Children's Books discussion

I'm all for making sure kids read about kids from other countries and cultures, of course. But I'm not sure we're effectively focusing our efforts to draw attention to enough good books on the subjects.

It's true that we have some OwnVoices threads, and they help.

But maybe we need more of them or something.

Because the emphasis on holidays seems to me to act as an 'othering.' People who celebrate holidays that are unfamiliar to us may seem 'exotic' to us. And face it, most days are ordinary.

I'd like to see more books about ordinary kids from around the world being like our kids and having ordinary experiences, so that our kids can see them as neighbors, cousins, instead of 'other.'

For example, the universal reluctance of small children to go to bed is gloriously shared by Rachel Isadora in I Just Want to Say Good Night.

And the universal desire for toys with wheels is shared in Galimoto by Karen Lynn Williams.

Am I making any sense? What do you think?

Hooray! I've been thinking we need a home for all the diverse books that are NOT specifically banned or challenged. Of course I have those lists too. I'll post some of my favorites, many of which appear on ridiculous lists of blanket bans of diverse resources.

Such as, Scholastic's Share Every Story Case
https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/We...

One I read last night
Yaffa and Fatima: Shalom, Salaam
Two women, one Jewish and one Muslim are the best of neighbors. They work hard gathering dates, they both care for their communities and for each other, often sharing food. They celebrate their religion in the same ways: praying, fasting, feasting and wishing each other peace. One year when there is very little drain, each woman is independently selfless and caring for her neighbor more than herself.

I specifically read this one and I know one member here who will love it. Every high school and college kid needs to download this and read it. The illustrations are not really to my liking but the story is wonderful.

More to come.

Some others I have read that fit the category. I know I have more that are NOT on the banned/challenged lists.

Same, Same But Different
Hush! A Thai Lullaby
Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog
The Sound of Silence
Cannonball

Kids who happen to be kids of color

Jabari Jumps
Dumpling Soup
Dim Sum for Everyone!
Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match / Marisol McDonald no combina
Cece Loves Science
Thank You, Omu!
Saturday
Amazing Grace
Early Sunday Morning
Alma and How She Got Her Name
Love To Mamá: A Tribute To Mothers
When the Cousins Came
Niño Wrestles the World

Other diverse books
The Purim Superhero (Jewish kid with two dads)
All Are Welcome
All the World

Families

The Family Book
A Family Is a Family Is a Family

LGBTQ+ families where it's not an issue

Stella Brings the Family
Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle
Mommy, Mama, and Me
My Two Dads and Me
My Two Moms and Me

QNPoohBear wrote: "Hooray! I've been thinking we need a home for all the diverse books that are NOT specifically banned or challenged. Of course I have those lists too. I'll post some of my favorites, many of which a..."

Sadiqa [Pooh's Arabic name],
You are the best for reminding me that I received Yaffa and Fatima Salaam Shalom as a Ramadan gift two years ago. And since I've just decided that all my Ramadan-gift books ought to be stored in the same place, I know EXACTLY where this is.
Yours for peace,
Farah Q.
PS. I plan to complete a different diverse [preferably containing but not limited to ASOS, Christian, or Judaic books] dossier in the ''summer'' between years at Sulwe Academy or whatever pseudoschool I am attending.

When Lola Visits
Anyone with a beloved grandparent and special family traditions can relate to this one.

Farah
Yaffa and Fatima should be required reading right now. If I had read it sooner, I would have tracked down a copy for my teenage niece.

I found this list of children's books by Muslim authors.
https://www.theconsciouskid.org/musli...

I've read some of them that don't quite fit the theme of this thread but others might. I will visit the library again tomorrow. They had a nice display of new diverse books.

I guess that you two have whole-heartedly said that Yes, Cheryl's on to something important. So, um, thank you. But:

I didn't mean this as a theme or list, that's Kathryn's role. I meant to open discussion/ conversation, and maybe broaden it beyond what I was striving to say.

At the community library I walk to, the most diverse books are categorized as "our world" and "community" with some under "growing up." They feature children of all the colors under the rainbow and a range of topics from ordinary kids doing ordinary things to subjects like the Civil Rights Movement and the stories of commonly marginalized peoples. Growing up has a lot of LGBTQ+ books and some books about kids of color who just happen to be kids of color.

The one I chose today was Hands Up! which I will now review in the banned and challenged picture books section.

Interesting!

Very interesting topic! I like that Cheryl brought up the universal themes that all kids experience growing up. As far as diversity goes, yes, there's the obvious race and religion, but also all kids experience the diversity of fitting in due to financial circumstances (not being able to afford what other kids have), where they live in the community, their physical capabilities or looks, and even what their interests are (chess club vs hockey team, for instance).
When my daughter comes home from school, her stories of her day usually revolve around those diversities of her peers and how she perceives them.

Economic diversity books go under "community" as well, I think.
A Bike Like Sergio's is a good book to read with kids who envy those who have more expensive material goods. Maribeth Boelts also wrote Those Shoes which has the same theme. Reading these books with the "haves" will also help those kids develop empathy and hopefully teach them not to make a big deal over the latest cool new whatever it is their parents can afford to buy them.

Thanks! Darren, how old is your daughter? Is the school diverse on the metric of race/culture?

Hey Cheryl - my daughter is 7, and her school is very diverse. They explore traditions from all cultures. A few weeks ago they learned about Dewali, which she absolutely loved!

Neat! Thank you for sharing!

Norah Dooley's Everybody Cooks Rice, Everybody Serves Soup, Everybody Bakes Bread and Everybody Brings Noodles are nicely multicultural and also have the recipes for the foods being showcased presented. I have thus far read Everybody Serves Soup and Everybody Bakes Bread and while I am not a huge fan of the Peter J. Thornton's pictures, text and images work well together and the story and cookbook combination is very nice and very successful.

And while I have not read Everybody Brings Noodles, I really liked Everybody Serves Soup and Everybody Bakes Bread and I also do NOT think that Everybody Cooks Rice is ethnically problematic because Carrie says that Vietnamese fish sauce tastes interesting as some other reviewers are claiming.

I also like picture books that are multicultural but do not at all textually point this out and just tell a lovely story. For example, in Sonya's Chickens, Sonya is biracial but that her family is biracial is only shown in the illustrations and is never mentioned in the text, that first and foremost, Sonya's family is just a typical farming family (and I love how Sonya's father gently explains to his daughter that foxes are predators).

Pride Puppy!


So even though Pride Puppy!'s alphabet book format is rather standard in set-up and as such a pretty traditional abecedarian in many ways, Robin Stevenson's words and Julie McLaughlin's art do delightfully and wonderfully present a rich narrational and illustrative portrait of absolute diversity and total inclusion (and delightfully focused around a curious and energetic dog who just wants to experience everything and thus slips off their leash). Pride Puppy! totally makes me smile, although the fact that author Robin Stevenson has been receiving death threats is of course NOT funny but infuriating.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea
Two kids get a playground built at their apartment building with sheer determination and hard work. (One of those kids happens to be Kamala Harris but it's not about her specifically).

We Are the Rainbow!: The Colors of Pride


We Are the Rainbow!: The Colors of Pride is a thoughtfully inclusive, all-encompassingly diverse and engaging 2022 board book, with Claire Winslow's simple but profound text and Riley Samels' gorgeously expressive and colourful accompanying images for We Are the Rainbow!: The Colors of Pride delightfully and nicely warmly presenting and featuring the values attached to the colours of the Pride flag and as they relate (or rather should relate) not only to children, but of course equally so to adults (to basically everyone) anywhere and everywhere on earth (regarding age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, ability, motility, likes, dislikes etc.).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...