Inclusion: We Need Diverse Books

"It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity 

there is beauty and there is strength."

--Maya Angelou 

I love children's literature! Since I was a kid I enjoyed reading--and some of my favorite memories are about getting lost in a good book and feeling like I was in an adventure. I saw myself in the characters. I dreamed about the faraway settings. My world expanded because I was interested. Even though I knew loving reading helped me go through school--I didn't realize the impact of those books on my success until I became a teacher, realizing that my students also needed to see themselves--needed to get lost in a good book.

Near the beginning of the our MRP year, we were introduced to the concept of mirrors and windows. While this wasn't a new concept for me, I really wanted to take on actively seeking diverse children's literature throughout the year. My desire was/is to find books that represented and interested my students--impressing upon my students that who they are matters. It really took critical thinking and supplementing what literacy curriculum has been presented this year. It took a growth mindset for myself to discover what really engaged my kindergarteners and heightened their learning not only the objectives but a genuine love to read and write.

This year as I've mentioned previously, I have been working on a Master of Arts in Holistic Health from St. Catherine. While I was on campus heading to research, I noticed a case that caught my eye. It had a few children's books and then posted statistics. The poster below caught my attention as this visual demonstrated what I, as a student and teacher, experienced--extreme disproportion in who is represented in children's books. Coming across this case and being once again startled sparked once again a commitment to seek out meaningful, representative books for my students. It takes not only a commitment, but action and reminders to rejuvenate and research what is best for our students.

After seeing the above poster I sought out some more research, and found more recent studies (below).

I also shared this with my research team. For the past year and a half, we have been asking the question: What are the American Indian/First Nations perspectives on healing the soul wound of Historical Trauma? To answer, even to ask this question, took extensive research and self reflection. Wisdom that arose from our talking circle of American Indians indicated the need for a sense of belonging. Having representation and acknowledgement of one's culture is a human need--and as a teacher I see how that need is not being met on a grand scale. Therefore in my classroom I dedicate time, energy and effort into finding representational books. Below I've included some of my student's recent favorites and a reason why I've used them in our classroom:

This affirming story represents a Jenna, a Native American girl, who loves the tradition of jingle dancing. Jenna relies on her family and community to help her prepare to dance at the next powwow. This beautiful children's book written by Cynthia Leitich Smith, who is a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation and a New York Times best-selling author. She writes stories to demonstrate contemporary American Indian life. This book sparked joy especially for one of my Dakota students who also wishes to be a dancer.

Focusing on quieting the internal voice that undermines dreams (related to our SEL self-talk lessons), Caldecott Medalist Diane Dillon wrote this book to encourage girls and boys to be anything they want to be. The backstory of Dillon is also intriguing as her and her late husband Leo were told they couldn't write books together because they were an interracial couple. This book beautifully set the stage for one of our writer's workshop to write an opinion about what you want to do when you grow up. Books such as this elevate a child's confidence and enthusiasm for learning!

The following link is a video to how I taught this lesson: I Can Do Anything, Don't Tell Me I Can't! It was an inspired lesson after I attended an event of Indigenous Women Writer's at the Carondelet  Center at St. Catherine University. The panel was an inspiring evening of writers who encouraged diverse writers to tell their story. In the future I will be on the lookout especially for Hmong writers as I have several Hmong students in my class. Even though we celebrated the Hmong New Year, I want to have more representation of everyday life.