LSSL 5385: Chapter 17

Chapter 17: We Need Diverse Books

The We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) campaign advocates for change in the publishing industry in order to release more diverse titles that reflect the lives of readers. Authors Ellen Oh and Dhonielle Clayton serve on the executive committee. Their vision is to have a world in which all children can see themselves in the pages of a book. The diverse experiences the organization recognizes ranges from LGBTQIA, Native, people of color, gender diversities, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural and religious minorities. The website provides resources for people to find diverse books and for people to write diverse literature.

I have always been a huge supporter of the WNDB campaign. In college, I had to do an Inquiry Project in one of my literature block classes. My focus was on having culturally diverse books in the classroom. (Handout). I continue to actively seek out diverse literature for myself and my classroom. The explosion of diverse literature helps me learn about the different cultures in my classroom as well as allowing my students to experience them as well. Love, Hate, & Other Filters is about an Indian-American Muslim living in a small town. Even though 9/11 happened over 10 years ago, her family is still suffering discrimination. Kody Keplinger has written two books with asexual main characters, a sexual identity not often explored. Blind Spot by Laura Ellen is about a teenage girl in Alaska who lives with macular degeneration - she does not have her central vision, only peripheral. In Girls Like Us by Gail Giles, the two main characters have graduated from the special education program at their high school and must now live life on the outside.

While diverse books are not a genre onto themselves, it is important to remember to be on the lookout for books with characters different from yourself.