Stepping Up

This week's Google alerts brought to my attention two instances where others are stepping up to highlight books featuring diversity to children. While many of the articles I've been alerted to often criticize the lack of diversity amongst the books that are published, today's post features one organization and one individual promoting the materials that are available in two unique ways. 

The first alert shares news of a fresh spin on the original concept of Little Free Libraries. Little Free Libraries are most widely known for their grassroots endeauvour of using cute wooden houses where individuals stock and access free books.The new initiative, called Read in Color, was born in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. The goal of Read in Color is to distribute books featuring diverse perspectives on a wide range of topics such as racism and social injustice and celebrate BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) and LGTBQ literature. The program will begin in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota and expand nationwide throughout the year. 

Little Free Library steward and New York high school counselor Sarah Kamya states, "I truly believe that we have to teach about race and differences and a lot of that starts at home, and through books. I also find it important for books to represent diverse characters because if you can't see it, you can't be it." Kamya built upon the original concept of the Little Free Library to launch Little Free Diverse Libraries in hopes of fostering opportunities for children and youth to engage in conversations about race related issues in our country. 

The next alert features an 11-year-old girl using her personal Instagram account to showcase, promote, and celebrate books with black characters. Sixth graders Ainara Alleyne shares that her IG page, Ainara's Bookshelf, posts reviews, recommendations, and interviews with authors to share diverse stories with diverse readers. Ainara states, "I would never be able to see a Black girl doing something really cool, being an astronaut or something like that. And the only time I would ever see Black people in books in the library would be Black History Month, and it would be all about slavery... or hurtful stereotypes."

She goes on to state, "I wanted kids to actually be able to see themselves in books and believe that they can do amazing things, too." For her efforts, Ainara was recently presented with a "Women Who Rock Award," which recognizes Black women and girls for their leadership.

Often, I think, many of us have such a hard time getting an initiative off the ground because it seems so big and overwhelming. Both of these stories show that even a small idea can have a profound impact. 

Reading Fun in Any Language

Rainbow Preschool pupils Henry Third (2) and Mia Tuilaepa (4) look at some of the new books given to the early learning centre by the Communities of Readers Project. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON

Of the Google Alerts I received this week, one from New Zealand really validated and intensified my collection development goals as an elementary librarian. Published on November 3, 2020 in Otago Daily Times, author John Lewis highlights a collaborative effort to bring books in languages other than English to an increasingly diverse population. Through this initiative, the National Library, Ministry of Education, Dunedin City Council, and others, partnered with the Community of Readers Project to address the need for their community. The project is slated to deliver 10,000 books in a variety of languages to early learning centers and other community organizations in the South Dunedin area. Kristen Glengarry, Dunedin City Council Arts and Culture relationship manager, states, "There's a realisation that, if we want to encourage children to read in a range of languages and find their own language, too." Echoing those statements, National Librarian Bill McNaught shares that reading provides important foundational skills in digital and critical literacies that are crucial for navigating today's complex informationally-driven society. 

When I worked as an ESL teacher, I believed whole-heartedly that students need to continue to develop their native language skills. My primary goal was to develop multiple language literacies. But, finding books in languages other than English is a real challenge. And if they are available, cost is often prohibitive to develop the collection as extensively as I would like to. Maximizing the limited budget I have is a priority. Regardless of limited resources and funds, it is important to remain vigilant as collection managers and developers that we work to meet the unique learning needs of ALL of our learners in ANY language. 

Lewis, John. Reading is Fun in Any Language. 2 Nov. 2020, www.odt.co.nz/news/reading-fun-any-language.

The Demand for Diversity

 This week's alerts were slim pickings... seems like there was other news bigger than diversity in children's literature on everyone's minds. Ha ha! Despite all the other news going on in the world, one article did pique my interest. The article titled, "High demand for diversity in children's literature" was published by Iowa State Daily on November 1, 2020 and was updated on November 2, 2020. Written by Natanga Safi the article highlights much of what has been said in most of the published work I've reviewed... students need to see themselves in text to connect as a reader, lack of representation is underscored by lack of minority authors and limited minority authors actually being published. However, this is the first article that identifies how teacher preparation programs are beginning to address these issues. According to the article, literature courses at Iowa State are beginning to highlight the importance of the "windows, mirrors, sliding glass door" concept first coined by Rudine Sims Bishop. This was the first I had heard of this term, so to investigate further I clicked on the links included in the article. 

The first link I explored brought me to an article titled, "Windows and Mirrors and Sliding Glass Doors: Ensuring Students See Themselves and Others in Literature" posted on the website Institute for Humane Education. Guest blogger Cathy Porter shares Dr. Bishop's work in underscoring the point that it’s crucial for children from marginalized groups to view themselves in the books they read.  Citing Bishop's essay, Porter shares, "When books don’t serve as mirrors to children", Bishop says, “They learn a powerful lesson about how they are devalued in society. In addition to acting as mirrors, books can also serve as windows that give readers a glimpse into the lives and experiences of others."

While understanding the numbers associated with how little diversity is represented in children's literature and knowing innately the need, the metaphor of Bishop's Windows, Mirrors, and Glass Doors really highlights how necessary it is to have representation of all students available amongst our library collections. 

The final resource that I will use in my role as a librarian was linked within Porter article. The article shares five resources for educators, including tips for teachers and librarians for not only building diverse library collections but promoting those materials so that all students can use those materials as windows, mirrors, and glass doors.