If you’ve been following me for a while, you may know by now how passionate I am about teaching people understand the importance of daily reading and having diversity in literature. Through years of reading and research on my own, along with my own firsthand experience being a parent, I decided to create this checklist and other resources I’ve given away for free over the years, to help people like you and pass on the knowledge I’ve learned.
My ultimate goal is to help parents, caregivers, grandparents, homeschoolers, librarians, and educators create a diverse library at home or school so they can teach the children in their lives about the importance of diversity, inclusion and the power of reading.
By downloading this “Diversify Your Bookshelf” checklist, you can take your reading routine/habit the next level AND help diversify your bookshelf!
This checklist is for you if…
- You are a parent, caregiver or expecting parent and have a desire to diversify your home library
- You are an educator or librarian who wants to enhance and diversify your school library
- You have a desire to help children understand the importance of reading books that serve as both windows and mirrors (a phrase coined by Rudine Sims Bishop)
- You want to raise anti-racist children
Here are a few things to keep in mind if you have a goal to diversify your bookshelves:
1. Start with a small subset of books if you have to, but just start.
It’s okay if you start with a small, curated list of high quality books. If you can’t afford to purchase books all at once, borrow them from your local library or a discounted thrift store. Don’t worry about trying to check off all the boxes on this list at once. Curating a library takes time.
2. Keep going. Learning to embrace diversity and anti-racism is an ongoing lifelong commitment.
Once you’ve started reading diverse books, one of the most important things to do is to make it a priority. Be sure to include diverse titles in your family’s ongoing reading year round. By doing this, you may find that your conversations will deepen over time and the connections between the books and your real life may grow organically.
3. Let this be about you as much as it is about your kids or students.
It’s great that parents and educators are now envisioning a more hopeful future for their children or students, but it’s important to also take this journey alongside them. Always remember, kids learn more from what we do than what we say. Be sure to invest any necessary time looking inward too. This may include diversifying your own bookshelf and expanding your immediate social circle. Relish in the journey together.
Happy Reading!
Click HERE to download the checklist for FREE!
Your turn: Have you recently diversified your bookshelves at home or in your school? Feel free to share in the comments.
