went into the bookstore. Before we get into my curation, my favorite spots to find them.

• Artbook @ Moma PS1 - I love a museum gift shop. The coffee table book curation is always impressive, and sometimes—like in the case of Moma PS1, there’s an entire wall devoted to children’s books (PAMM in Miami has a similar situation). I spent at least 20 minutes leafing through books on this wall, which ranged from a book that used jellyfish to explain grief and death (The Immortal Jellyfish by Sang Miao) to a biography of Isamu Noguchi (A Boy Named Isamu by James Yang) to In the Meadow of Fantasies¹, an Iranian folklore tale about a girl who goes on an adventure with seven horses.

• Rizzoli Bookstore - Rizzoli is a highly curated bookstore specializing in artbooks (they’re also a publisher). The store, which is stunning, has a great children’s book section that contains a diverse mix of titles.

• McNally Jackson - This is the main bookstore I shop at, so it’s convenient to pop into their children’s book room, which also happens to be where I got engaged. My favorite find here has been the Peekaboo series, board books with different sliders and windows that feel very interactive. There’s also a little mirror at the end so the baby can look at themselves, which I think is very cute.

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A Little Library for Shepherd

My friend Telsha, who owns T.A., a fashion concept store, is probably the coolest girl in the entire world. Her husband Justin, a stylist, designer and photographer, is incredibly fly too, so I picked books for them that had interesting artwork and contained fashion and art themes. I also chose books that will grow with their son Shepherd. Some, like the board books, are designed for when he’s really little, while others will be better suited when he’s a toddler/preschool-age. For his library, I bought 12 books from Reparations Club (support your indies!), which has a good selection of kids books that center Black voices. Those, below.

• The Hair Book by LaTonya Yvette, illustrated by Amanda Jane Jones

  I picked this one because I love the cutout illustration style, which reminds me a bit of Eric Carle, and it has a nice message about inclusivity.

• Hands On! by Anne Wynter, illustrated by Alea Marley 

  This book is about a baby learning to walk and features a cute, rosy-cheeked kid. This, like The Hair Book, is a board book, which I prefer for infants and toddlers because they’re sturdy and easy to hold.

• Peekaboo // Baby by Camilla Reid, illustrated by Ingela P. Arrhenius 

  I love these little Peekaboo books! I’ve also gifted the Love one in this series, to Tyler’s big sister.

• Milo Imagines The World by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson

  If you happen to find an illustrator whose work you really like, I’d recommend checking out whatever else they have, it’ll likely lead you down a rabbit hole of other cool work. I love Christian Robinson’s illustration style, so much so that I gifted two books of his to baby Shep.The first is Milo Imagines The World, a story about a little boy on a subway ride with his older sister. During the ride he imagines lives for the people he sees. It’s the kid-friendly version of that ubiquitous game where people try to guess the life story of strangers on the street.

• Nina: A Story of Nina Simone by Traci N. Todd, illustrated by Christian Robinson

  The second is Nina, a picture book biography of Nina Simone. I’m a big Nina Simone fan and continue to be inspired by the way she used her art to have bigger conversations about the Civil Rights Movement. I love the way this book depicts her: colorful, elegant, and vibrant.

• Aaron Slater, Illustrator by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts 

  I really love the Questioneers series, which includes books like Ada Twist, Scientist and Sofia Valdez, Future Prez. One of the newer installments is Aaron Slater, Illustrator, a story about a boy who dreams of being a storyteller, but struggles with words because of his dyslexia. He learns to tell stories through images. I love that it celebrates difference, and shows that there are many ways to achieve a goal.

• Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold

  It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned that Faith Ringgold wasn’t just a children’s book author. Her books were a staple in my house growing up, and I love this story about Cassie Lightfoot, a young girl who can fly above her apartment building.

• The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Leo Dillon 

  I mentioned this as a book that shaped me in my inaugural post and I think every child should have this book in their library. It’s a collection of classic African American folktales that have been passed down for generations, and they’re entertaining too. 

• The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Rafael López 

  I’m a fan of Jacqueline Woodson’s fiction so I decided on The Day You Begin, a children’s book about the first day of school and all the anxieties that come with it.

• Happy to Be Nappy by bell hooks, illustrated by Chris Raschka

  This one is also by an iconic writer, and felt like a good addition to Shep’s personal canon.

• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats 

  A classic! 

• Life Doesn't Frighten Me by Maya Angelou, illustrated by Jean-Michel Basquiat 

  Two powerhouses come together in this book, which illustrates an iconic Maya Angelou poem using Basquiat’s work.

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A Little Library for Tyler

Connay and I met Chubbz when we studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain in 2015, three college kids far away from the East Coast amazed that we were living anywhere but Maryland and Virginia and New York. In those four months we became family, bonded by 2 euro sandwiches, white chocolate Magnum bars and cheap weed. After graduation we stayed close, so when Chubbz met his wife Jada, she became family too. When thinking about titles for Tyler (a Scorpio king!), I didn’t want to overlap with what the books we bought their daughter Nola a few years prior. As parents they really prioritize communication and expressiveness, a quality I really admire, so I picked a few books that reinforce positive messaging around sharing emotions and how to handle feelings. C, an early childhood educator, picked a classic Eric Carle book, because it teaches sequencing and colors. I also threw in some cool-looking ones because it’s me, along with books about little kids on adventures because I assume kids like stuff like that (correct me if I’m wrong).

• Corduroy by Don Freeman

• The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

• Yellow Dog Blues by by Alice Faye Duncan, illustrated by Chris Raschka

• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

• Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll!: Presenting Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of Rock & Roll by Tonya Bolden, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

• What If One Day.. by Bruce Handy, illustrated by Ashleigh Corrin²

• More than Words: So Many Ways to Say What We Mean by Roz MacLean

• Big by Vashti Harrison

• Many Shapes of Clay: A Story of Healing by Kenesha Sneed

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

• Boys Don't Fry by Kimberly Lee, illustrated by Charlene Chua

• Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

• Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson

What books are you gifting the little people in your life? Let me know!

Until next time!

1. Elsewhere Editions, which published In The Meadow, puts out lots of beautiful books in translation.

2. Enchanted Lion publishes this one and they make a lot of cool stuff.