Goodnight Racism by Ibram X. Kendi

Goodnight Racism Reviews

• 
  Shari (Shira)

  Beautifully illustrated book with an important message. However, Kendi is NOT a children's book author.
• 
  Jennifer Lavoie

  The art was great, and the message of the story was good, but the writing style was jarring and the pacing made it a little difficult to read and follow the story. Some parts were poetic and others were not, so I couldn’t tell what style it was supposed to be written in.
• 
  Grace Greggory Hughes

  Instant bedtime classic. The audio edition is read by his young daughter, Imani Kendi, and the fierce belief in her voice was the most inspiring, heartwarming thing I’ve heard this year.
  
  Buy this book, read this book, listen to this book, read it to your children, read it to your grandchildren, read it to your nieces and nephews, gift it to your friends, request it at your local library.
  
  It is rooted firmly in Justice and Love.
• 
  Ronald

  That was cute. Goodnight!
• 
  Natalie Park

  The words and illustrations are perfect for both young and not so young to convey hope for a better and more inclusive future with every goodnight.
• 
  theperksofbeingmarissa ;)

  Such a lovely book for a child.
  
  “A world where all people are safe no matter how they look, how they worship, or how they love. A world where all kids have the same chance to have peace, to have joy, to have a childhood” 🥹
  
  I listened to the audiobook about three times because of the two lines above. 🥹
  
  
• 
  Panda Incognito

  2.5 stars, rounded up.
  
  This book is MUCH better than Antiracist Baby. The illustrations are significantly more attractive, with better colors and well-proportioned people, and the text sounds less like it's wrangled out of textbooks. This book gives real-world examples of struggle and suffering, engaging readers' emotions, instead of making theoretical, academic claims. The book also offers a nice message of hope, and of dreaming of change.
  
  However, this is still not a children's book. Kendi covers a plentiful array of social issues here, giving a surface-level treatment of each, and he doesn't explain any of them to the child. An adult could use this book as a tool to start conversations with their child, but they will need to provide all of the explanations and insight. The book brings up archetypes and concepts that adults and older children will connect with, such as homelessness, without speaking to a picture book audience and explaining the concepts to them.
  
  Also, the book doesn't really focus on racism. It attributes a broad range of social issues to racism, but even though racism is a relevant factor, many of these issues are broad-ranging enough and involve enough different racial and social groups that this is mainly just a book about wanting to fix all of the world's ills, not on removing racial discrimination from society. If someone is specifically looking for a picture book about ending racism, this won't even fit the bill for them.
• 
  Ife Olarewaju

  ⭐2.5 stars
  
  Ibram X. Kendi wants children to dream of a world without oppression, freedom for "all the moon touches", however, because of the lack of narrative I don't think the book is very child friendly. The language is quite poetic and it seems like one of those children books that adults will love more than kids. Could have been better if the moral was delivered through some kind of story. It could be a good conversation starter though.
• 
  Beth

  I really like Ibram X. Kendi's work but this book felt too on the nose. A little subtlety goes a long way even in children's books.
• 
  Amber Graham

  2.75
• 
  Alice

  4.5 stars for this book that imagines a world without prejudices
• 
  Ellon

  I love the message of this book and the future it envisions. I do think the actual text is a bit awkward at times and I didn't totally love the illustration style.
• 
  LeeTravelGoddess

  The kiddo reading this book tho 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 Imani Kendi… so precious! She’s going to be someone very very special!!!
  
  💚💚💚 tops!
• 
  Aolund

  This one didn't work for me on multiple levels. For one, it falls into the ever-widening category of feel-good but vague picture books that put forth a social justice message without showing kids how to effect change, call out injustice, etc. And while the message of the moon shining light on everyone and wanting everyone to dream is lovely and sweet, something about this book's focus on saying "goodnight" to racism and other forms of injustice (racism actually felt kind of at the back burner of this book--it's not really focused on in any discernible way) and "dreaming" of a world where everyone is equally valued, loved, and safe felt frustrating. I want that kind of world in waking life, not just in dreams, and saying goodnight to racism is not nearly enough--nor is it that simple!! Finally, the text of this book is just awkward.
  
  All of that being said, the pictures are beautiful. But Antiracist Baby is the way to go if you're picking between the two.
• 
  Liz

  The moon shines down on all children, no matter their home, religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. While the moon shines down, children can dream about their future and a better world. As others have said, this book feels clunky. There are lines about the moon shining down on all children, lines about dreaming, and lines saying goodnight to racism and other terrible things. I wish it stuck to one of those lines of thought because it's only a 32-page picture book. It's trying to do too much. I was anticipating something like an antiracist version of Goodnight Moon. It could be used to talk to children about how unfair the world is to different people and dreaming about a better world for all, like an preschool or early elementary introduction into Martin Luther King Jr. and his "I Have a Dream" speech. Despite being a kinda sad book, the bold, colorful illustrations imagine a better world.
• 
  Michelle Boyer

  The moon watches over children across the world as they get ready to go to be and eventually fall asleep to dream. We dream of a world in which racism is gone, injustice is gone, and people are free to love and worship as they wish. We dream of a world where everyone has a bed and food to eat. Rife with real-world examples of injustice, the author/narrator cries out for change – we can be the change we need to see in the world. An absolutely wonderful children’s book by Ibram X. Kendi.
  
  I am a fan of Ibram X. Kendi’s work and therefore think this children’s book is a wonderful example of exploring the same topic at different readership levels. It has elaborate illustrations that depict different races, cultures, religions, sexualities, and experiences that are easy to grasp for a young child. The story flows beautifully and has a simple message, one that would be easy to explain to the younger children who will be reading it. A true contemporary masterpiece.
• 
  Sarah BT

  3.5 stars-The message is beautiful and the art is lush and colorful with a soft muted tone that feels comforting. The text is good, but doesn't flow in the way I would want it to for a picture book, especially one with a soft, bedtime feel. It's hard to pack big topics into 32 pages in simplistic text and this book tries to do it well, but it just misses the mark slightly. It's still a worthy read and a great addition to a collection, I just had higher hopes for it. It could be a great discussion starter for families and opens up talk about how we can make this imagined world a reality.
• 
  Linda

  Ibram X. Kendi knows exactly the words of hope and peace for young children as he takes us into a sympathetic world where "the moon wants her light/to kiss every child goodnight". It's a message enhanced by the gorgeous illustrations by Cbabi Bayoc who shows readers all kinds of children having loads of fun in various places, then with an adult as they drift off to sleep. The most fun is a double-page spread of a fun-filled carnival where signs on booths say things like "Fresh-baked Peace", "Fresh Squeezed Compassion", and "Quality Fun". It's wonderful!
• 
  Amanda Brooke

  This book is loaded with precepts. I was worried it would be another adults-love-kids-get-bored kind of picture book, but it is filled with love and gorgeous illustrations. Truly an everybody book, it introduces vocabulary: unfair, unjust, cruelty, injustice, inequality, hate, hurt and racism as well as their antonyms. Powerful words that will give children the tools to face hard challenges with grace and dignity.
• 
  Candance Doerr-Stevens

  Excellent illustrations and meaty ideas to discuss with young readers. Certain to inspire young minds to ask “Why do some kids not have food?” Or “How come big people let unfair rules happen?” All the while, there is a aspirational message of hope and the power of our imaginations to dream into existence the future we can achieve.
  
  A powerful companion piece to MLK’s “I Have a Dream”
  
  “Dream, my child; create, my child. A new world—a new future—awaits.” (p. 27)
  
  New. Gifted to W.
• 
  Just a Girl Fighting Censorship

  Another book not written with actual children in mind. It truly is amazing that someone can be so heavy-handed and completely vague at the same time.
  
  Lots of buzz words (equity, injustice, racism) but no explanation or demonstration of what those words actually mean.
  
  I truly pity the baby that is read Goodnight Racism instead of Goodnight Moon.
• 
  Jaidab

  I didn’t really care for the illustrative style, but the message is super important. I know a lot of other reviews are saying the language is too poetic, but my 6 year old understood the sentiment of the book just fine. So, for me, that’s not really an issue. But I understand where they’re coming from.
• 
  Gina

  This book meets an interesting challenge of introducing racism and social justice gently, in a way appropriate for children. It helps with a basic sense of fairness and a dream for making things better, and also works as a bedtime book.
• 
  Adam

  Gorgeous art and poetic in many ways. But the concept is so abstract that children are going to have a hard time gaining anything from this. I struggle to even imagine kids being entertained by it either.
• 
  Ashley schoen

  I wonder if the audio version would make this read better. I guess I wanted the words to flow more like the story does in Goodnight Moon. I did enjoy the illustrations being so diverse and the words of encouragement throughout
• 
  Caroline

  I love this story and the message behind it. I agree with other reviews, that it was paced a little too quickly and didn't necessarily read like a bedtime story for little ones, but an important story nonetheless.
• 
  Melissa0919

  Do yourself a favour and listen to the audiobook. Very cute little voice. A very good book.
• 
  Jenny Potatoes

  Lovely writing and plenty of conversation starters.
  The illustrations feel a little dated.