Diversity

From social media to publishing industry-led initiatives, the call for diversity in children’s and young adult literature has steadily grown into a loud roar in the past months. As part of School Library Journal’s SummerTeen virtual conference, the “Embracing Diversity” panel featuring Karen Arthurton, Jonathan Friesen, James Klise, and Amanda Sun, led to a lively and ongoing conversation about the importance of not only publishing books for kids by and about diverse people, but also getting them in the hands of readers. SLJ spoke to industry professionals who are raising awareness on the need for different perspectives in young adult books, and compiled a list of resources to find these titles.

First Book has made significant strides this summer toward its new goal of dramatically expanding the market for diversity in children’s literature, its president and CEO Kyle Zimmer tells School Library Journal. Through its unprecedented launch this spring of "The Stories for All Project" and the project’s successful, gradual implementation over the past few months, First Book is now poised to lobby publishers and influence the kid lit industry like never before, Zimmer says.

Libraries are embracing technology programming for kids and teens. Just in School Library Journal alone, there are articles about programs like ‘Can*TEEN’ Encourages Girls With STEM and Powerful Partnerships, Pi, and Python Behind the Success of Teen Tech Camp and Life With Raspberry Pi. Technology, coding, all good things. And, with women underrepresented in fields like computer science [...]

Superheros, extraordinary science, and unexpected twists keep readers on their toes in Jessica Freely's debut novel All the Colors of Love. Thirty lucky SLJTeen readers will get a copy for their library, adding to the LGBT collection.

The diversity of our nation and our struggle for civil rights are clear themes in this month's new titles. Among our selections are two books that address the historic 1963 March on Washington, celebrating its 50th anniversary this month: one in graphic format for older students written by John Lewis, and the other, a picture book by Andrea Davis Pinkney.

Surefire Spanish-language and bilingual books and programming suggestions to share with toddlers and their caregivers for a multilingual storytime. From nursery rhymes to board books, these titles will delight children and adults alike.

"The key idea is actually a media literacy one related to representation: no one in real life actually looks like an anime or manga character."

The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Street Workshop have created the Aprendiendo Juntos (“Learning Together) Council (AJC) to identify models and practical strategies to improve digital literacy for Hispanic-Latino families. AJC plans to use the findings to influence public and private sector investments in effective programs for the community on a regional and national scale.

Nearly 200 authors were recognized on May 30, 2013, at the 15th International Latino Book Awards ceremony, which was held at the Instituto Cervantes in New York City during BookExpo America. The largest awards in the US celebrating achievements in Latino literature, the event is presented by Latino Literacy Now in partnership with Las Comadres para las Americas and the Instituto Cervantes. See which titles were honored in the Children, Youth, and Young Adult categories.