There are many things to consider when choosing diverse books for your classroom. Not only do we want to see diversity represented in the illustrations and the stories, but we want to choose book that are written by diverse authors and illustrated by diverse illustrators (though these may not always be easy to determine). Many children's books have anthropomorphic animals or creatures, and for a very long time, mostly white, middle class, nuclear families were represented. Students need to see themselves in a book, and be able to see themselves having the possibility of authoring or illustrating books. Students also need to see people different than themselves so they can experience vicariously different ways of being, and build empathy for those different than themselves. As we get more and more diverse stories, they will shift from being stereotypes of a people group to representing people with experiences or stories who happen to share that diversity. Also, look out for titles that show intersectionality, or more than one diversity, because we are all multidimensional beings and don't just subscribe to one identity.
The Newbery Medal honors the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
The Caldecott Medal honors the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
The Batchelder Award is given to an American publisher for a children's book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States.
The Belpré Award honors a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose works best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal honors the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished contribution to the body of American children’s literature known as beginning reader books published in the United States during the preceding year.
The Odyssey Award will be awarded annually to the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States. (The Kirk Library does not collect titles in this category.)
The Sibert Medal honors the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published during the preceding year.
The Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award (EELDM) recognizes the most distinguished digital media created for an early learning audience by a producer based in the United States. (The Kirk Library does not collect titles in this category.)
The Legacy Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children. (The Kirk Library does not collect titles in this category.)
