Represent and Celebrate Diversity in Your Classroom Library

Think of the books in a classroom library as mirrors and windows for the children.  Mirror books help them see themselves. Window books help them understand others. Educators can select children’s books that positively meet both of these goals.  

Recognize Diversity

A classroom library should contain books whose characters have diverse backgrounds and experiences.  Indicators of diversity in children’s books may include:  

• A variety of hair textures and skin tones 
• Ethnicity, cultural background, and religion (e.g., language, food, and clothing) 
• Ability (e.g., limb differences, communication mode, or use of glasses or hearing aids) 
• Gender and sexual identity (e.g., child questioning gender roles, LGBTQ relatives) 
• Family structure (e.g., stories with adoption, same sex parents) 
• Socio economic status (e.g., authentic representation of lifestyle, career, transportation) 
• Significant situation (e.g., incarcerated relative, deployed parent, divorced caregivers) 

Evaluate Individual Books

Books chosen for a classroom library should provide a positive and affirming representation of diversity. Here are some criteria teachers can use to evaluate books. 

• Illustrations – Avoid stereotypes and tokenism (e.g., only one person of that group). 
• Storyline – Do certain characters (e.g., women, people with disabilities) only rely passively on the help of others, or are they a strong main character shaping the story? 
• Loaded words – Watch out for words and phrases with an underlying message (e.g., “firemen” implies a job that is masculine, while “firefighters” does not). 
• People as characters – Many books explore diversity by using animals as characters but those cannot replace the need for stories where people are the main characters.  
• Author’s background and perspective – Is the author a part of the group that is being portrayed in the book?  If not, what knowledge or experiences have prepared them to write about their topic? 
• Copyright date – Newer books are more likely (but not guaranteed) to present a positive and accurate picture of diverse experiences.  

Finally, assess the appeal.  A book might stand up to all the criteria above, but if it’s not a good story, it won’t have a powerful impact on students. What might you do to help children connect with what the book offers? 

Evaluate the Classroom Library

Consider the full collection of books in the classroom library.  Which of the students are represented, and in what ways?  Which students are invisible in the collection? Find books to fill those gaps. A school librarian may offer recommendations or be able to access new books for the school’s collection. Review your classroom library each year to keep it up to date.  

IEL Resource