These 3rd graders will help you diversify your kids’ summer reading lists.
Summer is finally here, and with it the annual challenge: How do we keep kids reading?
Many schools have reading challenges. Your local library likely has resources along with help from places like Scholastic, Edutopia and others.
If nothing else, you can always provide your students with a list of suggested reads. But, before you do, take an inventory of the titles on the list. Do they reflect the diversity in your classroom, school, and larger community?
In the words of Rudine Sims Bishop, our children need books that serve as mirrors and windows. Their books should allow children to see something of themselves in them, while also teaching them about new people or places. As a teacher who mainly serves students of color, I have always pushed myself to find as many “mirror” books as possible within the sea of mostly white characters and authors.
My class has been receiving Scholastic Book Club reading catalogs all year, and we’ve been less than impressed by the lack of racial diversity. So I was skeptical when I came across their summer reading book list. I looked it over quickly, and found 10 books featuring characters of color. 10 out of 45 books listed is better than my students and I had come to expect, but it’s far from ideal considering that more than half of our country’s K-12 population is Black, Latino or Asian.
Luckily, there are organizations like Teaching for Change who make it their mission to provide diverse and social justice-oriented texts for all ages. Their 2016 Summer Reading List is a much needed antidote to the overwhelming whiteness presented by most children’s books resources out there.
If you’re looking for reviews straight from students themselves, however, I can offer you another option.
In the fall, when my students learned about the lack of diversity in kids’ literature we decided to do something about it: we wrote book reviews of ou Your favorite books featuring characters of color. The result is a blog called We Read Diverse Books — in honor of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign.
My students’ goal was to show the world that characters of color matter. Additionally, we hoped to share our favorite stories with characters of color to help other readers searching for more diverse stories. And, finally, these reviews are a message to libraries, book stores and publishers: We want more diverse books! It’s good to have some fantastic stories featuring characters of color, but we want and need many more!
Some of the books you’ve likely heard of, like Ezra Jack Keats’ Peter’s Chair or Jacqueline Woodson’s The Other Side. Hopefully you’ll find a few that are new to you as well — maybe Nikki Grimes’ Almost Zero or Jacqueline Jules’ Zapato Power series.
My students’ reviews are imperfect, but they are honest. They’re the real opinions of my third grade class, and I couldn’t be prouder. I hope you appreciate them and that they introduce you to a new favorite character or author.
Read the students’ book reviews here!
Picture Books
- Allie’s Basketball Dream by Barbara E. Barber
- Big Bushy Mustache by Gary Soto
- Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio
- Jamaica Tag-Along (Jamaica Series) by Juanita Havill
- Ling and Ting Share a Birthday (Ling and Ting Series) by Grace Lin
- The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
- Pet Show by Ezra Jack Keats
- Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats
- Saturday at the New You by Barbara E. Barber
- The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Chapter Books
- Almost Zero (Dyamonde Daniel series) by Nikki Grimes
- Freddie Ramos Springs into Action (Zapato Power Series) by Jacqueline Jules
- Freddie Ramos Takes Off (Zapato Power Series) by Jacqueline Jules
- Inky the Indigo Fairy (Rainbow Magic Series) by Daisy Meadows
- Max Loves Muñecas by Zetta Elliott
- My Name is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada
If you appreciate these reviews, please comment on them and share!
Want to listen in on EmbraceRace’s conversation with a multicultural children’s books expert about diversity, developing critical reading skills in kids, and how she chooses quality books for HER 9 and 6 year-olds? Check out Kids, books, windows, mirrors… & MAGIC!
If this piece struck a chord with you, please consider recommending it so others might discover it. Thank you.
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