Skip to content

Category: News

Recent news and happenings, conferences, events and more from the Diverse BookFinder team.

Published on
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"

Published on
We have identified nine categories that capture the messages conveyed by children's books featuring characters of color. Every book in the Diverse BookFinder collection is coded using one or more of these nine themes. The Nine Dominant Categories We Use Are: Beautiful Life: A focus on culture Oppression: Struggle, resistance, and triumph Cross-group: Interactions across ...continue reading "How to Use Our Cross-Group Category to Foster the Development of Friendships Across Racial/Cultural Difference"

Published on
We believe that too many children are left out of mainstream picture books, so we research who is currently included — and how — to spark conversation and change. We would like to improve on how we categorize Native stories, including origin stories and the sacred. Humbly recognizing that it can take many people to ...continue reading "Seeking Input and Ideas from North American Indigenous Peoples"

Published on
In May 2017, I was invited by Anne Sibley O’Brien, author and illustrator, and by Dr. Krista Aronson, psychology professor at Bates College in Maine, to participate in the Diverse BookFinder Advisory Council. The Diverse BookFinder is an online comprehensive source that parents, teachers, librarians, authors, and publishers can use to locate picture books featuring ...continue reading "An Experiment with Inclusive Literature: One White Elementary Librarian’s Endeavor to Diversify Her Picture Book Collection"

Published on
We believe that too many children are left out of mainstream picture books, so we research who is currently represented — and how — to spark conversation and change. It’s not immediately clear to people how a Psychologist like me found her way to multicultural picture books, so let me take a moment to tell ...continue reading "Creating Friendships Across Difference: The Diverse BookFinder Story"

Published on
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"

Published on
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"