A friend of mine turned new mom had an interesting request the other day.  She’d been talking with her friends and they decided that what they’d really like would be a list of children’s books in which diversity is just a part of everyday life.  To illustrate her point she called this “casual diversity”, a term I’d hitherto been unfamiliar with.  The phrase is typically used to describe pop culture but I think it applies well enough to children’s books.  It’s something we strive to find in a lot of our books for kids, but actively seeking it out isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Since this particular group of moms was looking for younger titles I had to wrack my brain to come up with ideas.  It should NOT be this hard.  I worked up a short list but I’d love it if other folks could offer up suggestions of their own.  We’re just looking for books where diversity is integrated into the storyline without a hitch.  Put another way, these are books where the point of the story isn’t diversity, but just a natural outgrowth of it.  The hardest thing to find?  Casual diversity involving handicapped characters.  I think they exist for the older readers, but not so much with picture books unless they’re part of group shots.  Here’s what I came up with off the top of my head:

Board Books

My Aunt Came Back by Pat Cummings Daddy, Papa, and Me by Leslea Newman ; illustrated by Carol Thompson Mommy, mama, and me by Leslea Newman ; illustrated by Carol Thompson.

Toddler Picture Books

Maria had a little llama = María tenía una llamita by Angela Dominguez Monday is one day by Arthur A. Levine ; illustrated by Julian Hector Nino wrestles the world by Yuyi Morales

Preschooler Picture Books

Oh no!, or, How my science project destroyed the world by Mac Barnett ; illustrated by Dan Santat Jimmy the greatest! by Jairo Buitrago ; pictures by Rafael Yockteng The chicken-chasing queen of Lamar County by Janice N. Harrington ; pictures by Shelley Jackson Big red lollipop by Rukhsana Khan ; illustrated by Sophie Blackall Mini Mia and Her Darling Uncle by Pija Lindenbaum Freckleface Strawberry : best friends forever by Julianne Moore ; illustrated by LeUyen Pham Mom, it’s my first day of kindergarten! by Hyewon Yum

For this age level, what would you add?