Availability of Diverse Books For Early Elementary Students

Today students are more diverse than ever. They come from all different backgrounds. Many students are multicultural. Because of this, teachers and educators must have diverse books available to students. Diverse books allow students to gain self-confidence (Gomez-Najarro, 2020) and give them a new perspective on how others live their lives (Harper & Brand, 2010). However, when choosing diverse books, it is significant that the culture depicted in the book is accurate and not based on stereotypes and generalizations. Stereotypes and generalizations do not give the reader an accurate perspective and can be harmful (Harper & Brand, 2010). When looking at books, I believe there are four ways books can be diverse. They include characters, authors, illustrators, and illustrations. Since diverse books are an essential resource, I created a website for early elementary teachers and educators of diverse students but, all teachers and educators of early elementary students could benefit from this website. On my website, teachers and educators can learn about the importance of diverse books and they can learn about me and what led to my goal of having diverse books available to students. The main portion of the website offers diverse book recommendations with read-aloud links and ready-made literacy and social-emotional lesson plans that are based on diverse books. Part of each literacy lesson plan includes an optional cultural visual survey that will allow students to reflect on their culture and the culture depicted in the books I have recommended