It is definitely fall. We have cooler nights, changing leaves and many are working hard to figure out remote learning in this 7th month of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I want to write a bit about diversity, and more specifically, diversity in children’s books. First, a definition from various sources-Diversity encompasses those differences that make us unique – race, color, ethnicity, language, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, gender, socio-economic status, age, physical and mental ability, cultural traditions and more.
Raising children to be aware of differences is important for their understanding of the richness each person can bring to their lives. Sesame Street Workshop has a wonderful book We’re Different, We’re the Same that speaks to the uniqueness of people as well as how people are also the same in terms of needs, desires, hopes, feelings and more. The more we know about how we are alike and how we are different, the more we understand others and the world around us.
Providing children with books and toys that feature a variety of people sends them a critical message about diversity, and acts as a stimulus for important conversations about how we are unique and how we are the same.
Our ROR-KC book library is proudly filled with books that illustrate the diversity of people and traditions. We know that it is important for children to see characters that look like them! Please see the graphic below that describes the limited availability of titles that feature characters that are Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other peoples of color.
Thank you and as always, wear your masks, wash your hands, and don’t touch your face, as you keep yourself and your dear ones safe in these Corona times.
-Sallie Page-Goertz, MN, APRN, CPNP, IBCLC