Diversifying Your Classroom Book Collections? Avoid these 7 Pitfalls

”Building a classroom library that offers “windows, mirrors and sliding glass doors ” to all children is more than a numbers game. It requires thoughtful curation of who is represented and how.”… This article describes seven pitfalls to avoid when deciding what to leave in and out, accompanied by more than 50 title recommendations based on conversations in this piece to help kickstart the journey. Included are picture books and books for middle grades and young adults.

Therapist Starts Bedtime Story Series Read by Black Men Featuring Books With Black Children

“Every Wednesday night at 7 p.m., children are tuning in to a new online series called “Night Night” where African American men read bedtime stories featuring children of color.”

“The series is the brain child of Long Beach family therapist Brad Scott.

While Brad reads, his dad plays relaxing jazz guitar in the background so kids can settle in for story time. Scott says as a kid, he fell in love with books after attending readings at the Long Beach public library.”

“How important it was for me to have Black men read to me, even though there was only a few times that Black men showed up to read, it was just important to see them be silly and engage with us as kids,” he said.

“Night, Night” readings on You Tube give you an opportunity to experience the bedtime stories read lovingly and thoughtfully by black men. You’ll appreciate the positive impact the readings may have on any child.

Here are a sample:

I Am Every Good Thing

“The kids in I Am Every Good Thing are compared to the best things: moonbeams on brand new snow, the center of a cinnamon roll, a perfect paper airplane that glides for blocks.

When Derrick Barnes first started writing children’s books 15 years ago, he didn’t see Black kids — and Black boys in particular — being depicted in this way.

“Whenever you saw a black male character in children’s books, he was either playing basketball, he was a runaway slave, or just visually looking very docile or assimilating,” Barnes says.

Barnes has four sons of his own and he wrote his new book to be empowering and affirming — two bounces and a front flip off the diving board on a Saturday morning affirming. “I compare our sons to things that are universally good … to show America that our boys have just as much value as your sons,” he says.”

Sam shares a little inspiration about what kids can be when they grow up (Video)

You may have seen this video on social media or on network news. Sam’s performance and his alphabet of all of the possible things can be when they grow up is entertaining and inspiring! Camille Catlett of Faculty Finds supported by EduAlliance, challenges you as a teacher or a parent to find ways to use this video as a starting point for conversations and activities with kids.

“What might it be like to: …”

“Have a conversation with children about each of the professions mentioned?”
“Take each letter of the alphabet and consider other careers that also start with that letter?”
“Take any of the careers and spend a day talking about it? For example, “H” is for hospital administrator. What is a hospital administrator? Where does she/he work? What do they do? Who are their colleagues? Or just enjoy the flow and then have a conversation with children to learn if they know any other raps or songs about jobs.”

A Kids’s Book About Racism (Video)

“Yes, this really is a kids book about racism. Inside, you’ll find a clear description of what racism is, how it makes people feel when they experience it, and how to spot it when it happens. This is one conversation that’s never too early to start, and this book was written to be an introduction for kids on the topic.”

A Kids Book About Belonging (Video)

Powerful Book about how to love who you are.

“This is a book about belonging. It tackles what it’s like when you feel like you belong to a group or family or team and what it’s like when you don’t. It addresses what it feels like when you don’t fit in, or when others don’t want you around. This book teaches kids how to belong to themselves and how that helps them belong anywhere.”

A Kids Book About Publishing Company

“Meet A Kids Book About, a new kind of publishing company. Our mission is to help kids and their grownups have honest conversations by making books about challenging, empowering, and important topics told by diverse authors who know that topic first-hand.”

Several of the books from this publishing company were chosen to be on “Oprah’s Favorite Things for 2020” and are labeled as such. The books in this collection are meant to be a starting point for discussion about all kinds of important topics like empathy, gratitude, change, depression, bullying and many more. Links to videos of two of the books, read by their authors, are below. The books are well written with simple but important messages that will ring true for kids and adults.

Four Children’s Books About Empathy That Shows That Everyone Matters

“Unfortunately, children often experience a lack of empathy for their differences, both among their peers and among the adults in their lives. Empathy is a learned skill; it can, and should, be taught. These four children’s books about empathy are excellent ways to introduce empathy skills and an appreciation for everyone’s differences.”

My favorite of the recommendations is actually a set of three board books that feature gorgeous photographs of inclusive families and children of all types and abilities. “The Families book portrays LGBTQ+ families, grandparents, and families of many races. Hair celebrates all the various shapes and places and ways hair can be. On-the-Go, pictured here, is a powerful visual celebration of all the ways our bodies can move, and all the different apparatuses that can get us there. On-the-Go can also be paired with this diverse abilities figure set to extend the visual normalization of disability through play.

At only 14 pages each, and just the right size for tiny hands, these books are great for toddlers and preschool classrooms. Teaching acceptance and empathy can begin at any age, and the best way to begin for babies and toddlers is through exposure.

The Power of We (Video)

The Power of We: A Sesame Street Special centers on four friends: Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Gabrielle, and Gabrielle’s older cousin, Tamir. With other Sesame Street neighbors and celebrity guests, the friends explore their own identities and skin and fur colors and come to understand what it means to be color-proud—to have pride in your own culture, identity, and race. In age-appropriate ways, the friends learn what each of us can do to stand up to racism for ourselves and one another through one powerful little word: we.

Vital Conversations with Young Children About Race (Video)

In this two-part conversation, Dr. Phil Strain and Dr. Rosemarie Allen tackle some challenging topics and have a frank and important discussion about equity, black lives, and racism. They invite you to listen as they discuss the impact of racism on black children and their families, how to talk to children and families about race, what does it mean to be anti-racist early educator, and the importance of the Pyramid Model practices in efforts to be anti-racist.

Diversifying Your Classroom Book Collections? Avoid these 7 Pitfalls