#diverse childrens books

[black-is-beautiful18]

And here we go again with the “I just can’t connect to Black characters 🥺” bs. Y’all don’t like Black ppl so that’s why you don’t like reading about us. No one cares if LegendBorn or Children of Blood and Bone are some of your favs, cuz what exactly is stopping you from finding books similar to them???? And then to say that Black authors should be more like Asian authors while also insinuating that we don’t have our own historical or cultural myths, especially when we exist on multiple continents and islands, is absolutely ludicrous. Not to mention that a statement like that feeds into racism and the fetishization of Asian ppl. Children of color are forced to see nothing but white ppl in every form of media all our lives and not once does not being able to connect to the characters stop us from enjoying that piece of media. You can empathize with dragons, elves, orcs, and witches easily. Anyone darker than dry glue however, needs to prove why you should read our stories and have sympathy for our characters. This is exactly why I don’t trust white readers regardless of if they read diversely or not cuz some of y’all don’t even read the books. You just get them for brownie points or judge them harshly cuz you still don’t see the characters as deserving of empathy.

[stackofstories]

as a kid i don’t think i really understood the gravity of PJO being about kids. stripping down all the supernatural stuff, it’s so easy to see that the kids are surviving and responding to their environment. As an adult, I think about Ares’s kids being so angry and bloodthirsty and so mean and you can blame domineering rage filled Dad for that one. I think about Athena’s kids where nothing is ever good enough for their perfectionist mother so of course they overcompensate, they are a know it alls, they can’t tolerate failure, how rigid and fixed they are in perspective. I think about Hephaestus’s kids and good they are with their hands, how witty and defensive they are, how shy they are with compliments, how they let their work speak for them because everyone calls their father ugly, a mistake, a laughingstock. I think about Aphrodite’s kids and their feigned incompetence when it comes to battles and logic, how they choose partners based on adoration, how they trade secrets on looking the best, how they struggle to say no because Mom says love is enough and you’ll only matter if everyone thinks you’re pretty. I could go on… idk, I just think all these kids deserve a break because they’re doing their best and moving forward in the world the best way they know how.

[intothestacks]

Adventures in Librarian-ing

Today I read Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino to a class of Grade 2s.

It's a story about a boy who likes to wear dresses and the prejudice he faces about his interest.

An excerpt from storytime:

Me: They're not being very kind, are they?

Grade 2s: Noooo!

Girl: They're being very rude and mean!

Other Girl: Anyone can wear whatever they want! *classmates murmur in agreement*

Boy: And if girls can wear pants then boys can wear dresses! It's only fair! >:(

Me: Plus, in some cultures what we would consider dresses are considered boy clothes. Though is there really such a thing as boy clothes and girl clothes if everyone should be able to wear whatever they want?

Grade 2s: Nooo! They're just clothes!

[ebookporn]

Early in my career, I co-founded and oversaw the title selection for WaldenEd Book Fairs, a book fair company spun off from the Waldenbooks chain. Our strategy was to differentiate ourselves from Scholastic fairs by offering a broader, more diverse, and challenging selection of titles representing a wider range of cultures and communities. It seemed only logical that to increase sales, you would want to increase the size of the audience you appealed to. Our initial plan was to launch regionally and grow slowly, but the response from schools and librarians to a title selection that mirrored the greater diversity of a bookstore serving the local community was so overwhelmingly positive that we quickly expanded nationally.

This was in the late 1980s. It would have been unimaginable to me that three decades later, Scholastic would have a marketing strategy that narrows the diversity of titles it offers and adds barriers to access titles representing any segment of the local community they serve.

- eP

#softcensorship #literacy #librarians

[gramarobin]

Breaks my heart these children's books are considered banned 🥺💔

[elloellenoh]

The Dangers of Current Book Bans and Censorship in the US

This movement to ban and soft censor (quietly pull or not purchase) books is extremely dangerous. They are deliberately targeting diverse books, in particular - LGBTQ+ and BIPOC, because this is a movement to silence historically marginalized voices.

The people leading the book banning effort don't want these books in schools, libraries, even bookstores! They are not content to police their own children, but have taken grave overreaching steps to police what ALL youth have access to. But the worst part is the deceptive campaign of lies and misinformation that is used to control a very specific narrative. Books are accused of being porn, grooming, race baiting, fearmongering. But that’s not what it is really about. At the heart of this book banning movement is a desire to take away our youth’s ability to read and empathize with people who are not white, not cis, not straight, not able bodied. It is the most egregious form of othering. It is hammering home to those who do not fall within those labels that they are not part of the American story. Because when they ban LGBTQ+ and BIPOC books as they scream “think of our children!” what they are really saying is they are only interested in protecting a very specific type of child.

These book bans are driven by the larger movement to restrict classroom conversations and lessons about race and LGBTQ+ issues that has been led by certain groups driven by fear and hate in response to the progress made by marginalized voices. It’s not new. There have always been people in power who are afraid of what “losing their power” would look like. They thrive on fear mongering. Fear of the poor, of immigrants, of Black and Indigenous people of color, of those with mental and physical disabilities, of LGBTQ+ people, of all who are not like them. And these days anyone speaking up become the targets of harassment, hate and threats, especially teachers and librarians.

But know that they are targeting schools, and children, because controlling education and our youth is a long game strategy for them. If the impact of racism and bigotry are not taught in the classroom, if books about marginalized kids are censored and unavailable, we risk creating a generation of kids who never learn the value of empathy. And when marginalized kids don’t see themselves in the literature they read, we teach them that they are not valued, not wanted. That they are not equal. And there is no greater devastation to a child than to feel like there is no place for them in the world.

Right now we all need to be aware of what is happening and do whatever we can to speak up, make noise, fight back! There are so many ways you can help. Read articles. Pen America and Book Riot has been following the bans across the country. Take a look at all the books being banned. Support the authors and the books however you can. Go to the library and borrow them. If they are not there, ask them why. Attend local government meetings and make yourself heard! Form banned book clubs. Write to your local school boards, assemblymen, congressmen, let everyone know that banning and censoring these books is wrong! There are both small and big things that everyone can do!

Remember, there is a young person out there who needs one of these books so that they can feel seen and loved and know that they are not alone. That book just might save their life.

[toopaperprince]

My Pygmy Parents' kindle edition is now available for pre-order on Amazon!

'My Pygmy Parents' is a children's picture book that demonstrates co-parenting in LGBTQ+ and other diverse family units.

I wrote this book for my son's Blake and Brody, after struggling to find a book that represented our unique family set up. Which, comprises of three queer parents and three wonderfully supportive individual families! I choose Pygmy Marmosets as our characters as they too show co-parenting skills within the animal kingdom!

'Discover the wholesome world of this Pygmy marmoset clan, brimming with love, laughter, and an extended family that knows no bounds. “My Pygmy Parents" is a celebration of the diversity, warmth, and love found within a truly remarkable family unit.'

The book will be released in July 2024 to coincide with Belfast Pride 🌈

The link to the eBooks pre-order can be found below, please share and like to show your support for diversity and inclusivity !💙💙

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CNXPTF1S/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=10S4KLCUP5YK3&keywords=my+pygmy+parents&qid=1700825178&sprefix=my+pygmy+parents%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-1

[majoringinsarcasm]

People hating on a literal child because she doesn’t physically look like a character in a book who we only ever saw in concept art and fanart vs me who was kinda sad when I realized book Percy wasn’t black because the description of a young boy living in New York who’s close with his single mother parent who is constantly seen as stupid troublemaker by both peers and teachers and his moms awful boyfriend and who’s only friend is the only other Outcast (non white) classmate who’s only ally is the literature teacher who then he finds also has doubts about him felt very if not fully black then at least mixed coded.

But then I moved on and enjoyed the story for what it gave me, can some of these people say the same 🤔

[elleventures]

Collection of Christian Robinson's Illustrations

Happy Saturday!

Recently, I read a picture book by Christian Robinson — You Matter. After reading the book, I was inspired by some of the illustrations within the book. Hence, this week I will like to share some of the art that was created by Christian Robinson who is a children's book illustrator.

Christian Robinson is an American animator and a children's book illustrator.

In his artwork, we can see how fun, bright, and vibrant the colors are. His artwork is also very inclusive and diverse including various types of people — different races, ages, and disabilities — making it engaging for the audience as we feel more represented within his artwork.

[thebeautifulbook]

PRANG’S NATURAL HISTORY SERIES FOR CHILDREN (Boston: L. Prang, c.1878)

[itisiives]

I had bought "And That's Their Family" for my niece and nephews, and they adore it!

[audhdnight]

I really wonder what goes through some peoples heads to see a post taking about all the reasons someone shouldn’t support a certain author (if they cared about racism or Zionism or literally just had any kind of care for other humans) to then comment “I love her books!! 🥰”

We know. And we know why. Choke.

[ebookporn]

They don't say if the diverse books are being put back in the standard assortment or not. Still, a positive outcome.

[memoriallibrarytmc]

Top Ten(ish) Tuesday: TMC Easy #2

The #2 most checked out picture book from TMC Easy last year was... We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom! This book has come up on both the lists (for the TMC in general AND TMC Easy), and it's been popular since it arrived... and with good reason! It's definitely worth sharing in the classroom, for its themes, as well as its award-winning illustrations. There are a lot of great ideas out there for lessons you can teach from it.

[intothestacks]

Adventures in Librarian-ing

So I bought a small box set of Hanukkah books to add to the collection, and when I was reading one of the books to the Grade 2s one of them mentioned that "Mr. Wizard* celebrates Hanukkah!". So I went to ask him about the pronunciation of the word Bubbe to make sure I was saying it right.

We got to talking, and he mentioned that there's a local Jewish library that has a program where kids can get a free book on Judaism every month so I asked him to pass me the contact for the library so I could pick their brain about new books for our collection.

He was like "Sure!" and also said that he'll go over the books he and his kiddos have collected over the years and see if there are any his kids no longer want to donate to the school! :)

I highly recommend Little Red Ruthie: A Hanukkah Tale by Gloria Koster and Hanukkah Bear by Eric Kimmel. The first is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood where she's taking sour cream and jam to make latkes with grandma and she tricks the wolf to overeat latkes and be too full to eat her and granny; the second is a fun story of a granny who's mostly blind and deaf and mistakes a bear for the rabbi who was coming for a visit.

* That's not his real name but the kids call him that because he's got a bigger beard and they think it makes him look like a wizard.

[autumn-tide]

It has learned the limits of monoculture, turned inward in an everlasting round of tedium. Only by accepting the other can it truly find diversion and inspiration

Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Ruin