About this Episode
Parent Driven Development
Episode 055: Jambo Books
02:22 Welcome, Mijha Godfrey!
Mijha Godfrey is the founder of Jambo Books. Jambo, which means both “hello” and “welcome” in Swahili, is a book subscription service for children aged 0 – 13 where all the books feature lead characters who are children of color. The stories in Jambo Books focus on the beauty of childhood, the joys of friendship and family, the thrill of new adventures, the wonderful tapestry that is the life of a child of color.
Mijha is passionate about helping parents raise children who won’t need to be taught how to tolerate people who are different from themselves because they will expect and enjoy healthy inclusion.
04:04 The importance of a diverse library
- Not letting experience resonate in only trauma or holiday
05:25 When should parents start showcasing different representations in their community to their children?
- Yesterday.. aka ASAP, as young as infants
- Race is recognized from an early age and the earlier exposure the better
- Showcasing universal things all children go through, not just culturally recognized celebrations
- Normalizing life experience of children of color
09:32 Jambo celebrates all representations
- Books are a gentle gateway
- Letting children of color know that they belong in all spaces
13:40 How do you choose books for Jambo?
- All books sent out are fiction
- Must star a child of color
- Has to be a good story, impactful
15:45 How do you introduce the ideas in the books to your children?
- Confront stereotypes head on!
- Can I touch your hair?
19:40 What push back have you experienced?
- Standing strong in their mission
24:20 Tips for book storage?
- More shelves!
- Recycle and pass forward books in the community
26:15 Genius / fail moments
- KWu's son turned 3! Yayy.. but feeling guilty that she is a couple years behind on the yearly photo albums. #fail
- Allison's daughter boy-cots her virtual doctors appointment, her son zips off virtual kindergarten and chaos is all happening at once! #fail
- Arit's daughters nails a technical aspect of potty training. #genius
- Mijha's daughter reads a book that sparks a racail conversation on a playdate. History well learned, but not wanting to her daughter to do the race work #winfail
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