The book was at the top of the
New York Times best-seller list and was chosen as one of
National Public Radio's
100 favorite books for young readers. It received positive reviews from the
School Library Journal and
Publishers Weekly. Will Lloyd, writing in
The Spectator, rejected its thesis that babies are taught to be either racist or antiracist. In 2021,
Safeway grocery stores in
Oregon temporarily pulled the book from sale following a customer complaint (the stores later returned the book to sale). During the 2022
Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court nomination hearing in the Senate,
Antiracist Baby was brought up as an issue by
Ted Cruz when questioning
Ketanji Brown Jackson about her opinions of
critical race theory, as she was a board member at
Georgetown Day School, a private school in
Washington, D.C., that had the book in their curriculum. Jackson replied, "I don't believe that any child should be made to feel as though they are racist or though they are not valued or less than, or victims, oppressors. I don't believe in any of that." This resulted in significant exposure for the book and led to a sudden increase in sales, making it a number one bestseller on Amazon for children's books on prejudice and racism, and among the top-selling children's books across multiple categories. ==References==