The conversation around character-and-topic representation has been buzzing since Nancy Larrick’s article, “The All-White World of Children’s Books,” was published on Sept. 11, 1965 in The Saturday Review.
The conversation has evolved beyond inclusion of race and culture to include other underrepresented voices and identity elements related to body type, faith, mental and physical disabilities, gender identity, refugee status, sexual orientation, etc. Censorship and book bans are increasingly pushing back.
Please note that this page tends to highlight proportionally more children’s and young adult literature from the United States than other nations simply because the site authors are most well acquainted with that category. However, we welcome and encourage site visitors to let us know about great resources for books from around the world.
Overview (More Recent Resources)
Awards Discussion Fodder: Thoughts on Stereotypes by Allie Jane Bruce from Reading While White.
Bookbird: A Journal of International Children’s Literature, a refereed journal published quarterly by IBBY.
Books in the Home: “Mommy, Do I Have White Skin?” Skin Color, Family, and Picture Books by Julie Hakim Azzam from The Horn Book.
Decolonizing Nostalgia: When Historical Fiction Betrays Readers of Color by Sarah Hanna Gomez from The Horn Book. PEEK: “I took what I could from these books I enjoyed, but each book left me with even more of a desire to find everyday historical fiction that would help build up my collective memory instead of telling me I had none.”
Diversifying Your Classroom Books Collection? Avoid These 7 Pitfalls from Kara Newhouse from KQED. PEEK: “…seven pitfalls to avoid when deciding what to leave in and out, accompanied by more than 50 title recommendations based on conversations in this piece to help kickstart the journey.”
Diversity in Book Publishing Isn’t Just About Writers – Marketing Matters, Too, by Jean Ho from NPR.ed.”
Finding the Lost Voices With YA Historical Fiction by Pia Ceres from Lee & Low Books.
How Canada Publishes So Many Diverse Children’s Books by Ken Setterington from School Library Journal.
Kirkus Collections: “…helps librarians build and continually update collections curated with both literary merit and thematic issues in mind. Our inaugural lists focus on diversity in children’s and young adult literature and are the result of a process that builds on the diverse voices of Kirkus’ children’s and YA reviewers, who have reviewed more than 50,000 books over a 30-year period, and the work of the editors of Kirkus Reviews, with added input from a team of diversity experts who help ensure that our selections meet modern standards of sensitivity and respect.”
Meeting Characters in Caldecotts: What Does This Mean for Today’s Readers by Miriam Martinez, Melanie D. Kross, and Nancy J. Johnson from The Reading Teacher (International Literary Association). PEEK: “…during the last 15 years of the Caldecott, no Asian or Native American characters have been represented. There has only been one Latino/a main character. In the last five years, only two books were set outside the United States; both were biographies set in the past.So, there has been no representation of contemporary life in countries outside the United States.” SEE ALSO Diversity in Contemporary Picture Books: A Content Analysis by Melanie D. Kross from Journal of Children’s Literature (The Children’s Literature Assembly).
Mirrors? Windows? How About Prisms? by Uma Krishnaswami from Writing with a Broken Tusk.
Reading While Black (Or, For Colored Children Who Considered Literary Suicide When the Rainbow Wasn’t Enough) by Ibi Zoboi form Reading While White. PEEK: “There’s a certain truth that only a writer telling her own story can bring. From that deep place of lived experience comes validation—a clear, sharpened focus on the specificity of human existence.”
Reading While White: “working for racial diversity and inclusion in books for children and teens.”
Research on Diversity in Youth Literature: a “peer-reviewed, online, open-access journal hosted by St. Catherine University’s Master of Library and Information Science Program and University Library.” PEEK: “The mission of Research on Diversity in Youth Literature is to publish scholarship attending to issues of diversity, equity, social justice, inclusion, and intersectionality in youth literature, culture, and media.”
Rich In Color: “dedicated to reading, reviewing, talking about, and otherwise promoting young adult books (fiction and non-fiction) starring or written by people of color or people from First/Native Nations.”
Research on Diversity in Youth Literature from St. Catherine’s University. PEEK: “…committed to providing space for urgent conversations affecting underrepresented communities, and specifically communities disproportionately affected by violence.”
Social Justice Books: A Teaching for Change Project. PEEK: “The best selection of multicultural and social justice books for children, YA, and educators.”
Standing Up for the Vulnerable by Mary E. Cronin from Project Mayhem.
Stop Calling Popular Tropes in YA Novels “Overused” by Arriel Vinson from We Need Diverse Books. PEEK: “[T]here is…now more space for writers of color in the publishing world to play around with tropes….[Kristina Forest:] ‘I don’t think a trope can be overdone if writers of color haven’t had the chance to incorporate tropes into their own novels, let alone have their novels published.’”
There’s No Secret to Writing About People Who Do Not Look Like You by Brandon Taylor from Literary Hub.
We Need Diverse Books…But Are We Willing to Discuss Them With Our Kids by Betsy Bird from A Fuse 8 Production at School Library Journal. PEEK: “according to NurtureShock it isn’t enough to just plop your child in what you assume will be a color-blind environment. As the book says, ‘We might imagine we’re creating color-blind environments for children, but differences in skin color or hair or weight are like differences in gender – they’re plainly visible.'”
When Defending Your Writing Becomes Defending Yourself from NPR.
When Publishing and Reviewing Diverse Books, Is Expertise Overrated? by Jason Low from School Library Journal.
White Fragility by Justine Larbalestier from Reading While White.
What Makes a High-Quality Diverse Text and How to Get These Texts Into Your Classroom by Jill Eisenberg from Achieve the Core. PEEK: “Our classroom library bookshelves and mentor texts should feel intentional, purposeful, and transforming; to that end, many educators and administrators are eager to infuse more culturally responsive, multicultural, and inclusive stories into the classroom….Adding more culturally responsive and relevant books to your instruction does not have to be overwhelming, expensive, or time intensive.”