Black Lives Matter. Black Baby Books Matter.

White children and families are over-represented in children's book publishing.

Books featuring children of color must be sought out. Luckily, that's beginning to change, especially here in the SF Bay Area thanks to efforts of many organizations such as Equal Reads and small-press publishers.

I believe it's vital that a child have books from birth, that they see themselves and their families reflected in books they own. A thing must be relevant to a child to be engaging. A baby interested in what they're looking at is a baby who is learning: synapses are firing, neurons are growing.

And, of course, it's vitally important that a child grow up with a sense they belong everywhere in the world, including books. Illustrations that reflect a baby's reality, their surroundings, their families, can help foster that sense from the start. Your baby belongs everywhere. Help them know that from the beginning by surrounding them with books that reflect them and their families, and encourage interaction with books -- relevant, interesting, engaging books -- from the beginning.