Diversity in Books

One of the main reasons I became interested in pursuing this project about donating books to schools is because of the importance of having diversity in books. When I was young, I was lucky enough to read books where the main characters looked like me, but many kids aren't able to see themselves in the books they read. I wanted to take the opportunity with this project to donate books to schools where diversity was a focus.

My interest in diversity also comes from my mom being an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher at an elementary school. Many of her students come from countries outside of America and thus don't get enough or any representation in the books they read or are read. My mom has talked to me many times about how important finding diverse books is at her school and that she makes it a mission to make sure these books exist for the students to read, although there is always a need for more books.

She currently has a list of reputable websites to find these types of books, so feel free to peruse them if you're interested in seeing any important and informative examples!

• https://socialjusticebooks.org/

• https://diversebookfinder.org/

• https://www.colorincolorado.org/books-authors/diverse-books-booklists-and-related-resources

• https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/why-we-need-diverse-books

By the end of this project, I hope to be able to donate book like these to schools that need them so that all kids can then see people like themselves in the books they read.

~Amy