I am a school librarian in a very diverse school. My students are approximately 30% African American, 30% Latinx both native born and immigrant, 15% African immigrant, 5% other immigrant groups, and 20% US born Caucasian. We look and sound like a mixed up rainbow and I love it! It does however, require a great deal of intentionality to ensure that my students lives are reflected in the books we read on the story rug together.
Not long ago, I had a parent complain to the administration that I shared Eve Bunting’s Smokey Night with a class of first graders. The parent was concerned that I was introducing her child to racial conflict. Because her child attends a diverse school she wanted him to grow up color blind. When the complaint came back to my building, I asked to meet with the parents. I assured them that I wanted all students to be treated fairly as well. To that end I wanted all children to see color and to be comfortable with difference. To that end race is something we explicitly talk about.
More recently, I had a 6 year old call me out offended on the story rug when I read A Different Pond because the narrator describes one of the other fishermen as “a black man”. I was told “That is a rude thing to say. We can’t talk about how people look.” I replied that the narrator was being respectful and wanted to describe to us how the people he met were similar to and different from he and his father.
Both of these episodes highlighted for me the importance of talking with my students about race. They also left me wanting to give my school families the tools to have these conversations at home.
I am a big fan of using picture books as conversation starters. To that end, here are a couple suggestions:
Why am I me? by Paige Britt Illustrations by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko (pre K -2nd)
What’s the difference? : being different is amazing by Doyin Richards (pre K -1st)
Love the world by Todd Parr (pre K -2nd)
A Moon for Moe & Mo by Jane Breskin Zalben (gr 2-4)
Can I touch your hair? by Irene Latham & Charles Walters Illustrations by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko (gr 4-6)
For educators or for families hoping to broaden the reading choices they share with young children I have created a read aloud bingo that I am sharing with my classroom teachers at a professional development session I am giving later this month.
I have also created starter book list for K-1 parents who would like to explore the lives of others more fully.