Diversity Reading Challenge Roundup

It’s SUMMER! Summertime means more time for reading, YAY!  Not sure what to read? Your fave unconventional librarian has got you covered. I’ve compiled a list of kids books that contain diversity. No need to scour the internet or ask your friends to find the right book. I’ve got them here. All you’ll hafta do is go to your local bookstore or library and start reading. here’s a list that includes something for everyone!

#1 100 Things To Be When You Grow Up By National Geographic

If I had read 100 Things to be When You Grow Up I probably would have had an even tougher time making a career choice! From beekeeper to snake milker to pet food taster, there are so many more jobs to choose from than I could have ever imagined as a kid.

When I was a kid I wanted to be (in no particular order):

• Carol Burnett
• Forensic pathologist
• singer
• circus performer
• actor
• US President

Realistically, most of these jobs were unattainable for me, but it was certainly fun to daydream, right? That’s what so great about 100 things book: one woman, Shannon Walker, never imagined that as a young girl she could grow up to be an astronaut, but yep, that’ exactly what she became. It’s a dream come true for her and I’m sure many other people feel the same way about the jobs that they have. Especially the wacky and wild jobs noted in the book.  I mean, what IS a snake milker anyway?

I’m not telling.

You’ll hafta read the book for yourself.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

#2 The Lorax By Dr. Seuss

If you’ve been looking for ways to celebrate Earth Day (which was Saturday) why not read The Lorax?

Now, can you think of something to do to help protect the Earth? Maybe some recycling, or pick up trash, or plant a tree or water a plant? Use your imagination, it’s easy to be nice to the planet, after all, it’s where we keep our stuff! Where else would I keep my books if I didn’t keep them on Earth?

What did you do to celebrate Earth Day?

#3 When I Carried You In My Belly By Thrity Umrigar

“When I carried you in my belly,

we danced every dance together:

the rumba and the samba,

the tango and the fandango

And that is why your feet…

Tap in rhythm to the earth today”

Aren’t those words precious? The whole book is a love song. It’s also an affirmation to girls that they are loved and that they are capable of doing anything. And that’s a fact that many, too many girls outside of the US don’t know. The book shows people of color and families participating in activities that aren’t stereotypically gender specific. Like the grandfather bakes, the grandmother builds the baby’s crib. The family bellydances, and eats noodles and represents so many great things about non traditional families.

So much good going on in this book!

#4 Bud Not Buddy By Christopher Paul Curtis

If you follow me on Instagram you’ll know that when I finished reading  I said that I loved it so much I wanted to marry it. I don’t know if you can marry a book but if you can, I’m first in line!

There’s so much to love about Bud, Not Buddy. Bud has grown up in an orphanage being placed there after his mother died when he was only six. But Bud doesn’t dwell on his sadness of losing his mother. In fact, he’s a character: he’s a sturdy little guy who can handle himself in most situations and even creates a list of rules to follow titled something like: “Bud Caldwell‘s rules and things having a funner time and making a better liar out of yourself”, which I figure when you’re 10 is probably a good list to have.

So Bud is in search of his father and thinks he’s figured out who it is. He just has to get there and his troubles will all be over. Oh if only life were that easy, right? I don’t want to spoil anything but you MUST read this book. It will appeal to everyone. And Deza Malone is in it and you know how much I loved her.

Perfect for The Diversity Reading Challenge as it features an African American child on the cover. It’s so so great; this will be a re-read whenever I need a pick me up! No wonder Bud, Not Buddy won the Newbery!

Have you read it?

#5 Do Fairies Bring The Spring By Liza Gardner Walsh

After a long winter s rest with little to do,
are the fairies ready to start something new,

Do they use tiny brushes and oil pastels
to paint crocuses, lilacs, and daffodils?

It may not seem like it but spring is right around the corner! If you have a little one at home who loves fairies then they will love this book. I’ve always wanted to make a fairy garden and maybe this year will be the year I finally get it done. How sweet are the miniature homes, chairs, tea cups, and etc?

Do Fairies Bring the Spring is the perfect book for homeschool, regular school or even after school playtime. You could incorporate so many gardening lessons with it. As the lovely poem skips along through the book you can see what the multicultural fairies do to keep the ground ready for flowers. You could build lessons that do similar care and feeding of the flowers. You could also build little fairy gardens in a plant pot if you don’t have access to outdoor space.

I’m totally thinking I might want to build a tea party around this adorable book!

#6 Wonderful You By Lauren McLaughlin

Never have I read a book that so beautifully captures the dreams of young mothers for their unborn children. To be sure, Wonderful You is an adoption story, but it is about so much more than adoption. Mothers have dreams and visions of what their life will be like once a baby comes and I feel like adoptive or birth mothers have similar visions. I can only imagine that the mother giving up her child for adoption hopes the adoptive parents live up to her dreams. Both mothers want the best life for their new babies and want the babies to feel loved and supported. Wonderful You captures those feelings beautifully.

Especially captivating are the watercolor illustrations. They make you feel dreamy, like you’re in the heads and hearts of both families. And the fact that the adoptive parents are multicultural are an extra bonus!

Wonderful you is a lovely  book but it’s not just for adoptive families; it’s for every family that wants to show their child that they, too are Wonderful.

#7 I’m Not Scared By Annakang27

#8 Zoey’s Post-It By Zoey Steiner

More than anything I love kids, but you know that, right? Imagine a kid who writes a book? Can anything get more awesomer than that?

I think not.

That’s why I decided to read and review Zoey’s Post-it Notes

Zoe is a girl who is getting bullied in school. I don’t know why bullying is still a thing but it IS. I wish it weren’t. I know schools work hard to make it stop, but since sometimes kids can be jerks, it still happens. Zoey didn’t seek help, though but managed to figure out a way to help herself.

Zoey created positive post-it notes and posted them around her room. I’m pretty sure this was the original intention of 3M when they invented these, don’t you? What a more perfect way to inspire or remind yourself of something than to post encouraging notes where you can see them and be helped by them. Zoey had good days and bad days at school but she managed to find a way to make a bad situation good through a post-it note.

I strongly believe in the power of self talk and I have often posted uplifting sayings to myself; usually on a computer at work. It really does work.

I’m so glad Zoey found a way to help herself and is now visiting schools helping other kids improve their self esteem.

I have one note to share with Zoey: You are AWESOME

Zoey, if you’re reading this, I think you are AWESOME!

If your child is struggling with bullying perhaps this book will inspire them to seek help.

Happy Reading!