About the Holiday

This year marks the 55th anniversary of Week of the Young Child, an annual initiative hosted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (which itself is celebrating its 100th year!) to promote learning and spotlight young children, their families, and their teachers. Themes for each day of this week focus on ways that children learn. These included Music Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Work Together Wednesday, Artsy Thursday, and Family Friday. To get more information on this week-long celebration and discover extensive ideas and activities to make each day of the week fun for your family or students, visit the NAEYC website.

Thank you to Orchard Books/Scholastic for sending me a copy of this book for review!

Beautiful Black Boy

Written by Sophia Robinson | Illustrated by Ken Daley

Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, godparents, teachers, and all of the important adults in a child’s life want them to grow up knowing how much they are loved and how special they are. Sophia Robinson’s lyrical ode to Black boys does just that with stirring, confidence- and esteem-building affirmations that celebrate Black joy while identifying and reinforcing qualities their children already possess and that will sustain them throughout their life.

Each of Robinson’s verses offer a poignant starting point for adults to share not only a specific characteristic—like resilience, leadership, courage, and curiosity—but to expand on it, sharing examples from the child’s own life. They also provide a spark for conversations between children and caregivers about their experiences as well as their hopes and dreams for the future.

Ken Daley’s exhilarating illustrations portray Black boys full of wonder, intelligence, confidence, courage, and pride in their accomplishments. His kinetic backgrounds are subtly layered with words from the text, a poignant reminder that the praise children receive echoes like a song’s refrain in their hearts and minds into adulthood.

Notes from Sophia Robinson and Ken Daley about the creation of Beautiful Black Boy follow the text.

Inspiring, motivational, and full of love, Beautiful Black Boy is a book to cherish and share over and over again as a child grows. It is a must for any library and will be a favorite on home bookshelves. The book also makes a meaningful gift for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and end of year presents for teachers.

Ages 4 – 8

Orchard Books, 2026 | ISBN 978-1338864649

About the Author

Sophia Robinson was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. She has been an elementary school teacher for over 20 years, where she shares her love of picture books with her students. Visit her at sophiarobinsonauthor.com.

About the Illustrator

Ken Daley is an award-winning artist/illustrator who lives in Tillsonburg, Ontario. His art and illustrations are inspired by his African-Caribbean heritage, and he has exhibited his work in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. Ken has illustrated numerous children’s books, including Joseph’s Big Ride, Jayden’s Impossible Garden, A Feast for Joseph, Black Boy, Black Boy, The Little Regent, and more, as well as received an Américas Award Honor Book and a Kirkus Best Picture Book for Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings. Visit him at kendaleyart.com.

Week of the Young Child Activity

Jar Full of Hearts

Whenever your child feels the need for more love or reassurance in their life, this jar full of hearts can be a visual reminder of the love that surrounds them, can be used to encourage discussions about experiences and feelings, or can provide meaningful tokens of their own love kids can give to family and friends.

Supplies

• A clear jar with a lid
• Red felt
• Scissors

Directions

1. Cut red hearts from the felt

2. Add hearts to the jar. The jar can start out full or hearts can be added over time. Here are some ideas for using the jar with your child:

• Add one heart for each thing you love about your child or that a child loves about their sibling or friend.
• Give a new heart whenever the recipient of your jar does something nice for a sibling, friend, or someone else.
• If talking about feelings is difficult for your child, encourage them to bring you a heart from the jar to start a conversation.
• Encourage the recipient of your jar to pass the love along! Tell them they can give a heart from the jar to someone else.

You can purchase Beautiful Black Boy from these book sellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Picture Book Review