Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness is a picture book about racism and racial justice, inviting white children and parents to become curious about racism, accept that it’s real, and cultivate justice.
Anastasia Higginbotham is the author and illustrator of Divorce Is the Worst, Death Is Stupid, and Tell Me About Sex, Grandma―all part of the Ordinary Terrible Things series. She lives in Brooklyn. Librarians love her, but not as much as she loves them.
Read Aloud Tips
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Go through the photos of the book before reading and ask students to guess what might happen in the book.
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Have students share any prior knowledge they have about racism and social justice. Let this be a stepping stone for this book.
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Ask students to identify injustices that they have seen happen and brainstorm some possible solutions.
“An honest explanation about how power and privilege factor into the lives of white children, at the expense of other groups, and how they can help seek justice.” – The New York Times