Award-winning author Toni Morrison is well known for her powerful writing that examines the black experience in America, with a particular focus on women and girls. Both a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize winner, she is best remembered for her classic novels The Bluest Eye (1970) and Beloved (1987), which was later adapted into a movie with Oprah Winfrey’s support. Her vast and impressive body of work includes 11 novels, nine non-fiction books, two short stories, and two plays.
What many people don’t know about Morrison is that her works also include eight children’s books that she wrote along with her son, Slade Morrison. These delightful and whimsical stories explore a variety of themes that will make excellent conversation starters during family read-alouds. You can use them to spark reflection, and ask your children how they relate to the stories. Check out our post on read-aloud styles to learn about the importance of interaction during story time. In addition to engaging your child in discussion around the books’ themes, and building on their questions about the stories, you can also point to sight words or letters your child may recognize as you go through the pages. This develops their print awareness, a key pre-reading skill.
Children’s Books by Toni and Slade Morrison
Let us know if you’ve read these books with your child and which are your favorites!
