In fact if anything we need them now more than ever. I grew up in the 70s and 80s where I thought we humans were making progress, beginning to do away with racism, sexism, homophobia and all the rest of society's ills - moving towards something more like a utopia where folk could live in peace and harmony with each other, and all that stuff would be consigned to the bin of history.
Sadly we do still need "This Book Is Anti-Racist" by Tiffany Jewell and Aurelia Durand - and kids are our best hope for taking on this book's fantastic 20 lesson plan, absorbing the information within and acting on it - to hopefully undo the utter mess certain grown-ups are creating in the here and now.
The book doesn't shy away from the tough questions that need to be asked at the outset. What is racism? Where does it come from? Why are people racist and what can you - as an individual or as part of a collective of like-minded kids - do about it.
Tiffany is an anti-bias anti-racist educator who brings her extensive experience and knowledge, and her absolutely brilliant gift for being able to engage with kids on their own level and in their own language to make these 20 lessons feel less like finger-wagging and more like a common sense approach that just plain works when you begin to embrace her ethos.
Punctuated by Auriela's colourful and engaging illustrations, this is more than just a handbook for becoming an anti-racist activist yourself. Children often need more information, but also something that inspires them to be brave and speak up - particularly against racist adults in their own social circles, or worse, in their own families - where racism often trickles down like rot from one generation to the next.
Powerfully written and absolutely vital in today's society where, sadly, racism comes to the fore almost on a daily basis and is largely the driving factor behind the utter mess we find our country in at the present time.
Sum this book up in a sentence: Bang up to the minute wisdom, action plans and brilliantly written in a language kids can truly engage with - it's sad we still need books like this in 2020 but we do, and this is one of the best anti-racist tomes we've seen for my daughter's age group (11 plus).
"This Book is Anti-Racist" by Tiffany Jewell and Aurelia Durand is out now, published by White Lion Publishing (kindly supplied for review).