Diversity in Youth Literature Toolkit

Melissa Carroll
LIS5566
4/26/2018
Table of Contents

Part A: Commitment to Diversity ..........................................................................2

Part B: Resources .....................................................................................................9
B2: Latino/Caribbean-American Literature for Youth .....................................19
B3: Native-American .............................................................................................28
B5: Other diverse groups (LGBT spectrum, disability experience, and/or
religious diversity.) .................................................................................................36
*Religious or Spiritual ...........................................................................................45
*LGBT.....................................................................................................................47
*Religious or Spiritual ...........................................................................................49
Part A: Commitment to Diversity

Self- Reflection Essay

Personal Diversity Statement

 Self- Reflection Essay

My name is Melissa Carroll and I am primarily Irish and Italian, sprinkled with a few

other nationalities. In the early days of my great, great grandparents, the union of an Irish man

and an Italian woman was frowned upon. This led to the O being dropped from the original

O’Carroll to the Carroll I am now. As an Irish/Italian female, I am fiercely loyal and love to be

surrounded by my family and friends, I am a woman of strong convictions and have been known

to be extremely passionate about the things that are most important to me. I am heterosexual and

in my thirty-ninth year of life. I was divorced several years ago after being married for thirteen

years and due to extenuating circumstances, my fifteen year old son Colton and I have been on

our own since he was five. I was raised Roman Catholic and Colton attended a Catholic middle

school before moving to a public high-school last year.

I have always been an avid reader and books have often been a refuge for me. Reading was

always an adventure that took me far away from whatever might be going on in my life. This

was extremely helpful to a young girl from a broken home. To a child from a troubled home,

spending days in the library wrinkling with Meg and Charles Wallace to a far place or going to

the drive-in with Pony Boy and the rest of the Greasers, gave me an escape from my reality. I

was a child of a teenage mother and raised by a village, so to speak. This allowed me to

experience diversity in many cultures and as an adult, deepened my urge to absorb as much

information about our multicultural society as possible.

 As a recent education graduate, I have spent the better part of the last two years reading

young adult and children’s books. This has greatly affected not only the way I choose books but

the way I interpret them as well. Now, when I pick up a book, I am immediately looking for

something that will spark my student’s interest. I am looking for books that will succeed in

arousing my emotions, as well as my student’s emotions. I look for books that are well written

and culturally relevant.

I believe that my diverse upbringing has allowed me to experience a variety of

multicultural literature and reflects in my choice of books. My intense passion to provide

children with opportunities to experience literature also has an enormous effect on the books that

I select and the way I interpret these books.

I thoroughly enjoyed the article by Rudine Sims Bishop titled, “Mirrors, Windows and

Sliding Glass Doors.” This first paragraph precisely details my feelings:

“Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that maybe real or imagined, familiar

or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors and readers have only to walk through in

imagination to become part of whatever world has been created we created by the author. When

lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms

human experience and reflects it back to us and in that reflection we can see your own lives and

experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading then becomes a means of self

affirmation and reading then becomes a means of self-affirmation and readers often seek their

mirrors in books.”

This piece was truly inspiring to me, mirrors, windows and doors’ is a metaphor that can

be used to refer to the need for children to find themselves reflected in books; for books to
provide an opening onto worlds beyond their own experience (worlds real or imagined) –

because children need to see children that look different in the books they read; and for reading

to provide a conduit for children to journey into the world and experience all it has to offer. After

reading this, I continued to read interviews and other works by Rudine Sims Bishop including

the interview from the May/June, 2008 The Horn Book Magazine and Free within ourselves: The

development of African American children's literature.

I have also recently been reading books that I had not read for years including; Wonder

by R.J. Palacio, Night by Eli Wiesel, and Monster by Walter Dean Myers. I believe this course

will be considerably helpful to me in the classroom and in the library in the future. I believe this

class is incredibly important in the fact that it will help students to understand that although it

may seem that we have more culturally diverse literature available to our youth, in reality the

number was a mere fourteen percent in 2014. This number is staggering to me. I recently

watched a video in which author John Green said something powerful about cultural diversity in

books, I would like to leave off with a few of his words, “I think we need diverse books because

we need to reflect the reality of our communities and that reality is a very diverse one, all

readers need to know that they too can be the heroes of a story.”

Link to the John Green/ Why We Need Diverse Books Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBMYa-dJWm8
 I believe diversity is a dynamic tapestry rather than a static list of attributes. Every person

is a complex individual with multiple overlapping identities. A librarian must commit to

recognize the value of each individual based on unique characteristics which may include

commonly acknowledged measures of diversity such as ethnicity, race, gender, age, veteran

status, sexual orientation, physical abilities, and religion. We must also recognize and appreciate

that diversity extends beyond these measures to include many other characteristics related to

experience, cultural heritage, personality type, learning style, and much more.

In past decades, children’s textbooks and literature focused on white middle class

Americans, but over the years, books have moved toward greater cultural diversity. It is

extremely important, however to be cautious when selecting books for your class or library, we

must commit to look for not only negative but positive stereotyping as well. It is easier to detect

when traits are negatively portrayed but stereotyping can be damaging when it relates to positive

qualities as well. In evaluating culturally diverse literature we must ensure that it is quality

literature supported by a worthy theme. If it is, there are few things we might also look for:

cultural stereotyping, multidimensional characters, authentic language and portrayal of culture,

accurate factual details, does the book help children value their own heritage or understand

people with other backgrounds? Children from ethnic minority groups need authentic literature

that gives them a deeper understanding of their own culture. I commit to including books to

enhance children’s cultural pride and a greater appreciation for their minority heritage, these

books we share should be void of ethnic stereotyping.

 We must commit to understanding that these values are fundamental to a good life, and

must be integral parts of our character, however we came by them. I believe that this is so

because there are some values, chiefly those that are laid down in the Ten Commandments,

which are also written, instinctively, on the human heart. These beliefs are mine and mine alone,

however, and it is imperative that we as librarians and teachers understand that our values can

and will, be very different from our students and patrons. We must commit to

compartmentalizing our own feelings and beliefs and have understanding and compassion for

people who come from all walks of life and may have very different values than we do. I will

have an open mind and will work to understand families that have different beliefs and values

from my own. I have always accepted people for who they are, regardless of what they look like

or if their religion affiliation was different from my own. It is a trait I possess, that I have always

wished more people would emulate. I also think that it is extremely important to understand

cultures that are different from my own. This is something I will pass on to my students and

patrons, as I believe if we can understand the differences among us, and can learn to respect one

another for them instead of fearing these differences, we can make a change for the better in the

world.
Part B: Resources

B1: African-American Literature for Youth

Case-study (book evaluation.)
List of artists (authors and illustrators.)
List of sources of information (awards, organizations, experts, websites, publishers.)
List of recommended works
Case Study

One Crazy Summer -Rita Williams Garcia

 Cultural Background:
 Does it celebrate the culture portrayed?

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia is the tale of three sisters traveling from
Brooklyn to Oakland to visit their mother in the summer of 1968, right after Martin Luther King
was assassinated and during a time when the Black Panther Party is in full swing. Delphine who
is eleven going on twelve and her little nine and seven-year-old sisters Vonetta and Fern do not
know what to expect when they leave their Pa and Big Ma on a plane to visit their birth mother,
Cecile who abandoned them. The girls do not remember much about Cecile. They do know she
is a poet and what Big Ma has told them; that Cecile is a selfish, crazy woman who sleeps on the
street. Although Cecile or Nzilla, as she now refers to herself, does not live on the street- she
reacts to her daughters' arrival without warmth or even curiosity. Instead, she sends them down
the street to eat breakfast at a center run by the Black Panther Party and tells them to stay out as
long as they can so that she can work on her poetry. This book deals with everything from
parents being arrested for no reason to white people who photograph black children like they are
animals in the zoo to agitators and police informants. This is a changing the narrative kind of
book.
It's the summer after Black Panther founder Huey Newton was jailed and member Bobby
Hutton was gunned down trying to surrender to the Oakland police, and there are men in berets
shouting "Black Power" on the news. We learn some of these facts over the course of the next
four weeks as Delphine and her younger sisters spend a lot of time learning about revolution and
staying out of their mother's way. I had no idea how involved children were in the Black Panther
Party. I knew about i's origins and it's most prominent members; however, I had no idea that
children played such a significant role in doing small things for the party such as coloring in
protest signs, organizing party newspapers, and protesting and performing at protests. The
reasons for their political movement and the history behind them are only briefly touched upon
and I personally would have liked to have learned a little more.
The writing is superb-this is a middle grade novel, but the author never writes down to
her audience and the characters are beautifully realistic and the dynamics between the sisters is
spot-on. Williams-Garcia, an African-American author who grew up in the 1960s, created a story
rooted in ethnicity and culture by realistically portraying African-American characters,
especially through their dialogue. She sought to dispel misconceptions and rumors. Delphine
herself often has to come to grips with her initial perceptions and the actual truths. As for the rest
of the time period itself, little details spotted throughout the book make 1968 feel real. For
example, the girls play a game where they count the number of black characters on television
shows and commercials. Or the one time Delphine had felt truly scared, when a police officer in
Alabama pulled her father over. When the girls take a trip by themselves on a bus to San
Francisco they encounter hippies protesting on the grass holding signs saying things like:
PEACE. BAN THE DRAFT. MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR. and saying things like; “Peace, sweet
soul sisters.” They visit Chinatown, explore Fisherman's Wharf, and marvel at the Golden Gate
Bridge. There are also multiple references to famous African-American figures of the 60's like
Sarah Vaughan, and Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali.
One Crazy Summer is one part the tale of a family torn apart, but it’s also a glimpse into
the early days of the Black Panther movement and a reminder of what life was life for African-
Americans no so very long ago. The author incorporated many tools to really show/teach the
time period. I was reminded of a quote from Dr. Bishop made in Mirrors, Windows and Doors:
“We need diverse books because we need books in which children can see reflections of
themselves – but also look through and see other worlds.” I think this is how we keep and
develop the diversity of our world. This book is one of those most powerful weapons.”
Emotionally challenging and beautifully written, this book immerses readers in a time and place
and raises difficult questions of cultural and ethnic identity and personal responsibility. There
was only one geographical inconsistency that I found in the book, from what I have read,
Oakland does not have any rolling hills. Other than that, all of the details from that era, including
the language used by the characters seem to be spot on.
Rita Williams-Garcia won four major awards – the Scott O’Dell
Awards for Historical Fiction, the Newberry Honor Award, the Coretta
Scott King Award, and was a National Book Award Finalist for One
Crazy Summer along with many other literary distinctions. The book is a
lovely edition which contains Williams-Garcia’s acceptance speech for
the Coretta Scott King award, a deleted chapter, and activities that could
be used in schools to study this novel more in-depth.
Williams-Garcia was born in Jamaica, New York, and lived in projects in Far Rockaway.
But her family was a military family, and when her father came home from Germany, the family
traveled. They drove across the country from New York to Arizona where they stayed for a
while when she was three, and then back to New York, and then back West. She primarily grew
up in Seaside, California, which is right next to Fort Ord. After her father was discharged from
the army, Williams-Garcia and her family moved back to New York where there was a strong
presence of the Black Panther Party. The image that she saw of them in her neighborhood didn’t
at all equate to the image that was being delineated in the media. She admits openly to members
of her family being former Black Panthers and Black Nationalists. Subsequently, this beautifully
written story about the Black Panther Party’s handiwork in the black community and three little
black girls discovering their mother and their civic duty is one that should not be missed, not to
mention it’s perfect for young readers. Below is a link to a great video of Rita Williams -Garcia
speaking about One Crazy Summer.
https://youtu.be/t5V4GcqniHk
 List of artists (authors and illustrators.)

*Spotlight ~Nikki Giovanni

If everybody became a poet the world would be much better. We would all read to each other.
Nikki Giovanni is a female writer, commentator, activist, and educator and one of the
world's most well-known African-American poets. In 1969 Giovanni began teaching at
Livingston College of Rutgers University, and since 1987, she has taught writing and literature at
Virginia Tech, where she is a University Distinguished Professor. Her honors include the
Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Dedication and Commitment to Service in 2009,
three NAACP Image Awards for Literature in 1998, the Langston Hughes award for
Distinguished Contributions to Arts and Letters in 1996, as well as more than twenty honorary
degrees from national colleges and universities. She has been given keys to more than a dozen
cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, and New Orleans.
Several magazines have named Giovanni Woman of the Year, including Essence, Mademoiselle,
Ebony, and Ladies Home Journal. She was the first recipient of the Rosa Parks Woman of
Courage Award. She has served as poetry judge for the National Book Awards and was a finalist
for a Grammy Award in the category of Spoken Word. She is currently University Distinguished
Professor at Virginia Tech, where she has taught since 1987.
Nikki Giovanni’s poetry is a masterwork of translation, the personal into the universal, the
mundane into the monumental, the traumatic into the transcendent. She uses the most elemental
human longings and concerns such as love, loss, friendship, loneliness, freedom, topics that are
enduring. Nikki Giovanni uses rhythm in her poetry for children using funky beats to help kids
learn about words, syllables and stresses that make up the iambic pentameter.
“Writing is ... what I do to justify the air I breathe,” Giovanni wrote,
explaining her choice of a vocation in Contemporary Authors. “I have
been considered a writer who writes from rage and it confuses me.
What else do writers write from?”

Nikki Giovanni Website

http://www.nikki-giovanni.com/
Nikki Giovanni Poetry Foundation
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/nikki-giovanni
Nikki Giovanni Poetry Readings
https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/07/15/nikki-giovanni-love-friendship-loneliness/
More authors and illustrators…
 Kwame Alexander
 Ashley Bryan
 Bryan Collier
 R. Gregory Christie
 Christopher Paul Curtis
 Leo and Diane Dillon
 Sharon Draper
 Nikki Giovanni
 Nikki Grimes
 Virginia Hamilton
 Julius Lester
 E. B. Lewis
 Kekla Magoon
 Patricia McKissack
 Christopher Myers
 Kadir Nelson
 Marilyn Nelson
 Andrea Pinkney
 Jerry Pinkney
 Jason Reynolds
 Christian Robinson
 Javaka Steptoe
 John Steptoe
 Mildred Taylor
 Rita Williams-Garcia
 Jacqueline Woodson
 Lonnie Johnson
 Floyd Cooper
 Aaron Philip
 Faith Ringgold
 Jabari Asim
 Gwendolyn Battle-Lavert
 Langston Hughes
 Eric Velasquez
 Angie Thomas
 Shelia Hamanaka
 Nancy I. Sanders
 Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen
 Ibi Zoboi
 Dr. Crystal Bowe
 Dr. Kimberly Gordon Biddle
 Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
 Carole Boston Weatherford
 Mildred D. Taylor
 William H. Armstrong
 Angela Johnson
 Don Tate
 Jerry Craft
 Jan Spivey Gilchrist
 Synthia Saint James
 Sources of information (awards, organizations, experts, websites, publishers.)

Teaching Tolerance.
Teaching Tolerance is dedicated to reducing prejudice, improving intergroup relations and
supporting equitable school experiences for our nation's children. They advocate tolerance as an
ethical stance. The site provides free educational materials to teachers and other school
practitioners in the U.S. and abroad. Founded by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
African American Children's Book Project's initiative to promote and preserve multicultural
children's literature - ttp://theafricanamericanchildrensbookproject.org/.)
We Need Diverse Books™ is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and a grassroots organization of children’s
book lovers that advocates essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote
literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people. https://diversebooks.org/.)
Barbershop Books.
Barbershop Books is a community-based program that creates child-friendly reading spaces in
barbershops with the goal of encouraging more African American boys to become avid readers.
While the website's blog has numerous articles with children's book recommendations, its focus
is on discussing literacy strategies for teachers and parents.

African American Literature Book Club.

AALBC is an organization that promotes the celebration of black culture through recommending
fiction and non-fiction books to readers of all ages and backgrounds. This website by far had the
best African American children's book recommendations. Their list of 120+ recommended books
is one of the best I have seen regarding current, authentic representations and focusing on that
instead of a plethora of oppression narratives.
https://aalbc.com/books/children.php.

List of Useful Links..

http://www.thebarefootmommy.com/2017/09/diverse-childrens-books/.
https://www.pragmaticmom.com/booklists/multicultural-books-for-children/.
http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/author/rebecca-flansburg/.
The Brown Bookshelf: https://thebrownbookshelf.com/about/.)
http://www2.ncte.org/get-involved/african-american-read-in/.
The site below is a blog from a Future Ready Librarian and is full of resources for Black History
Month.
http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.be/2018/01/black-history-month-collection-
by.html?utm_campaign=crowdfire&utm_content=crowdfire&utm_medium=social&utm_source
=twitter#18825537-tw#1516035744784

Awards
 Coretta Scott King Awards: http://www.ala.org/rt/emiert/cskbookawards.
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African
American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that
demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human
values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to
continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.
 John Steptoe Award for New
Talent: http://www.ala.org/rt/emiert/cskbookawards/johnsteptoe.
The John Steptoe New Talent Award is established to affirm new talent and to offer visibility to
excellence in writing and/or illustration which otherwise might be formally unacknowledged
within a given year within the structure of the two awards given annually by the Coretta Scott
King Task Force.
 Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime
Achievement: http://www.ala.org/rt/emiert/virginia-hamilton-award-lifetime-
achievement.
Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement is named in memory of beloved children’s
author Virginia Hamilton. The annual award is presented in even years to an African American
author, illustrator or author/illustrator for a body of his or her published books for children and/or
young adults, and who has made a significant and lasting literary contribution.
 The Jane Addams Children's Book Award - http://www.janeaddamspeace.org/jacba/.
Recognizes children's books of literary and aesthetic excellence that effectively engage children
in thinking about peace, social justice, global community, and equity for all people.
 Ezra Jack Keats Foundation - http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org.
Focus: books that portray universal qualities of childhood, strong and
supportive family, and multiculturalism.
  Once Upon a World Children's Book Award -
http://www.museumoftolerance.com/.
To support the values of the Simon Wiesenthal Center/Museum of
Tolerance by honoring children's books aimed at readers (ages 6-
12) which deal with issues of tolerance, diversity, and social
justice, thus inspiring readers to promote positive change in the
world.
 Skipping Stones Honor Award -
http://skippingstones.org. - outstanding multicultural and nature books for all ages.
 Carter G. Woodson Award
From the Carter G. Woodson Award website: “First presented in 1974, this award is intended to
‘encourage the writing, publishing, and dissemination of outstanding social studies books for
young readers that treat topics related to ethnic minorities and race relations sensitively and
accurately.’”
Carter G. Woodson Award website: https://www.socialstudies.org/awards/woodson/winners.
List of Recommended Works
*Spotlight

Monster- Walter Dean Myers

Sixteen year old Steve Harmon is an amateur filmmaker and on trial for the
felony murder of a Harlem drugstore owner. Steve is being charged for
acting as the lookout man for a bunch of neighborhood thugs. He is petrified
and alone and uses writing as an escape, a way to cope with the heinous
situation he has gotten himself into. Steve hopes to one day turn his story
into a movie using daily journal writings. While incarcerated, his reality
becomes obscured as he questions the prosecutor’s accusations. Is he really
a Monster? This story illustrates how one single decision can change our
whole lives.

Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement.-Carol
Boston Weatherford . Illus. by Ekua Holmes

This is an outstanding biography of singer and civil rights activist

Fannie Lou Hamer. Told in the first person from Hamer’s own
perspective, Fannie Lou Hamer tells her life story. With bold
collage illustrations, the story is told through a series of deeply
moving free verse poems that chronicles her life as well as gives
insight to the struggles of the civil rights movement. The poems
are deeply moving, honest, and authentic, capturing the brutality
of the time period. Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The
Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement is powerful picture book about
a tumultuous period in American history.

Wings- Christopher Myers

Wings is a story about a boy named Ikarus who has wings which he uses to
soar and swoop and touch the sky, which makes him different from everyone
else. The story is told by a lonely girl who admires him for being different.
When Ikarus is picked on at school she empathizes and eventually
admonishes the courage to stand up to a policeman who criticizes Ikarus for
being different.
 Recommended Works

Brown Girl Dreaming - Jacqueline Woodson

The Crossover - Kwame Alexander
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Mildred D. Taylor
Tar Beach - Faith Ringgold
Looking for Bongo - Eric Velasquez
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt - Deborah Hopkins
Don't Call Me Grandma - Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and Elizabeth
Zunon
Sugar - Jewel Parker Rhodes
Reference:

Adoff, A. & Cook, K. (Eds). (2010). Virginia Hamilton: Speeches, Essays,

and Conversations. New York: Blue Sky Press.

McCollough, C. J. & Phelps, A. P. (Eds). (2015). The Coretta Scott King Awards, 1970-
2014, 5th ed. Chicago: ALA Editions.
McCollough, C. J. & Phelps, A. P. (Eds). (2014). Coretta Scott King Award books discussion
guide: Pathways to democracy. Chicago: ALA Editions.
B2: Latino/Caribbean-American Literature for Youth
 Case-study (book evaluation.)
 List of artists (authors and illustrators.)
 List of sources of information (awards, organizations, experts, websites,
publishers.)
 List of recommended works
Case Study

Esperanza Rising- Pam Munoz Ryan

 Character development- Esperanza

 Language

Esperanza is the daughter of a wealthy rancher in Mexico, living a life of wealth in the
late 1920s. She is blissfully unaware of the social unrest in Mexico at the time, believing that her
father's kindness will protect him from the bandits who are robbing and killing wealthy
landowners. When he dies Esperanza's world is torn apart. She and her mother must leave their
home in Mexico and start over as farm workers in California after the death of her father. This
book gives you a feel for the struggles of the Great Depression as well as California History.
Filled with Spanish phrases and words, it's a great introduction to learning Spanish and shows
many cultural aspects as well.
Pam Munoz Ryan does such an excellent job of painting the setting in your mind and in
developing each of the characters. I loved the richness and passion evoked in its pages. In the
beginning of the book Esperanza is a little girl and in only a few short months she developed and
matured into a woman. A woman who finally realized what was important in life. Before leaving
Mexico, Esperanza’s grandmother tells her that she will have to become a phoenix. Her identity
as a rich, farm owner's daughter has literally gone to ashes, and Esperanza needs to learn to rise
again as a new and stronger person.
We see the character development begin to blossom as Esperanza is forced to leave her
luxurious life in Mexico to become an impoverished campesina. But Munoz Ryan doesn't just
simply make Esperanza go from a sheltered rich girl to a gentle, worldly poor girl. Instead,
Esperanza learns humility and empowerment. She learns to empathize with the company
campesinos and the strikers. She discovers the importance of strength and vulnerability. And she
teaches the reader that it is okay to start over because you can rise from the ashes of the past and
become more than you were before. After many "mountains and valleys", Esperanza emerges
triumphant, becoming a mature, caring and independent woman.
This story is also a wonderful work of historical fiction, with venerable, strong female
characters. I love that even though the female leads are independent, they retain their femininity
and poise. The book touches on The Mexican Revolution, Great Depression, Dust Bowl, racism,
and of course, the issue of immigration. I loved that the author includes lots of Spanish in the
text, sometimes with a quick translation, and sometimes allowing the reader's common sense to
figure the meaning by context.
The author's note in the back of the book explains that the inspiration for the story was the
author's grandmother, who, like Esperanza, had emigrated from Mexico to a worker's camp in
the San Joaquin Valley during the Great Depression. A lot of specifics from her story is seen in
the characters, and the author herself grew up in that area of California. I like that the author is
open about her personal connection to the subject matter: it lets students, especially students who
don't often see themselves in books, know that their personal stories, and their family stories, are
valuable and worth writing about. I was thrilled to see that in real life Esperanza and "Miguel"
married. The perfect ending to a wonderfully written story.
Overall, the characterization is lovely; the characters are well rounded with realistic
concerns and struggles. This novel illuminates the unique plight of Mexican-American laborers
during the Great Depression, including forced deportation, labor strikes, competition from the
Dust Bowl "Okies," profound discrimination, and horrific living conditions.
I have added a link below to an interview with Pam Munoz Ryan, she speaks of her childhood,
her family and the basis for the book Esperanza Rising.
http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/ryan
List of artists (authors and illustrators.)

 Alma Flor Ada  Carmen Agra Deedy

 Julia Alvarez  Laura Lacámara
 Jorge Argueta  Juan Felipe Herrera
 Monica Brown  Roseanne Greenfield Thong
 Isabel Campoy  Rudolfo Anaya
 Joe Cepeda  René Saldaña
 Angela Cervantes  Raúl Colón
 Veronica Chambers  John Parra
 Sandra Cisneros  Duncan Tonatiuh
 Judith Ortiz Cofer  Xavier Garza
 Raul Colón  Christina Díaz González
 Carmen Agra Deedy  Lucía M. González
 Lulu Delacre  Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
 David Díaz  Susan Guevara
 Angela Dominguez  Francisco Jiménez
 Margarita Engle  René Colato Laínez
 Rafael López  John Parra
 Meg Medina  Pam Muñoz Ryan
 Marisa Montes  Benjamín Alire Sáenz
 Pat Mora  Gary Soto
 Yuyi Morales  Francisco X. Stork
 Sara Palacios  Carmen Tafolla
 Eric Velazquez  Duncan Tonatiuh
 Sources of information (awards, organizations, experts, websites, publishers.)

Awards
 The Pura Belpré Award:
http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/belpremedal.
Administered by REFORMA and ALSC.

 CLASP (Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs) Américas Award

CLASP founded the Américas Award in 1993 to encourage and commend authors, illustrators
and publishers who produce quality children’s and young adult books that portray Latin
America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States, and to provide teachers with
recommendations for classroom use. CLASP offers up to two annual book awards, together with
a commended list of titles. Up to two awards (for primary and secondary reading levels) are
given in recognition of U.S. published works of fiction, poetry, folklore, or selected non-fiction
(from picture books to works for young adults) that authentically and engagingly portray Latin
America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States.
Award winners:
http://claspprograms.org/pages/detail/68/Award-Winners.
Nomination Guidelines:
http://claspprograms.org/pages/detail/67/Nomination-Guidelines.
Teaching Resources:
http://claspprograms.org/pages/detail/62/Teaching-Resources

~Organizations
REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos
and the Spanish-Speaking: reforma.org.
Established in 1971 as an affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA), REFORMA has
actively sought to promote the development of library collections to include Spanish-language
and Latino oriented materials; the recruitment of more bilingual and bicultural library
professionals and support staff; the development of library services and programs that meet the
needs of the Latino community; the establishment of a national information and support network
among individuals who share our goals; the education of the U.S. Latino population in regards to
the availability and types of library services; and lobbying efforts to preserve existing library
resource centers serving the interests of Latinos.
Latinas For Latino Lit.(L4LL's) mission is to boost literacy among U.S. Latino children through
initiatives such as their summer reading program while showcasing Latinos' cultural, literary and
artistic contributions.
National Hispanic Heritage Month Book List -
Celebrates and recognizes the contributions Hispanic Americans have made to American society
and culture and to honor five of our Central American neighbors who celebrate their
independence

~Online Resources
Barahona Center for Study of Books in Spanish for Children & Adolescents – This
comprehensive website has reviews of children’s books either written in Spanish or English
about Latinos and has a search engine that allows users to locate books set in specific Latin
American countries. http://www.csusm.edu/csb/english/center.htm.
Kay Vandergrift’s children’s literature website – This comprehensive website includes a
plethora of Information about many aspects of children’s literature including a page devoted to
quality books about Latinos. The page is entitled Powerful Hispanic and Latin-American
Images Revealed in Picture Books can be found at:
http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/ChildrenLit/hispanic.html.
The Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC) has compiled a list of children’s
books about “Growing Up Latino in the U.S.A.” which can be accessed at:
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/alscresources/booklists/GrowingUpLatino.
“Tigretón and Burrito: Books in Spanish for the Young.” Available at:
http://www.journal.naeyc.org/btj/200603/SchonBTJ.pdf.
Tomás Rivera Children’s Book Award -
http://www.education.txstate.edu:16080/subpages/tomasrivera/.
Américas Award - http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CLACS/outreach/americas.htm
 List of Recommended Works
*Spotlight
The Lightning Queen by Laura Resau
On the Hill of Dust, in the remote mountains of Mexico, an eleven-year-old
Mixtec boy called Teo lives with his family and the animals that he has
healed, but one day a Romany caravan rolls into town with a young girl who
calls herself Esma, the Gypsy Queen of Lightning--it is the beginning of a
life-long friendship that will change both their lives.
Darius and Twig by Walter Dean Myers
Darius and Twig are best friends who live in Harlem. Darius, a young black guy, wants to be a
writer and Twig, a Dominican, wants to be a runner. The novel tells of their dreams and how
hard it is to fight against poverty, prejudice, and peer pressure. They fight for the break they
each need to be the best side of themselves.
Viva Frida by YuYi Morales
Viva Frida is an amazing book for young readers to take a quick peek at two
different languages in one book. The text and pictures give a short
story/description of some of the aspects of Mexican surrealist painter Frida
Kahlo’s life through use of Spanish, English, dolls, puppets, and life-like
illustrations. As you go through the pages, it is necessary to use the pictures
to tell yourself the story, not just the words. The story of Frida Kahlo’s search
for her key to happiness is told through the pictures, in the end she figures out that she is able to
learn, dream, realize and love.
The Lightning Dreamer by Margarita Engle
The Lightning Dreamer is a beautifully written book-in-verse about the life of a young girl
growing up in Cuba. The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist is a fictionalized
biography of Cuban abolitionist, Gertrudis Gomez de Avellanda (nicknamed Tula).The story
begins in Cuba in 1827 and focuses on Tula’s life as a teenager where she struggles to
understand slavery, the practice of forced marriages, the oppression of women, and the denial of
an education for girls (all considered the social norm).
A Movie in My Pillow by Jorge Argueta
A young boy with two homelands and a delightful sense of wonder comes to
life in Jorge Argueta’s first collection of poems for children. Young Jorgito
lives in San Francisco’s Mission District, but he hasn’t forgotten his native El
Salvador. He recalls the volcanoes, the tasty cornmeal pupusas, and his
grandmother’s stories. As he changes from timid newcomer to seasoned city
 Recommended Works
dweller, Jorgito’s memories and new adventures form a patchwork of dreams — the movie in his
pillow — that is perfectly suited to his new bicultural identity.
In the Time of the Butterflies—Julia Alvarez
Historical Fiction based on The Mirabal Sisters who secretly plotted to
overthrow the government during the Trujillo dictatorship.
Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music—Margarita
Engle, Rafael Lopez A Story inspired by Millo Castro Zaldarriaga which
breaks Cuban’s traditional taboo against female drummers.
Gaby, Lost and Found—Angela Cervantes
A young girl struggles to fit into a life with her father after her mother is deported back to
Honduras but finds solace in volunteering at the local animal shelter where she learns that
determination, courage, and hope can reunite family, no matter how far away they may be.
The Dreamer—Pam Munoz Ryan, Peter Sis (Illus.)
Inspires children and young adults to overcome adversity both internally and externally. Story
based on the well-known Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (formerly known as: Ricardo Elircer Neftali
Reyes Basoalto).
Yes! We Are Latinos: Poems and Prose About the Latino Experience—Alma Flor Ada and F.
Isabel Campoy
“A presentation of the broad spectrum of Latino culture that provides a resource for young
Latinos to see themselves and helps non-Latino readers learn of the contributions made to the
United States by Latino Americans” (Bookriot, 2017).
I Lived on Butterfly Hill—Marjorie Agosin, Lee White (Illus.)
“Accented with interior artwork, steeped in the history of Pinochet’s catastrophic takeover of
Chile, and based on many true events, this multicultural ode to the power of revolution, words,
and love is both indelibly brave and heart wrenchingly graceful” (Goodreads, 2018). Follow
Celeste on her journey through exile and reunification where she is sent to America during a
tumultuous time in Chilean history.
Return to Sender—Julia Alvarez
Story follows Tyler a young boy who lives in Vermont on a farm which begins
to have financial trouble. Tyler’s parents hire a family to work on their farm,
however they are undocumented to the US. The story teaches compassion, the
bond between family and friends, honesty and integrity.
Dalia’s Wondrous Hair by Laura Lacámara. A vibrant tale about a young girl’s magical hair!
Rich with Cuban culture, this book includes a section in the back listing native Cuban plants and
animals.
Abuelo by Arthur Dorros. A touching, bilingual tale about the special bond between a child and
his grandfather in this follow up book to Dorros’ Abuela.
Green is a Chile Pepper: A Book of Colors by Roseanne Greenfield Thong. A lively rhyming
picture book introduces children to the world of colors through images frequently associated
with Latino culture.
How Chile Came to New Mexico by Rudolfo Anaya. A beautifully written story that highlights
New Mexico’s rich multicultural history.
Dale, Dale, Dale: A Fiesta of Numbers by René Saldaña. A bilingual counting book about a
child who imagines all the fun he’s going to have as he prepares for his birthday party.
Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes by Juan Felipe Herrera. A stunning collection of short
biographical essays on 20 Hispanics who have contributed to our nation’s and world’s history.
The Day of the Dead-El Dia de los Muertos by Bob Barner, translated by Teresa Mlawer
Waiting for Biblioburro by Monica Brown, illustrated by John Parra
Maya's Blanket by Monica Brown, illustrated by David Diaz
Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras by Duncan Tontiuh
Tito Puente: Mambo King (Rey del Mambo) by Monica Brown, illus. by Rafael Lopez
The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
Grandma's Records by Eric Velásquez

Graphic Novels
Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man & Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Vol.
1 by Brian Michael Bendis
Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper and Raul the Third
Help Us! Great Warrior by Madeleine Flores with Trillian Gunn
Cici: A Fairy’s Tale – Believe Your Eyes by Cori Doerrfeld and Tyler Page
America, Vol. 1: The Life and Times of America Chavez by Gabby Rivera
B3: Native-American
 Case-study (book evaluation.)
 List of artists (authors and illustrators.)
 List of sources of information (awards, organizations, experts, websites,
publishers.)
 List of recommended works
 Case Study

Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith

 Purpose
 Cultural Background

The plot is a wonderful representation of Native American culture and does not
encourage stereotypes. Great-aunt Sis tells Jenna a traditional Muscogee (Creek) story, but it is
appropriate because it’s a specific, accurate tribal story (not a generic or made-up, Native
American story) and the story coincides with the theme of the book. The story focuses on a
young, small girl wishing to join the rest of her family, team, by dancing for the first time. She
has something to contribute despite her age and size, just as Bat does..she will be dancing for all
those in her family who cannot dance for themselves.
Cynthia Leitich Smith comes from the Muscogee (Creek) heritage, which gives her the
credibility and authority to use a traditional story from that particular tribe, as well as the
knowledge about both jingle dancing and powwows to write an authentic, commemoratory book
about her culture. Jenna eats fry bread, which is an authentic Native American food. This could
have been seen as a stereotypical image, but the focus is not on the food, is it on the daydream
she is having while eating the food. Fry bread is defined in the glossary, as is powwow, Indian
tacos and regalia, but the glossary and story do not encourage stereotyping. For teachers or
librarians, this book is a wonderful replacement for books that use stereotypes of Native
Americans.
The writing is lyrical, with repetition used to tie each scene together. Like the drums that
Jenna’s heart beats to, which provides rhythm. “Sun and Moon go about their dance overhead.”
The author uses these personified phrases as well as others, such as, “As Moon kissed Sun good
night” and “as Sun fetched morning” to indicate time passing, which enhances the lyrical tone of
the book and reminds us of legends and stories of Native people from around the world. The
book begins with onomatopoeia (“Tink, tink, tink, sang cone-shaped jingles sewn to Grandma
Wolfe’s dress”) and also uses onomatopoeia when describing the drums of the powwow (“brum,
brum brum.”) The use of these sound devices helps the reader fully experience the story, as
sound is so important in a powwow jingle dance. Jenna visits and helps four important women
who are dear to her. There is a strong suggestion that Jenna’s actions and interactions with Great-
aunt Sis, Mrs. Scott, Cousin Elizabeth, and Grandma Wolfe are a regular rhythm in their lives.
We are given a glimpse of a warm community, one built on mutual respect and love. When
Jenna asks for jingles, she asks for a single row, “not wanting to take so many that [anyone’s]
dress would lose its voice.” Every night Jenna practices her bounce-steps, and every night Jenna
and Grandma Wolfe sew the rows of jingles and regalia on Jenna’s dress together, giving the
dress its voice. When Jenna dances at the next weekend’s powwow, she dances for the four
women whom she loves. The dance itself is shown to be important and sacred to their family.
You can see the pride and excitement in Jenna’s face when she finally achieves her goal. The
close relationships between the women and girls of different generations is evident in their
expressions and body language. This story features a community of women centered on love and
respect for each other and for their heritage
The way Leitich Smith uses the Sun and Moon, and the use of fours is not a coincidence.
In the western European tradition, threes are significant; in the Muscogee (Creek) and Ojibwa
(Chippewa/Anishinabe) Nations (and many other Indigenous peoples of North American), fours
are important.
The warmth of the narrative is emphasized in the illustrations, which are realistic and
soft, appropriate for a story of a young girl and her loving interactions with her family and
friends. The illustrators use golden hues as the primary shading for the background, and bright
shades for clothing and regalia. The smiles and love between the family and friends are rendered
carefully in the illustrations. In scenes where she is dancing, backgrounds of blurred figures
effectively represent both the large audience and the many generations whose tradition the
gathering honors. The details in the dresses are culturally accurate, based on the Author’s Note,
which describes jingle dresses. Each character is shown with the coloration of a Native person as
a cultural marker, but with modern dress and hair styles that encourage children to understand
that Native people are not the stereotypes that are still unfortunately shown in so many places,
from ABC books to children’s counting songs.
The author’s note provides cultural background for the story, including more about the
Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the Ojibway origins of jingle dancing, and the significance of the
number four in Native American tradition, and a glossary that explains any terms non-Indigenous
readers may be unfamiliar with. Cynthia Leitich Smith’s other books are well reviewed and
worth reading. If you are looking for a longer read you may enjoy Rain Is Not My Indian Name
or Indian Shoes.
Video of the Jingle Dance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iArcG-S3_QM
Jingle dress dance from the Ojibwa tribe out of Minnesota:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9fJJuYrCbA&list=PLYgi-
35eHl6L67ZkitD8drn_lqxENt-dQ&index=81
 List of artists (authors and illustrators.)

 Louise Erdrich
 Cynthia Leitich Smith
 Simon J. Ortiz
 Cheryl Savageau
 Joseph Bruchac
 Sherman Alexie
 Richard Van Camp
*Spotlight
Sherman Alexie is a preeminent Native American poet, novelist, performer and filmmaker. He
has garnered high praise for his poems and short stories of contemporary Native American
reservation life, among them The Business of Fancydancing, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist
Fight in Heaven, which won a PEN/Hemingway Award, and Smoke Signals, a critically
acclaimed movie based on one of Alexie’s short stories and for which he co-wrote the
screenplay. An acclaimed performer of his own work, Alexie held the World Heavyweight
Poetry title for four years. He continues to perform many of his poems at poetry slams, festivals,
and other venues, and has received praise for the energy and emotion he brings to his work.
A Spokane/Coeur d’Alene tribal member, Alexie grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in
Wellpinit, Washington. Alexie was born hydrocephalic and underwent an operation at six
months of age; he was not expected to survive. Though he lived through the experience, he was
plagued with seizures as a child and spent most of his childhood reading. In the eighth grade, he
decided to attend Reardan High School, located twenty miles outside the reservation. His
achievements in high school secured his admission to Spokane’s Jesuit Gonzaga University in
1985, where he had a successful academic career but began to abuse alcohol. Alexie transferred
to Washington State University in 1987 and began writing poetry and short fiction. In 1990
Alexie’s work was published in Hanging Loose magazine, a success he has credited with giving
him the incentive to quit drinking. He has remained sober ever since. Alexie has been the
recipient of numerous awards and grants, including the 2009 Mason Award, the 2008 Stranger
Genius Award, a Pushcart Prize, the PEN/Malamud Award, a National Endowment for the Arts
Poetry Fellowship, and numerous honorary degrees. He is a highly sought-after public speaker
and has been a guest on nationally-broadcast radio and TV programs like the McNeil-Lehrer
Report, NOW with Bill Moyers, and the Colbert Report. He lives in Seattle, Washington with his
wife and two sons.
About Sherman Alexie: http://fallsapart.com/.
Sherman Alexie reads Poetry: https://vimeo.com/63668295.
Sherman Alexie Interview: http://www.npr.org/2016/05/23/478223827/sherman-alexie-on-his-
new-kids-book-and-the-angst-of-being-a-jr.)
 List of Recommended Works
* Spotlight
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend
an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.
The Hill by Karen Bass
A young white boy, Jared, whose plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness. He meets a boy by
the name of Kyle who is a Cree Indian. They have to depend on each other to survive. Many of
Kyle's Indian traditions break the barriers between the two boys. It takes time. But they do end
up becoming friends. It is a bit of a mystic fiction, but interesting.
A is For Appalachia by Linda Hager Pack, illustrated by Pat Banks
While this one is not an #ownvoices title, it does mention Native Americans who settled in the
Appalachian region. This one is also a good representation of my culture (Appalachian
Americans). Of course, each area in Appalachia has one, more than one, or none of the things
discussed, but it is a broad introduction to the region. For example, coal is a major part of West
Virginia and Appalachian life, but in my area in West Virginia, the industry is not so much about
coal as it is about farming and agriculture.
She Sang Promise: The Story of Betty Mae Jumper, Seminole Tribal Leader by Jan Godown
Annino. This book tells the true story of Betty Mae Jumper and her amazing life. Betty Mae
Jumper who was born in the early twentieth century, the child of a white father and a Seminole
mother during a time when mixed-race couples and children were often discriminated against.
She grew up on the outside of both cultures as her family faced danger from both ethnicities.
Betty Mae fought to get an education and eventually left her poor background to become a nurse
before returning to the Seminole people a strong, capable woman. Betty Mae went on to become
the first elected female leader in Seminole history.
 Recommended Works

Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie ; Illustrations by Yuyi Morales

What's the Most Beautiful Thing You Know about Horses? by Richard Van
Camp (illustrated by George Littlechild)
A Man Called Raven by Richard Van Camp (illustrated by George Littlechild)
Little You by Richard Van Camp (illustrated by Julie Flett)
We Sang You Home by Richard Van Camp (illustrated by Julie Flett)
Sitting Bull, Lakota Warrior and Defender of His People by S.D. Nelson
~Print Resources:
American Indian Reference and Resource Books for Children and Young Adults..2nd ed.
Barbara J. Kuipers. 1995.
The first part of this guide discusses how to evaluate literature about Native Americans and how
to use it in schools. The second part is a bibliography arranged by subject according to major
Dewey class numbers. Each annotated entry includes subject headings and reading level. Subject
and author/title indexes, a list of related bibliographies, and publishers' addresses are also
provided. This book is also available online through the UIUC online collection.

A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children (Contemporary Native
American Communities No. 14). Beverly Slapin and Doris Seale (ed). 2005.
This work is a collection of essays, articles, poems, book reviews, resources, illustrations, and
selection criteria regarding Native American depictions and issues in children's literature.
Included is a bibliography of books by and about Native Americans that the authors recommend
for use with children, with grade levels and tribal information included.

Children’s and Young Adult Literature by Native Americans: A Guide for Librarians,
Teachers, Parents, and Students.. Sherry York. 2003.
This volume provides bibliographic information for approximately 390 books by Native
American authors, organized by type: fiction, folklore, storytelling and drama, poetry, and
nonfiction. Each title's entry includes a brief summary, subject headings, interest and reading
levels, journals in which the title was reviewed, awards, and notes (such as inclusion in reading
programs or relevant Web sites). Brief author information, a list of publishers, and an index are
also included.
 Sources of information (awards, organizations, experts, websites, publishers.)

Blogs:
https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/.
Established in 2006, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical
perspectives and analysis of indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books, the school
curriculum, popular culture, and society. Scroll down for links to book reviews, Native media,
and more.
Websites:
http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/.
This website provides information on Native North American authors with bibliographies of
their published works, biographical information, and links to online resources including
interviews, online texts and tribal websites. Currently the website primarily contains information
on contemporary Native American authors, although some historical authors are represented.
The website will continue to expand, adding additional authors, books and web resources.
Native American Children's Literature Recommended List website -
https://firstnations.org/sites/default/files/%2A/Book%20Insert%20Web%20Version.pdf . by the
First Nation's Development Institute has a recommended reading list for preschool to 12th
grade. This reading list can be downloaded and printed and also has Comics and Graphic Novels
recommendations. This list was developed by Dr. Debbie Reese, she is a member of Nambe
Pueblo AND the editor and publisher of this reading list. She holds a Ph.D in Education and
MLIS.
Organizations:
The American Indian Library Association has a resource list for Native American materials.
Publisher:
Inhabit Media. This is an Inuit-owned publishing company in northern Canada. Their website
has lists of their books and authors for children, young adults, and adults.
http://inhabitmedia.com/books/.
nativelanguages.org/ has some links to books of Native American folktales.
Awards
2018 AILA Youth Literature Awards Announced
2018 Picture Book Honors:
1. All Around Us-By Xelena González (Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation),
illust. Adriana M. Garcia.
2. Black Bear Red Fox-Written and illustrated by Julie Flett (Cree/Métis).
3. Fall in Line, Holden!-Written and illustrated by Daniel W. Vandever (Diné).
4. I'm Dreaming of...Animals of the Native Northwest-By Melaney Gleeson-Lyall
(Musqueam, Coast Salish), illust. By First Nations artists.
5. Mission to Space-Written and illustrated by John Herrington (Chickasaw).
2018 Middle Grade Honor Book:
1. The Wool of Jonesy, Part 1-Written and illustrated by Jonathan Nelson (Diné).
2018 Young Adult Honor Books:
1. Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time: An Indigenous LGBT Sci-Fi Anthology Ed. By
Hope Nicholson, including stories by Anishinaabe authors Grace L. Dillon, Niigaan
Sinclair, and Nathan Adler; Richard Van Camp (Dene/Tłı̨ chǫ), Cherie Dimaline (Métis),
David A. Robertson (Swampy Cree), Daniel Heath Justice (Cherokee), Darcie Little
Badger (Lipan Apache), Gwen Benaway (Annishinabe/Mètis), Mari Kurisato (Ojibwe
Nakawē), and Cleo Keahna (Ojibwe/Meskwaki).
2. Marrow Thieves- By Cherie Dimaline (Métis).
3. Fire Starters-By Jen Storm (Ojibway); illust. Scott B. Henderson and Colorist Donovan
Yaciuk.
http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2018/02/2018-aila-youth-literature-awards-announced.
B5: Other diverse groups (LGBT spectrum, disability
experience, and/or religious diversity.)
 Case-study (book evaluation.)
 List of artists (authors and illustrators.)
 List of sources of information (awards, organizations, experts, websites,
publishers.)
 List of recommended works
 LGBT Case Study

I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings Ill. by Shelagh

McNicholas
Quality:
Characters’ development:

I AM JAZZ is an autobiographical picture book, written by Jessica Herthel and Jazz

Jennings and illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas, targeted at elementary school students that tells
the true story of Jazz Jennings, a transgender child, in a straightforward and relatable way. The
book begins by introducing the reader to Jazz, allowing the reader to connect with Jazz as an
authentic, outgoing, vibrant and loveable child. Once the reader has fallen in love with Jazz, the
book reveals that Jazz is transgender in a matter-of-fact and easy to understand way: “I have a
girl brain but a boy body. This is called transgender. I was born this way!” This book dispels
many myths about transgender youth by allowing the reader into Jazz’s own inner thoughts and
feelings. Frankly, I don't have a problem with this book as it is. I've read some progressive
complaints about how the book is gender essentialist, since Jazz is a girly-girl, and identifies as a
"girl brain in a boy body" and has since she could talk. It's true that this book doesn't reflect the
wide diversity of transgender experience and gender roles, but that's not Jazz's fault. She co-
wrote this picture book to tell her story, and it does that well, explaining it to a very young
audience simply. The basic explanation includes a variety of reactions, from her supportive
family and doctors to her classmates and teachers who don't understand (at first). We can't be
upset because Jazz loves pink sparkly dresses and makeup. We can only be upset that there aren't
more picture books that show those valid life experiences as well. The solution is more books,
not expecting one book to be everything representative for an entire spectrum of a community.
McNicholas’ illustrations keep Jazz merrily feminine throughout. When depicting Jazz as a little
boy as a younger child, the illustrations manage without anything overt to show how out-of-place
Jazz feels in those clothes and that hair. It is gently framed, but clear in the pictures that Jazz is
much happier living as a girl. The only problem I have with the illustrations is that in the book
Jazz and her father are depicted with lighter skin and hair color than they really have.
According to the Office for Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association, “[d]espite
its messages of acceptance and anti-bullying, [this] children’s memoir ranked No. 4 on the
American Library Association’s list of Top Ten Challenged Books of 2016. Censors wanted the
book removed because it depicts a transgender child, and because of sex education, language and
offensive viewpoints.” http://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=9350
It is hard to communicate what it must actually feel like for a transgendered child to know they
are being treated as the wrong gender. This book does it's best to get that across and I have to
applaud the effort. Hopefully this will pave the way for even more titles with similar themes and
issues to help young children start to understand the multicolor rainbow of a world we live in and
maybe grow into more tolerant teens and adults. At the end of the book is information on the
TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation accompanied by photos of the real Jazz as a young boy
and young girl. On the jacket flap is a photo of Jazz as she is today, at age 13.
 Case Study

The Deaf Musicians by Pete Seeger

Characters’ depiction
Purpose

In The Deaf Musicians, we meet Lee, a piano man. He plays nightly at a jazz club with
his very own, idiosyncratic “snazzy style. It went something like this: Plink-a-plink-BOMP-
plink-plink. Yimba-timba-TANG-ZANG-ZANG.” But Lee is losing his hearing and is afraid to
tell his bandmates about his loss. After trying to cover for him on stage for as long as they can,
the bandmates eventually have to let him go. His music was sounding like this: “Ronk. Phip.
Tonk.” Heading home from the jazz club that very night, he sees an advertisement for a school
for the deaf and decides it’s time to learn something new. Lee enrolls in the school, where he
learns sign language, and meets Max, a deaf sax player. Most important, Lee learns that music
can be felt on his body and heard in his mind. Lee and Max quickly discover they can play their
beloved jazz songs by following each other, Lee on his piano, plink-a-plink-BOMP-plink-plink,
and Max on his sax, boo-bang-bing. Soon, Rose, a deaf stand-up bass player, bomba-bum,
bomba-bum, joins their regular subway rehearsals. The new band finds their sign-language
singer in Ellie, who is also passionate about jazz. Together, they share their passion for music
with “Everyone!” Lee learned how to communicate in this new group and then took his new
language (American Sign Language) and linked it together with his old language (jazz music).
His new language gave him even more of an audience than he had before.
The author uses alliteration and onomatopoeia to help the reader hear the music being played.
Sentences such as “fingers talking with a boo-bang-bing” and “bodies moving with a shish-
shish-shoogle” will have every child wiggling in their seat. The dialog is short and simple and
does not hold up the movement of the story.
This picture book is full of bright colorful pages which will stimulate the children who read it.
Everything is colored from the bright green endpapers to the colorful backgrounds. The
characters represent the wide variety of people found in the city. Skin tones of all shades are seen
and the faces are each unique. The emotions of the characters can be seen in their faces. Lee’s
fellow band mates show worry when they question him about not answering their notes. The
drummer exhibits his discomfort by covering his ears while Lee plays. Christie augments the
picture by adding note symbols on the pages where the deaf band is playing. These vibrant
illustrations communicate the deep joy in making music together. Words in a variety of fonts and
colors dance across the pages and characters are excited with arms in the air and bodies in
motion. Readers can see the happiness Lee feels as he is once again creating music in
community.
And in the book’s afterword, Seeger writes of working alongside musical interpreters at
Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival, a music festival he participates in annually. “It’s a
reminder of the power of music even when it can’t be heard,” he writes. And, to bring home the
book’s primary strength, his final words are: “The real music is in people joining together.”
List of artists (authors and illustrators.)

*LGBT

 C. Alexander London
 Brian Selznick
 Alex Gino
 Jacqueline Woodson
 Donna Gephart
 Fox Benwell
 Anna Marie McLemore
 Aaron Hartzler
 Alison Bechdel
 Erica Cameron
 David Levithan
 Maurice Sendak
 List of Recommended Works
*LGBT
~Spotlight
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo, is the story of a young girl who was
born a boy. It is a good book to show the struggle transgender people go
through.
And Tango Makes Three is a charming tale about two male penguins, Roy and Silo, that start
their own family when a zoo keeper gives them an egg all their own to hatch, based on a true
story.
In Our Mothers' House addresses the important topics of growing up with same-sex parents,
adoption and multicultural families. In Marmee and Meema's house, but there is more than
enough love and support to go around. Even when some of the neighbors don't accept the family,
Marmee and Meema's daughter, learns that her family is perfect the way it is.
All I Want to Be Is Me is a picture book is about learning to accept and express your own gender
identity and to honor their true selves.
Totally Joe focuses on the trials and tribulations of gay 7th grader Joe Bunch. He has to deal
with the normal headaches and heartaches of middle school, homophobia and bullying. Luckily,
he has a tight-knit group of friends who assure him he has every right to kiss whom he wants to.
A great tale of tolerance, diversity, and, ultimately, acceptance.
Donovan's Big Day by Leslea Newman, illustrated by Mike Dutton, is the story of Donovan's
two mothers getting married and his role as their ring bearer. The focus of the book is on
Donovan getting ready for his mothers' wedding day and the tasks he must accomplish to be the
ring bearer for the ceremony.
The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Ros Asquith, is a fantastic
book that explores all the different types of families that can exist, acknowledging the different
kinds of living situations, work situations, family members, abilities, hobbies, and even feelings
within diverse families.
The Manny Files by Christian Burch is right on the edge of children's books with a 9+
recommended age level. Mature children or those with high reading levels may enjoy this quirky
story of a male nanny who encourages all the members of the family he takes care of to be
interesting. The manny begins a romance with the kids' uncle. The second book in the series also
deals with the manny confronting his less than accepting parents.
Vanilla is a new book that just came in a delivery from Junior Library Guild. I already checked
it out to a young man who loves to read about boys like him. I haven't have a chance to read it
and I can't remember the author, but he wanted it as soon as he came in.
Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli was a Teens Read book in 2016-
2017. The main character is a young gay boy involved in the school musical. It has been a great
hit with students across the board.
10,000 Dresses by Marcus Ewert & illustrated by Rex Ray
Be Who You Are by Jennifer Carr & illustrated by Ben Ruhback
Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
Mommy, Mama and Me by Lesléa Newman & illustrated by Carol
Thompson
This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman & illustrated by Kristyna Litten
Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky
So Hard to Say by Alex Sanchez
Better Nate than Ever by Tim Federle
All I Want To Be Is Me by Phyllis Rothblatt
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
The Different Dragon by Jennifer Bryan
First Spring Grass Fire by Rae Spoon
In Our Mothers' House by Patricia Polacco
Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino
Newsgirl by Liza Ketchum
None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio
The Skull of Truth: A Magic Shop Book by Bruce Coville
Goblinheart by Brett Axel
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall
It's Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr
The Sissy Duckling by Harvey Fierstein
Mom and Mum Are Getting Married! by Ken Setterington
I Have Two Dads: Different Types of Families by Madeleine Gasperi
Daddy's Wedding by Machael Willhoite
*Diverse Experiences
~Disability Experience and Mental Illness
A Family Is a Family Is a Family by Sara O'Leary. A teacher in a classroom asks her class what
they think make their families special. One little girl hesitates to answer, knowing that her family
is not like everyone else's. The children begin to share about their families. There are children
being raised by two fathers and two mothers, another who is parented by a grandmother. Some
have huge families with lots of siblings and others are only children. Some have a new baby and
others have stepbrothers and sisters. Each family is different and special in its own way. By the
end, the little girl knows that whatever structure her family has, all that matters is that there is
lots of love.
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson. A new
contemporary realistic fiction book that has to do with PTSD about a teenage
girl who had to take care of her father who flew into fits due to his PTSD. She
carried much of the burden alone. I feel if other students have family members
suffering from this, the book would help them realize that they were not alone.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I believe I actually did see this on a high school
reading list at some point. A pseudo-autobiographical story a young woman who gradually falls
into a deep depression following an attempt to make it in the Big Apple. Bracing in its first-
person descriptions of how depression can essentially sneak up on you, consume you, and turn
you into a shell of your former self.
The Princess and the Fog picture book is about a little princess who had everything until the fog
came. It helps sufferers aged 5 - 7 cope with depression and can help explain depression to
children. This story uses illustrations, humor and metaphor to describe symptoms of childhood
depression while providing hope that things get better.
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman. This book won the National Book Award
and the Golden Kite Award. The story is based on Brenden Shusterman - and his
journey with mental illness. The illustrations are those of Brenden and is what
Shusterman used as a catalyst for how this story would take shape.
Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman and illustrated by Zacharia OHora
Searching for the You We Adore Valerie Westfall
Motherbridge of Love Illustrated by Josee Masse
Sweet Moon Baby by Karen Henry Clark; Illustrated by Patrice Barton
Elf and the Box of Memories by Michelle Bell
The Day We Met You by Phoebe Koehler
Star of the Week: A Story of Love, Adoption, and Brownies with Sprinkles by Darlene
Friedman
Cut by Patricia McCormic
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon
The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand (preteen, anxiety, depression)
OCDaniel by Wesley King (teenage, obsessive compulsive disorder)
Swing Sideways by Nancy Turner Steveson (teenage, anxiety, eating disorders)
The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida, translated David Mithcell and KA Yoshida
I Love Being My Own Autistic Self! By Landon Bryce
The Asperkids Series by Jennifer O’Toole
The Starbella Trilogy by Fialco family, illustrated by Anton Petrov
My Brother Charlie by Denene Millner, Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth
Peete, Illustrated by Shane Evans
I Am Aspiengirl by Tania Marshall
Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John
The Thing About Georgie by Lisa Graff

*Religious or Spiritual
~Spotlight
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. In 1943, during the German occupation of
Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she
helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.
Night by Ellie Wiesel about his experiences during the time of the holocaust as he
and his father try to survive.
Sacred Stories: Wisdom from World Religions by Marilyn McFarlane. contains five
stories each from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Native American and
Sacred Earth religions, presented in alphabetical order, this book provides a diverse set of sacred
myths and fables. The stories are short (from 2-6 pages) and each is followed by a brief "Did
You Know?" section with interesting facts. The stories are abridged for younger audiences. The
simple, informative, unbiased language of Sacred Stories, combined with its comprehensive
resource list and glossary, makes it an ideal learning tool for teachers, librarians, and other
educators.
Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gilman
Calling My Name Liara Tamani
In Your Hands by Carole Boston
The Language of Angels: A Story about the Reinvention of Hebrew by Richard Michelson
The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah
The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis

Mere Christianity by C.S.Lewis

The Problem with Pain by C.S.Lewis

The Great Divorce by C.S.Lewis

The Screwtape Letters by C.S.Lewis

A Single Bead by Stephanie Engelman

An Unexpected Role by Leslea Wahl

The Truth About My Bat Mitzvah by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Nativity by Cynthia Rylant

The Beginner's Bible from Zondervan Publishing

When God Made Light by Matthew Paul Turner

The Night Before My First Communion by Natasha Wing

Sources of information (awards, organizations, experts, websites, publishers.)

*LGBT
~Organizations
The Equity Project American Civil Liberties Union, LGBT
Rights Project
Everyone is Gay
Family Acceptance Project Asian Pride Project
Athlete Ally
Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network
(GLSEN) Bisexual Resource Center Centerlink:
The Community of LGBT Centers
Gender Spectrum
COLAGE
GSA Network
It Gets Better Project My Kid is Gay Consortium of Higher Education LGBT
Resource Professionals
National Youth Pride Services
Equality Federation
Point Foundation
Family Equality Council
Safe Schools Coalition
Freedom to Work
Scouts for Equality
True Colors Fund
Trans Student Equality Resources
Tyler Clementi Foundation
TransYouth Family Allies
We Are The Youth
The Trevor Project
Welcoming Schools

gsanetwork- https://gsanetwork.org/.
GSA Network is a next-generation LGBTQ racial and gender justice organization that empowers
and trains queer, trans and allied youth leaders to advocate, organize, and mobilize an
intersectional movement for safer schools and healthier communities.
Their overall strategy is to fight for educational justice by working
with grassroots, youth-led groups and GSAs, empowering them to
educate their schools and communities, advocate for just policies that
protect LGBTQ youth from harassment and violence, and organize in
coalition with other youth groups across identity lines to address
broader issues of oppression.
~Awards
Stonewall Book Awards: http://www.ala.org/rt/glbtrt/award/stonewall.)
The first and most enduring award for GLBT books is the Stonewall Book Awards, sponsored by
the American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table.
Since Isabel Miller's Patience and Sarah received the first award in 1971, many other books
have been honored for exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender
experience.
https://www.glsen.org/central-new-jersey-chapter/article/lgbt-history-month-youth-awards
The Lambda Literary Awards: (the “Lammys”) identify and celebrate the best
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender books of the year and affirm that
LGBTQ stories are part of the literature of the world.
Website: https://www.lambdaliterary.org/awards/.)

~ Websites, blogs, lists, etc.

Over the Rainbow Book List: http://www.glbtrt.ala.org/overtherainbow/.)
Booklist created by the gsa network
https://gsanetwork.org/files/resources/booksv4.pdf.)
List that includes books for older kids
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/em-and-lo/the-21-best-transgender-b_b_9702762.html.
Here's a couple more options
https://www.advocate.com/books/2016/1/29/21-lgbt-picture-books-every-kid-should-read

*Diverse Experiences
~Disability Experience and Mental Illness
Links to resources about adoptive families:
https://www.americanadoptions.com/blog/12-childrens-books-on-adoption/.
http://www.pbs.org/parents/adventures-in-learning/2014/11/books-adoption/.)
NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest
grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better
lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.
https://www.nami.org/Find-Support/Teens-Young-Adults.
Lists with titles that discuss various types of mental illness.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/40707.Children_understanding_Mental_Illness.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/books-that-feature-characters-dealing-with-mental-
illness.
http://www.baltimorepsych.com/books.htm.)
This list is from the AACAP (American Association of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry) and has
books about Autism and a variety of topics, such as ADD.
https://www.aacap.org/aacap/Resources_for_Primary_Care/Information_for_Patients_and_Their
_Families/Books/Home.aspx#autism.
Some of these titles are fine for children to read on their own, but I think others would be best
read by a parent, teacher, or counselor.

*Religious or Spiritual
~Organizations:
Resources for Youth in Formation:
http://www.practicingourfaith.org/.
Youth Theological Initiative:
http://candler.emory.edu/index.html.
The National Peer Ministry Center
https://peerministry.org/.)
General Resources
Christian Book Awards
http://www.ecpa.org/?page=cba_1_overview.
ALA Resources/Definition of Religion with Regard to Collection Development
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/religion.
GLTB Religion & Spirituality—not necessarily aimed at children but young adults, teens, and
adults
www.ala.org/.../Religion_Spirituality_Bibliography_2011-2015.pdf.
Youth Pastor Resources
https://www.dare2share.org/resources/.
Religious Education Resources
http://religioninsights.org/best-resources-religious-education.
Youth Resources for Ministry and Congregation
http://religioninsights.org/best-resources-youth-and-youth-programming-congregations
Blogs:
http://www.alise-write.com/.
https://www.calebwilde.com/.)