We NEED (and are starting to get) Diverse Books

I'm sure you've seen the statistics. Diversity in books still isn't that great. I'm trying to be more mindful of posting a wider diversity of books here on this blog to help you all support authors, illustrators, and publishers who commit to this hard work. In 2019, Lee and Low published this graphic.

Room for improvement, right? I know that even though better and more diverse books are starting to increase, if the information was released for 2020, it might not look much better. That's where you come in. When you buy and read and gift and review books that aren't overrepresented, there is more of a demand for these books. YOU and ME. WE have the power to move the pie slices on this chart.

Here are some resources for you to get you started.

Lee and Low is a publisher whose mission is, "...to actively address the dearth of multicultural children’s books in the marketplace and make a special effort to work with unpublished authors of color." This year, they celebrate 30 years of making this mission come true. Buy their books!

The Conscious Kid "We are an education, research, and policy organization dedicated to equity and promoting healthy racial identity development in youth. We support organizations, families, and educators in taking action to disrupt racism in young children." 

Pro tip? Their instagram account is an infinite resource of great books, authors, and resources for teachers and parents.

We Need Diverse Books an, "...organization of children’s book lovers that advocates essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people." There are so many great resources here.

An amazing way to honor Black History Month would be to look beyond the books you know and find something new.