I was recently chatting with a teacher friend of mine who was sharing she had a child of a single dad and her frustration in the lack of book to represent this family structure. The child had confided in her they wished they could see themselves in stories and my friend had asked me if I had any recommendations for her, but sadly I had only a few to share which got me reflecting. One of my passions and foundational beliefs as a parent and an educator is the salience of a diverse bookshelf. I am always looking to use stories to discuss world issue with my own children and this is a strategy I employed in my classroom as a teacher. Within the comfort of a story children can ask questions, understand world issues and address assumptions and stereotypes. I am lucky to have worked with an excellent Librarian, Phelia who has dramatically overhauled the books available in our library and showed students multiple representations in her library lessons. Whilst we may want a story that focuses on specific issues faced by others around the world, such as a muslim girl wearing her hijab such as the Proudest Blue or a trans girl's first experience of school, as in Phoenix Goes to School, stories can be a fundamental way to see minorities encountering similar problems and having comparable experiences as the reader themselves, which can be a significant way to reduce stereotypes. Resources I have used to diversify my bookshelf is the Sustainable Development Goals Book Club list - see the website here and a PDF of their resources in multiple languages here. I have also just come across this Inclusive Books for Children website that groups books into specific categories to help representation, particularly for younger readers.
Personally, I still want to ensure I have a wider selection of neurodiverse characters in my bookshelf, we can always do more to be inclusive, but I am proud of my youngest child who has been reading books like this from a very young age and is very much an activist. My little piece of action research considering my children shows the impact books can have - a tool to build compassion - something in my opinion this world is severely in need of developing.
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AuthorEmma Ahmed is a learning coach and curriculum coordinator at International Schools. Archives
September 2023
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