I Like Myself

This poignant, well-crafted book offers solutions to anti-Black sentiments through lessons for preschool children. The author’s willingness to join this narrative exhibits an understanding of the role early intervention plays to support healthy self-awareness and self-love. She challenges readers to unpack the social hierarchy that perpetuates a belief system and urges us to use this knowledge to counter societal messaging about race in preschool classrooms. Truly a must-read for early educators! 

--Kellee Tyrone, Child Development Specialist, Camp Fire First Texas 

By showcasing actual effective practices, Sturdivant masterfully reveals how to plan authentic, engaging, and standards-based lessons for the positive racial identity needs of Black children. But she doesn’t stop there! She shows us how to develop practical play-based solutions that counter the negative social messages children regularly receive as we celebrate the richness of children’s racial and ethnic differences across the curriculum. This text should be a resource for all early childhood educators. 

--Iliana Alanís, PhD, Professor of Early Childhood/Elementary Education, The University of Texas at San Antonio 

Affirmation statements matter to children, and their communities of caregivers, family, teachers, siblings, and extended families. Many factors within a culture affirm and support the positive images of many children, by the nature of their alignment with dominant cultural views. This is like drinking the water or breathing the air, it’s all around us. But what if – no, not ‘if’ but ‘when – what happens WHEN those dominant views differ, or negate a young child’s self-image? In I Like Me, Dr. Sturdivant speaks from lived experience, her own and her own children’s, and out of her deep and compelling research, with a ton of intelligence and even more heart. This book rings true in a culture that denies many children access to affirmation statements. With careful, thoughtful, well-designed literary structure, this book delves into racial identity issues. Responsive caregivers can learn her about hair, and language, and literature. Dr. Sturdivant has provided a path forward in promoting racially affirming practices in our early childhood profession. 

--Josh Thompson PhD, Professor Early Childhood Education, Texas A&M University-Commerce