For many of us 2016 feels like it’s been a divisive year, a year of ‘me’ and not of ‘us’, a year of divisions and dark rhetoric. If like me, you are a parent you may be worrying how all this is affecting your children and their outlook on the world.
Books are always great teachers and the books we read as children help to form our personality so if you’re looking for some diverse ideas for your children’s library, we have some suggestions for you.
From 0 to 16 years, we’re heading through the age groups with 10 children’s books that celebrate diversity.
0 – 4 Years
Amazing Grace – Mary Hoffman
This classic children’s picture book about a little girl who loves stories shows us that we can be anything we want to be!
Fruits: A Caribbean Counting Poem – Valerie Bloom
The early years are all about learning, and this adorable little girl eating her way through all manner of delicious Caribbean fruits is a fun way to learn!
5 – 7 Years
Azzi In Between – Sarah Garland
This powerful graphic novel about Azzi and her family seeking refuge is full of drama and tension, but age appropriate and offering a perspective of lives more dangerous than our own.
Fish for Jimmy – Katie Yamasaki
Fish for Jimmy is inspired by one family’s experience in a Japanese American Internment Camp and is a fantastic, age appropriate read showing life on the other side.
8 – 9 Years
Thunder Boy Jr – Sherman Alexie
Sherman Alexie tackles some hard hitting themes in his books for young people, and Thunder Boy Jr is no different. Named after his father, Thunder Boy wants his own name, and this is his battle to get it.
Inside Out and Back Again – Thanhha Lai
Inspired by the author’s childhood experience of fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama, this coming-of-age debut novel told in verse has been celebrated for its touching child’s-eye view of family and immigration.
10 – 12 Years
The Unforgotten Coat – Frank Cottrell Boyce
This perceptive little book recounts the story of two Mongolian refugees who are struggling to fit in with their new classmates in Liverpool and is moving and beautifully written.
Talking Turkeys – Benjamin Zephaniah
This is a beautiful and thought provoking collection of poetry that explodes from the page and begs to be read aloud.
13 + Years
The Breadwinner – Deborah Ellis
The Breadwinner tells the story of Parvana, her mothers and sisters who are in danger of starvation. Kept housebound by the Taliban’s laws, they are trapped once their father is arrested.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe – Benjamin Alire Saenz
Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship.
While we have split the books into age appropriation, we would think that you would be best to decide the books appropriate for your own children and so the ages are given just as a guide.
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