March Connected Voices

March is National Reading Month which gives us an important opportunity to encourage reading every day and to foster a love of books for children across the country.

The National Association of Educators (NEA) promotes Read Across America as an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading with the theme: Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers. 

The NEA strives to make sure that every student has access to age-appropriate books that show they are reflected and respected.

What Are Diverse Children’s Books?

Text that represents categories such as religion, race, ethnicity, social groups, families, gender, and ability identity. 

Why Are Diverse Books Important?

Rudine Sims Bishop uses "Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors" as an analogy to discuss the importance of diversity in books and the authors who write them.

We need books in which children can see reflections of themselves – but also look through and see other worlds. A mirror offers a reflection of the child which shows a child just like them.

A window offers a chance to see through into another world where characters may be different than them.

Sliding glass doors give the child an opportunity to enter a world that is different than their usual experiences.

For these reasons, diversity goes both ways. Bishop says, “it is not just children who have been underrepresented and marginalized who need these books, it is also the children who always find their mirrors in the books.”

See a video of her speaking here.

Where Can I Find Diverse Books?

You can inspire and engage children with books that reflect their experiences and expand their horizons.

Find links to lists of diverse books for children here: 

Birth – Age 5: Click Here

All Ages: Click Here

At SCIMHA, we know that babies come into this world ready and wired to form relationships. 

From the moment of birth, children are forming connections, developing social responses, and learning about themselves and the world around them.

What better time to snuggle up with a diverse book and expose them to the mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors of their future?

Until next month, keep on reading and keep on snuggling!

-Teresa Creech

Family & Community Outreach Coordinator, Help Me Grow SC