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Author: Annie O'Brien

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For the third year in a row, the Diverse BookFinder team honored the observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday with a family program as part of the Bates College series of events. In response to the 2019 theme, "Lifting Every Voice: Intersectionality and Activism," we focused on women activists. An initial search for Category: Biography ...continue reading "Women of Color Leading the Way: Celebrating MLK Day"

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As Asian American and Pacific Islander (API) Heritage Month 2018 winds up,  the Diverse BookFunder has 291 Asian/Pacific Islander/Asian American characters identified in our current collection of picture books. (We are constantly adding titles, so these numbers keep changing. Also, we code by character, not title, so a number of these characters may appear in books ...continue reading "Representations of Asians and Asian Americans in Recent Picture Books"

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November is National Children’s Book Month, a perfect opportunity to highlight a selection of beautiful recent picture books featuring people of color and indigenous people.  It’s also a chance to explore the Diverse BookFinder’s tools for examining not just who is represented but how. Each title below is a strong example of one (or more) ...continue reading "9 Diverse Picture Books to Celebrate National Children’s Book Month"

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In a recent School Library Journal article, “Can Diverse Books Save Us? In a Divided World, Librarians Are on a Mission” , 55% of librarians surveyed reported that authentic character portrayals of Native or Indigenous People were “hard to find.” Author Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation), whose book, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, came out this year, keeps track ...continue reading "Here Now: Picture Books Portraying Contemporary Native Life, Part 2"

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GUEST POST by Melissa-Sue John, Ph.D. Melissa-Sue John, Ph.D.— wife, mother, psychologist, STEM education researcher, blogger, and author of children’s books — currently lectures at Quinnipiac University, works as a Research Associate at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and is the founder of Lauren Simone Publishing House which publishes the work of youth authors and illustrators. To learn ...continue reading "Engineering through Picture Books"

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One of the most persistent stereotypes about Native/First Nations people in North America is that they all lived long ago. Dr. Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation), who writes the blog Native Appropriations, “a forum for discussing representations of Native peoples, including stereotypes, cultural appropriation, news, activism, and more,” posted this reminder recently on Twitter: Recently at ...continue reading "Here Now: Picture Books Portraying Contemporary Native Life, Part 1"

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In the midst of immigrant and refugee crises here in the U.S. and around the world, we are pleased to feature a selection of important new titles featuring stories of contemporary migration. These picture books, all published since 2013, put personal faces on people who, by choice or by force, move from their homes to ...continue reading "Welcome Immigrants! — and New Immigrant Books"

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GUEST POST by Luis Chavez-Brumell Luis Chavez-Brumell is the Branch Manager of the Wilson Library in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Diverse BookFinder’s Advisory Council. —— I was first introduced to the Diverse BookFinder when I met Anne Sibley O’Brien at a workshop in March 2018. The workshop was sponsored by the Connecticut ...continue reading "Reflection in the Collection"

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Last week we celebrated the two-month anniversary of our digital launch with an update on the feedback and responses we’ve received, and how the project will continue to evolve to better serve our readers. One of the issues we discussed was the need to help casual Diverse BookFinder users better understand some of the cultural ...continue reading "Identifying Problematic Titles"

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As of today, it's been two months since the launch of the Diverse BookFinder website. In that time we’ve achieved much—in large part thanks to all of you who’ve used the site and who’ve shared your thoughts. You’ve helped us learn and grow and more clearly define what the Diverse BookFinder is and does (critical ...continue reading "A Work in Progress: Gratitude and Collaboration"