Happy Mother’s Day 2025
Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing women who are mothers or have served in a mothering role to young dreamers!
We thank you for all that you do to support young dreamers as they take both small and big steps toward their dreams.
Below are a few books that celebrate and reinforce the powerful role of mothers in inspiring children to become their future-selves.
Hardcover
by Ebony Joy Wilkins (Author), Dare Coulter (Illustrator)
A young Black girl and her aunt celebrate the wonder and magic of their family's legacy through storytelling.
When Zora grows up, she wants to be just like Aunt Bea. Aunt Bea is the best storyteller she knows! Every day after school, Zora heads to her aunt’s house, where they take out their family book and turn Aunt Bea’s kitchen into their stage. They raid Aunt Bea’s costume chest, filled with colorful garments from her acting days, and even do special voices to tell the stories of swimming coaches, Sunday preachers, World War II pilots, and more—all real members of their family. Zora can’t wait to find out what her story will be. As the days pass, Zora notices something’s happening to Aunt Bea. She gets tired more quickly, and sometimes she needs Zora to tell the stories instead. Zora never imagined that Aunt Bea’s tales would ever stop, but in addition to creating lots of joy and a lifetime of memories, Aunt Bea had been working on her greatest gift of all: preparing Zora to become the story keeper.
Lyrically told by Dr. Ebony Joy Wilkins and exquisitely rendered with mixed-media illustrations by Dare Coulter, Zora, the Story Keeper captures the richness and scope of Black American life through the lens of one family across generations
In Your Hands by Carole Boston Weatherford is a thoughtful and comforting book. Years ago, my wife and I read this book to our children. I remember afterward, we were both consumed with emotion because the author miraculously captured our collective feelings as parents of Black boys.
The author takes the reader on a journey of what it feels like to love, care, and educationally invest in a Black son. All of aforementioned is done so he can maximize his God-given potential. Although she articulates her vision for her son, she realizes that only God can protect him when he leaves her. The author’s prayer to God is that her son will be protected, forgiven for his mistakes, and that he’ll grow up to be a man.
The welcoming illustrations by Brian Pinkney allow the reader the opportunity to enter the mind and heart of parents of Black sons. The images capture our dreams of how we want our sons to be treated humanely in schools and society!
For Black parents, this book offers you an opportunity to realize the commonality of your hopes and fears for your Black son. This book also serves as a tool to talk to your son about the racist treatment of Black men and boys in American society.
For white parents, this book offers important insights on how it feels to be a parent of Black sons. This book offers you the chance to understand the depth of our prayers for our sons.
This book is a must read book to add to your child's library.
Age Range: 4-8 years old.
By Monica Wesolowska Illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey
A heartwarming story about unconditional love and rising above those who stand in the way of being who you are.
Shortly after he is born, Elbert floats up into the air. Before long, his mother must stand on her tip toes to reach him and toss toys into the air at playtime. While everyone in town, from the school nurse to the mayor, is full of advice for keeping her boy down, Elbert’s mother knows her son is meant to float. And so, she lets him.
But as life becomes more and more difficult for a floating boy, and people understand him less and less, Elbert has to make a decision: Stay bound to the ground or float higher in the hopes of finding the world—and community—he’s always wished for.
Listen to Dr. Griffin-EL thoughts on grandmothers as reading champions
