Life is a sum of all your choices. So choose books for your child wisely!
With thousands of books to choose from, it is difficult for a teacher or a parent to make a choice while creating their library. It’s very important to make a high-quality diverse library available to children.
Here are the top 4 reasons why we should introduce your child to a library of diverse books :
1. Children try to find themselves in the stories they read
A book is like a mirror, where a child is constantly trying to find himself. A vast majority of books are written around white families where all members fulfil typical gender roles. This does not necessarily help a child of a diverse background connect with the book. Books should serve as mirrors to reflect children's lives - a world in which they can see characters and themes that reflect their identities and experiences, such as skin colour or hairstyle, family and home life structures, spoken languages, cultures, festivals or abilities. Introduce books which help your child identify themselves in order to grow fond of reading.
2. Diverse Books helps children connect with diverse cultures
Books serve as windows into the lives, customs, and beliefs of others that help children make connections with those who may be different than them. Reading books that represent different abilities, cultures, beliefs, and skin colours helps in changing the attitude of the kids toward those differences and help in building a sense of empathy & unity within young minds.
3. Creates openings for discussions and challenge stereotypes
Curiosity is one of the most inspiring characteristics of children. Some of the books create openings for discussions on current happenings in the classroom or at home. For instance, reading a book about Malala Yousafzai can spark discussions about the education of girls and women in Pakistan.
A diverse collection of books also help children to challenge stereotypes. For e.g. in ‘The paper bag princess’ the princess saves herself from the dragon instead of waiting for the prince. Similarly, ‘A shelter in our car’ can help have challenging discussions with children around poverty or diverse living situations.
4. Focus on Similarities
Kids are kids no matter which culture they belong to. Not every book about diversity means children have different childhood experiences. Like Nandani Nayar’s ‘ What shall I make?’ is a beautiful story where a child is given a handful of dough by his mother. The child is excited to make a snake and a mouse out of the dough. Some of the very good books just reveal the simple truth that children and their innocence are the same no matter their caste, colour, or creed.
Flip promotes diverse reading to help build a well informed and empathetic future generation . Connect with us & create your diverse reading groups for free!
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