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Sunday, November 13, 2016

Wrapping Our Children in Picturebook Love


credit: Jarrett Krosoczka @studiojjk
The #hugsfromkidlit movement on social media has gained serious traction over the past couple of days.  Whether we are teachers, librarians, parents, or book creators, we all want to create a safe space for our children.  One way we do that is with the books we feature and share with our students.  We recently contributed to a post on Book People’s blog about building a thoughtful library.  You can see the full post here: https://bookpeopleblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/07/modern-first-library-starting-the-conversation-with-aisd-educators/  In the post we discussed how a book can be a spark for deeper thinking and open up conversations about a wide range of topics.  The books we choose for our collections are opportunities. Opportunities for children to learn how to share and spread kindness.  Opportunities for children to see others that are the same, and different from them.  Opportunities to learn how to help others who might be feeling lonely or scared.  By opening the door to these conversations, children have a safe space to discuss situations that might seem difficult or scary, and figure out what they can do to help others.  When we share diverse books with children, they see themselves, and others, in important positions.

credit: Lauren Castillo @studiocastillo
Librarians can be a great resource when teaching children about diversity, tolerance, and empathy.  They can help parents and teachers gather books and resources that will teach and empower their children to be better friends and citizens.  By teaching our children about tolerance and empathy, children will feel more empowered when they see someone being mistreated.  In order to begin this empowerment, school and public library collections, as well as personal library collections need to be diverse.  At the end of this post, you will find a digital advocacy story that was created for librarians, teachers, and parents to explain the need for a diverse library.

We have collected a few books we believe are important to share with our kids.  Many have been included both for how they embrace diversity as well as how they build empathy and empower children.  Some of them were chosen simply because they are about spreading love in the world. We recognize that this list is by no means complete.  We encourage you to use the comments section on this blog post to continue the list.  Help us fill our libraries with rich and meaningful books.

Reading books about sensitive topics requires us to tune into our own perspectives and biases.  If we feel uncomfortable to approach these books and conversations, we must seek our own truths. Courage to have an authentic moment before, during, and after reading “door opening” books can have transformative effects for individual children and the classroom community as a whole.





Book List:




Author and Illustrator: Salina Yoon
Treat others how you think they would want to be treated

Author: James Howe
Illustrator: Laura Ellen Anderson
Finding connections despite differences and standing up for one another.

Author: Laurie Ann Thompson
Illustrator:  Sean Qualls
A true story of adversity and perseverance

Author: Kevin Diller
Illustrator:  Justin Lowe
Octicorn is a little bit different, but he just wants to be included.

Author: Vera B. Williams
Illustrator: Chris Raschka
A child finds safety in this story of adoption.

Author: Reem Faruqi
Illustrator: Lea Lyon
A story of Ramadan, courage, and acceptance

Author: Matt de la Pena
Illustrator: Christian Robinson
Giving back to community, Being Thankful for what you have

Authors: F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell
Illustrator: Rafael Lopez
Even small children can have a big impact on a community

Author: Jim Averbeck
Illustrator: Yasmeen Ismail
Creativity, perseverance, and adaptability make Sophia a strong character.

Author: Jeri Watts
Illustrator: Hyewon Yum
An immigration story about holding on to tradition in a new home

Author: JonArno Lawson
Illustrator: Sydney Smith
Small gestures of kindness are transformative

Author: Lisa Mantchev
Illustrator: Taeeun Yoo
Kindness and inclusion are at the heart of this story.

Authors: Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah and Kelly DiPucchio
Illustrator: Tricia Tusa
A tale of friendship and learning tolerance and understanding

Author:Jairo Buitrago
Illustrator: Rafael Yockteng
An immigration journey through the eyes of a child

Author: J.J. Austrian
Illustrator: Mike Curato
Love is love.

Here are some helpful links to aid you in building diverse libraries: 
http://booksthathealkids.blogspot.com/  (look at the links on the right side)
http://weneeddiversebooks.org/where-to-find-diverse-books/ (multiple links to different resources and award lists)
http://www.ncte.org/awards/charlotte-huck NCTE's Charlotte Huck Book Award


Courtney made this digital presentation about the importance of building libraries with diverse texts.



Courtney Ewing worked with us on this blog post. She is a 2nd grade teacher at Casis Elementary. She has taught for 10 years and is currently getting her masters at Texas Women’s University in Library and Information Sciences.
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