Lindsay Perez Huber ran into this situation one night when reading to her eight-year-old daughter.

In one scene, Lucy borrows a friends bike and crashes it.

(My daughter) sensed something was wrong.

So how should you address racism like this in childrens books, especially in the moment?

First, you have to identify it.

What is a microaggression?

Often, racist depictions in childrens books arent overt or even intentional.

The book wont usethe N-wordor show police racially profiling their suspects.

It can even be so subtle as to be accidentalbut that doesnt mean microaggressions arent harmful.

A microaggression might include using the wrong pronoun for an individual.

Or depicting a bandit wearing traditional Mexican garb.

For example, are low-income people or immigrants depicted as living in a bad neighborhood?

All of these things are coded, racial proxies, she says.

We understand that these things are about people of color.

Check out the books imagery: Are people of color portrayed only in a negative light?

Are Black characters only in books with a low-income neighborhood?

Does a book focused on immigration depict characters using cultural stereotypes?

Do people of color and females take on supporting roles?

So youve identified racism.

Here are some ways to be prepared for your next story time.

So Perez Huber asked her daughter what she saw.

I said, If this image is saying the bandit looks like this, what is it saying?

Right away, shes saying, Its saying Latinos are bandits, Perez Huber says.

She was able to decode the image herself.

They see things on the internet.

Theyre always exposed to racist imagery and messages of racism.

Are they able to answer your questions?

What can they handle?

However, certain topics may not be developmentally appropriate for a young child.

Even if they dont understand immediately, the explanation can help the next time they encounter something racist.

When a racial microaggression happens, we can see it, she says.

My daughter got really emotional when it happened.

I had to take a minute and help her process that.

This is what microaggressions do.