NAME SLJ Diversity Issue - May 1, 2014 - Children’s Books: Still an All White World? By Kathleen T. Horning http://www.slj.com/2014/05/diversity/childrens-books-still-an-all-white-world
SUMMARY
This article presented statistics and discussed the overwhelming lack of diversity in children’s books from the 1960s through the present. There is a lack of diversity with African American author representation as well as characters of color. It is unclear exactly why there is a lack of diversity, but it is definitely influenced by which books are bought and librarians have the power to influence those purchases.
RESPONSE TO RESOURCE
I have not
read the School Library Journal before and I definitely see myself reading it
in the future. I am interested to find
out if my district (with one certified librarian in our middle school and none
in the six elementary schools) has a subscription. It appears to be an excellent resource to
stay current with hot topics such as diversity, empowering female readers, etc.
It also is a resource to be informed about grants, contests, book lists, and
much more. I would see myself using this as a resource in the future on a
regular basis as I carve out time for my PD reading (i.e., RSS feeds,
twitter).
RESPONSE TO CONTENT
From Still
an All White World, I learned that diversity in Children’s Lit has not shown a
notable increase since the 1960s. Though
it was not news to me, I was reminded that it is all about the bottom line.
What is selling? I was shocked to hear
that buyers from Barnes & Noble say that black books don’t sell. I would’ve thought our society’s mentality
has changed. At the same time, I do have
questions. Who is buying the books? From
a typical consumer level, who is going on Amazon or into Barnes & Noble to
buy the books as gifts or for their children?
Are the consumers diverse?
Looking at the statistics, I am guessing not. Also, what about other ethnic
backgrounds? I have 2 daughters that are
half Filipina. I teach in a district
with a large Hispanic population. Aside from African American, what are the
stats for authors and characters of other color? Are all of my “children” represented? How can we encourage all color being
represented? As the author says, librarians
have a great deal of influence here. We can encourage the diversity. I would like to plan more research or take
more action with this topic. Examples of
taking action would be to ask the librarian I interview for the upcoming
librarian assignment. Another example,
would be to work with my students to find an author or book character that
connects to their specific cultures and allow them to present the information
to their classmates. Even in my classroom, I can encourage diversity and
pride. Perhaps, in turn, I can bump up
those stats Ms. Horning wrote about. 
