Why?: A Conversation About Race

K-Gr 2–A conversation about race takes place between a loving Black father and his child, who is full of questions: “‘Daddy?’ ‘Yes, my sweet boy.’ ‘Why are those people shouting?’ ‘Our people are shouting because we need to be heard. We need to be heard.’” Next, a small brown girl wants to know why she sees people crying at a makeshift vigil set up on the street. “Our people are crying because they are in pain.” A brown woman in a head scarf answers a boy’s questions. There are buildings burning as the story crescendos, and one girl decides to pray for the pain, the destruction—for peace for her people. Diggs makes these gutting conversations loving, plainspoken, and accessible to children. They will also be helpful in coaxing little ones into broader discussions with the adults sharing this work. The question-and-answer format, the hallmark of parenting, helps the characters process large thoughts and huge problems, and yet find some paths to solutions. The illustrations make such big topics intimate, and somehow fathomable as well as heartbreaking.