“When you help students see themselves represented in books, you help them realize that they are valued members of society”, (Bright, 2021, pg. 153). 

Robin Bright (2021) outlined the following as benefits of providing students with diverse literature:

• Learn about other peoples, languages, and cultures
• Learn about and increase awareness of others lives/experiences
• Increased empathy
• Learn about historical events & people
• Provide inspiration

Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors

The video of Rudine Sims Bishop speaking of diverse books being “mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors” was extremely powerful. Mirrors are books that students can see themselves in, windows allow them to look into different worlds/perspectives, and sliding glass doors allows them to enter into that world. She highlighted the importance for all students, not just the marginalized and diverse students.

I found a great reflective handout from Facing History & Ourselves. To further explore this concept, I chose to reflect on books I have read throughout my own schooling and childhood.

Mirror 

As a white woman, I see myself in a lot of books, however when I think on a deeper level, one book stands out in particular. ‘The Fall of Freddy the Leaf‘ is a book that my Grandma got for my sister and I after my Dad passed away. Although it is a story of life based around a tree and leaves, it is deeply powerful and it is a story that I still see myself in. When I was younger I remember this story just making sense as I saw myself in it.

Window

In elementary school we read the book ‘Sadako and 1000 paper cranes’, and I remember being so interested in the story, and the culture behind it. At the time I did not realize that this was allowing me to look into a different culture, but it was such a great experience.

Sliding Glass Door

For a novel study in grade 5 we read the novel ‘Wonder’. This great book allowed us to immerse ourselves into it, like we were living it through multiple different perspectives. At the time, I remember enjoying the book, but I did not realize how much it taught me, and how it increased my empathy. 

Reflection

I do not have a ton of memories of read-alouds or books in elementary school, just that I enjoyed them, but I think that is mostly because of my privilege. I believe that if I consistently felt like an outsider, excluded, or did not see myself in classroom books I would have very different feelings towards my education. Doing this activity highlighted how important it is to have a wide range of diverse books in the classroom to benefit all students!

Book Examples – Indigenous 

Picture books bring authenticity, and spark rich and thoughtful conversations (Gear, 2024). Gear provided a list of monthly resources to weave into your units, which was aimed at a grade 1 class (page 144-147). 

Other Diverse Books