theatlantic.com
A children’s-literature scholar argues it’s time to acknowledge the perturbing themes in some of the most beloved books.
“I think that what we have to do is admit that our relationships with these books can be complicated. It’s okay to think fondly of a beautiful story, but you need to also think about the way in which that beautiful story may also be racist.”
We Need Diverse Books has 2 panels at BookCon this weekend and we hope to see you there!
On Saturday, May 30th at 11am in Room 1A21 will be the science fiction & fantasy focused panel “We Need Diverse Books: In Our World and Beyond” with Daniel Jose Older, Ken Liu, Joe Monti, Kameron Hurley, and Nnedi Okorafor!
On Sunday, May 31st at 11:15am in Room 1A10 will be “We Need Diverse Books presents Luminaries of Children’s Literature” featuring David Levithan, Jacqueline Woodson, Libba Bray, Meg Medina, and Soman Chainani (Note Sherman Alexie will not be at this panel)!
“This exhibition takes up Walter Dean Myersʼs call for action by presenting a selection of inspiring works from the schomburgcenter collection that range from the late 1960s to the present. They represent some of the best writers and illustrators of the past 45 years, which includes Myersʼs Where Does the Day Go? and Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming. The aim is to move writers, illustrators, and publishers to create new works for young people of color because ‘books transmit values,’ Myers wrote. 'They explore our common humanity. What is the message when some children are not represented in those books? Where are the future white personnel managers going to get their ideas of people of color? Where are the future white loan officers and future white politicians going to get their knowledge of people of color? Where are black children going to get a sense of who they are and what they can be?’“
A fabulous exhibit at the Schomburg Center currently up until August 15th on ethnic diversity in children’s books and it’s importance for the youth to see. You can go visit for free and if in NYC highly suggest going.
The Journal of Language and Literacy Education has an article by Jennifer Graff on the impact of children’s books showing other cultures to children through textual and visual means.
Graff states:
“ Adopting an activist stance with children’s literature involves considering not only who tells the story but also how the story is told and who the idealized reader is.”
“…activism is a topic children’s book authors, educators, and other community members embrace rather than avoid.”
In an article with Indian Country Today, publisher of American Indians in Children’s Literature, Debbie Reese makes note of books with bad representations of Native Americans and how these can be rectified in children’s literature.
slj.com
Nancy Larrick’s landmark 1965 study on race and children’s books was supposed to have been a wake-up call. Not much has changed.
Walter Dean Myers' NYT article and BookCon confirmed that the lack of diversity couldn’t and shouldn’t be ignored and We Need Diverse Books started because of this understanding and continues to grow. SLJ looks at the momentum and statistics and what’s offered and how diverse representation can be improved, still.
shelfpleasure.com
There are thousands of inspirational books for women. Shelf Pleasure is a vibrant community covering all areas connected with books and reading.
We have a post up today on Shelf Pleasure for everyone who’s asked how they can help with the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement! We have a volunteer program and classroom plans in the works. In the meantime, here’s a list of ways everyone – from reader to publisher to educator to event organizer – can help!
