Kirkus
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This anti-biased, anti-racist (ABAR) parenting book centers the lived experiences of Black, brown, and Indigenous families. Acclaimed ABAR trainer Hawthorne breaks the text into sections: “healthy bodies, radical minds, conscious shopping, and thriving communities.” Before moving on to those four primary elements, the author provides key language that caregivers can use to both structure their own ABAR journeys and to use when working with their children. Regarding healthy bodies, Hawthorne unpacks a wide-ranging set of issues, including featurism, colorism, fat phobia, and disability. The section on radical minds focuses on liberating language as well as mental health. In the discussion of conscious consumption, the author provides clear and practical advice for ethical consumption in a capitalist society and shows “how conscious consumerism connects to collective community care.” Hawthorne’s section on community lays out a vision for living in collectives in which diverse families can both give and receive support. Throughout, the author includes prompts that offer children and caregivers opportunities for reflection as well as hands-on activities for a variety of age groups. To supplement her arguments, Hawthorne explores the ideas of fellow ABAR activists and educators such as Aja Barbe, Tiffany Jewell, Emi Ito, and Kira Banks. The book’s resources range from reading lists to playlists, encompassing the needs of a variety of learners and developmental levels. Among the recommended songs for “self-affirmation and empowerment” are Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” and Bob Marley’s “One Love/People Get Ready.” Hawthorne has a gift for making complex, sensitive topics accessible, and her tone is both inspiring and comforting. Refreshingly, her approach is truly intersectional, seamlessly folding discussions about disability, queerness, and gender identity into a larger conversation about race. Overall, the creativity, criticality, and compassion make this book is a must-read for parents and caregivers. A stunningly comprehensive, thoughtful, and practical guide to anti-racist parenting. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Publishers Weekly
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Anti-bias consultant Hawthorne and editor Yglesias (Wild Witchcraft) offer a graceful guide to creating an environment in which children can “naturally take to anti-biased and antiracist ideals.” Focusing on five aspects—getting on the same page, healthy bodies, radical minds, conscious consumption, and thriving communities—the authors encourage parents to “model the attitudes, language, and actions” they’d like their kids to show, and to start by teaching kids how to set and enforce boundaries. Parents can start young with such prompts as, “We’re all unique. Do you know what that means?”—and with age, they can focus on analyzing media (watch out for inspiration porn, she warns, a “genre of media depictions of disabled people” which “assumes that disability is always a tragedy”). Hawthorne enriches her own point of view with those of outside experts: author Aja Barber, for example, writes about raising her kids to be conscious consumers, and educator Tiffany Jewel explains how her family ditched their white-centric Montessori school for a more diverse education at a public school. Hawthorne’s emphasis on “self-love” for parents makes this a resource worth returning to. Parents looking to “reimagine how homes will become liberated spaces” need look no further. (June)

Library Journal
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Some parents, caregivers, and educators can feel overwhelmed when trying to raise anti-biased and antiracist human beings. Hawthorne, a Black biracial mother and an experienced teacher and advocate in antiracism for children, along with cowriter Yglesias, seeks to make starting this journey easier. They share ways to raise children by focusing on four key areas with implementable techniques: healthy bodies, radical minds, conscious shopping, and thriving communities. Discussion questions and reflective prompts are provided for both parents and children. Music playlists, ideas for arts and crafts, and other activities are included as well, making this an action-packed guide rather than an academic tome. The authors also address such issues as the misconception of color blindness, hidden biases, featurism, colorism, intersectionality, and the tendency to mute aspects of one's identity. VERDICT This is a must-read that covers an essential topic well and is jam-packed with ideas to implement.