How to Diversify your Book Shelf!

Have you ever picked up a book and decided it wasn’t something your child would connect to? Whether it seemed outside their comfort zone as readers or you thought the topic or story would be difficult for your kiddo to understand, it’s easy to “otherize” books based on what we think our kids “should” connect to. 
    If you’ve followed along with us for a while you know that we often talk about Windows and Mirrors. Children need books to be windows – “...they will see that we can celebrate both our differences and our similarities, because together they are what make us all human”. (Sims Bishop, 2015). This is why having diverse bookshelves is important. 

Here are a few tips to help diversify your bookshelf: 

• Make An Effort
  Take a quick look at what your books say. Separate them based on what you notice in the main characters or topic of the story. Do you have one larger pile then the other? Are there some repetitive themes and story types (ie: Fairytales and fantasy)? When you see what you have, it’s easier to identify what and who is missing from your library. 
  
• Make it Normal
  Be intentional with the books you purchase. Don’t purchase to teach your kids about another culture explicitly (ie: this is what it looks like to be from ____). Pick up books that celebrate the joy of other’s cultures. That are windows into their celebrations through authentic storylines. For example, the character of a story just so happens to be South Asian and Lunar New Year is part of the story centered around friendship and Kindness. Or it is a book that just so happens to feature a same sex couple as the parents of a young family, like in bathe the cat. Find everyday inspiration that feature diverse characters. 
  
• Seek out Lists
  Use lists created by various authors, bloggers and publishers alike. We Need Diverse Books is a great place to start. We also love insights given by @MrSchuReads & @Kidlit  . Bookopolis also offers great booklists with kid approved reviews. 
  

The balance of creating a diverse book shelf is challenging, and there is no “perfect book shelf” or library. There are SO many challenges within the Kid Lit industry from lack of own voiced stories to the misrepresentations of characters based on archaic stereotypes. These are hard barriers and walls for oneself to break down. A general tip would be to avoid sharing diverse literature only for teachable moments, as well as avoiding just picking books to create a large volumed library of diverse literature. You want to create something that is robust and meaningful for your family. 

This isn’t easy, trust us, we don’t always get it right, and sometimes revisit titles we’ve purchased, wondering what were we thinking. Everyone has a story and each story is meaningful in its own right. So let’s take a minute to celebrate the complexities of life and when doing so, you might as well enjoy them together as a family.