U.S. readers of all ages will celebrate Multicultural Children's Book Day on Saturday, January 27.
Five years ago in 2014, teachers and educators from Jump Into A Book and PragmaticMom presented their very first January 27 Multicultural Children's Book Day as a way of celebrating diversity in children's books.
The result was overwhelming, as authors, publishers, parents, teachers, bloggers and librarians joined forces to present an online event designed to shine the spotlight on diversity in children's literature.
Our mission is to not only raise awareness for the kid's books that celebrate diversity, but to get more of these of books into classrooms and libraries.
Thanks to their sponsors, book review bloggers and thousands of readers, Multicultural Children's Book Day 2014 achieved its goal of highlighting all of the amazing multicultural children's books available to young readers, teachers, librarians and parents worldwide.
What is a multicultural book?
Multicultural children's books are:
- Books that contain characters of colour, as well as characters that represent a minority point of view;
- Books that share ideas, stories, and information about cultures, race, religion, language, and traditions;
- Books that embrace our world and offer children new ways to connect to a diverse and richer world.
Our total social media shares for three days of our 2017 event (on the day before, day of and day after Multicultural Children's Book Day) were an astounding 3.6-billion!
Watch for the #ReadYourWorld hashtag on social media.
"It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength." Maya Angelou.
Reading puts us in touch with our humanity
Reading and access to diverse books offer children a safe door towards real life; towards what life is or how it could be; towards the lives of people from different nations and cultures. Towards different kinds of struggles, emotions and ideals; how and why are they like or unlike our own.
Reading expands children's levels of empathy and broadens their minds.
Diversity and its meaning today in the book industry
The fact that different kinds of people – poor or rich, men and women, white and black – can write books is often a revelation for many young readers. "If they can do it, so can I!"
The book monopoly is a thing of the past. Today access to books and their creative journeys belongs to the young as well, and to women equally. The knowledge of this variety is undoubtedly empowering for many young minds.
Why diversity in children's books is a win-win situation
The more children are exposed to different cultures and emotions through books, the more empowered they feel, as these books reflect their own race or inter-race, religion, sex or physical health, and home upbringing (including divorced families, immigrants, and single-parent families). Children feel good about themselves when they read about characters like them.
You can find free diversity book lists and activities here for teachers and parents.
The more we are exposed to different cultures, the more we gain in variety and humanity. By telling the same story in different languages, each time it becomes a new narration with a new lesson to pass on.
We live in a world that's confronted, more than ever, with a wide variety of issues that impact directly on our lives and those of our children: global warming and social migration, terrorism and out-of-control political spectacles.
Access to diverse books offer our children the best tools to comprehend and deal with the worldwide chaos they have to live in. A diversity of books will hopefully empower our children and grant them the wisdom to understand themselves and their world . It will help them discover the power needed to stand on their own two feet and lead a life of humanity and empathy.
10 diverse books to enjoy (or find your own at your local library):
Who Was Nelson Mandela - As a child, he dreamed of changing South Africa; as a man, he changed the world.
Malala's Magic Pencil - As a child in Pakistan, Malala made a wish for a magic pencil that she could use to redraw reality.
The Cheetah And The Dog - Inspired by the true story of Kasi, the orphaned male cheetah, and Mtani, the female labrador, who struck up a remarkable friendship and remained lifelong friends.
They All Saw A Cat - The many lives of one cat – and how perspective shapes what we see. When you see a cat, what do you see?
A Long Walk To Water, Based On A True Story - The New York Times bestsellerbegins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about two 11-year-olds in Sudan: a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985.
Home Of The Brave - Kek comes from Africa, where he lived with his mother, father and brother.
Little Suns - "There are many suns," he said. "Each day has its own. Some are small, some are big. I'm named after the small ones."
Giant Steps - Elephants have long been targeted by humans: not only are they killed for their ivory, but their extraordinary strength, intelligence and charisma have seen some of them captured, chained and effectively jailed for life.
We're All Wonders - The unforgettable story of August Pullman, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face.
Wishtree - Trees can't tell jokes, but they can certainly tell stories...
Until South Africa hosts its first Multicultural Book Day, you can join the Multicultural Children's Book Day Twitter Partyon Saturday, January 27, from 9:00pm to 10pm; U.S. Eastern Standard Time.