Amy Rosenfeld-Kass

I work as a librarian in a nursery school in New York City. As a librarian in a nursery school, I do storytimes with books and puppets. I also create my own stories with puppets. I tutor a child on zoom in reading and literacy
I read a variety of books to the children, and part of my job as their librarian is to read books which depict diverse characters, and also depict different characters such as female firefighters, children in wheelchairs playing at an accessible playground, and characters with all shades of skin color, just to name a few).

In my role as a librarian, I feel it is important to read books which talk about the concept of kindness and fairness. Exposure to these kinds of books will only help children grow up to be adults who have learned to accept people for who they are as well as be able to see beyond an individuals (disability). (I do not personally like the term disability. I prefer the term altered ability). Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, which is what makes us unique.

It is so important to have diverse books available for young children, and to have conversations with children at a young age (appropriate to their age level) about all kinds of differences. It is equally important to help children to also see that they are each special and unique in their own way.

There are a lot of picture books for young children that depict diverse characters. During the worst part of the pandemic, (December of 2020), I was asked to adapt a Daniel Tiger Book, to go along with a tv episode. , The book, Daniel and Max Play Together, is about Daniel Tiger meeting a friend Max in school. Max happens to be autistic, but Daniel learns that even if someone is different, you can still be friends and play with them, and find a way to get along with them! It was a good experience writing the book, and I had a 6 week deadline to get my manuscript in. It was also a good distraction from all the news, which was a good thing for me as well. (The book is available at Barnes and Noble and on Amazon.)

Giraffes Can’t Dance is about a giraffe that is teased by the other animals because of how he looks, and because he does not dance like the others. Gerald feels sad. Then, one day, Gerald the giraffe hears some music and dances in his own special way. The other animals notice this and are excited for him and Gerald is excited as well. (This book helps children to see that you can do things in your own special way, and there is no one right way to dance or move).

Another book, by Penfold, All Are Welcome, helps children to see that there are many kinds of people, and everyone should welcome! One day recently , I read this book to 3 and 4 year olds. The words “All Are Welcome” are repeated throughout the book, along with diverse pictures. I invited the children to say the words “All are Welcome” with me, and , as they did, they got louder and louder. At the end of the story, I asked the children to stand up, hold hands (and teachers and adults, too) and together, as a group, we said in unison, “All are Welcome!”

A similar book. All Are Neighbors, also by Penfold, is about people in the neighborhood, and how they are a community, but also diverse. The book includes pictures of all kinds of people!

Here are some other great books for kids that include great messages about diversity:

The ABC’s of Kindness. This book goes through each letter of the alphabet and talks in a simple way about being kind.

The book It’s Okay to be Different is about being different and has pictures of diverse characters as well. It is a good read aloud and can bring up a lot of discussion.

Yet another book, Should I Share My Ice Cream? By Mo Willems is a book that encourages sharing. We want to teach children about sharing and taking turns.

One of my other new favorite books, I is For Immigrants by Alko goes through each letter of the alphabet, depicting what immigrants might see when they are here in the states.

Almost any book can have a diverse lens to it. For example, take Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Martin. When reading the book to the children, you can ask the children what their name starts with and then point out that we all have names-some of them are different and some of our names are the same. One can also focus on how our names are special and unique to each of us.

Another book, The Little Grey Digger by Sonica Ellis, is about a grey digger who wants to be yellow like the other diggers, but realizes that it was fine to be grey, and he did not have to be like the others. You can just be your unique self. This is what we want to empower young children with, that they can be themselves and accept others for who they are as well. To be able to see beyond differences, and in learning this skill, respecting others for who they are, as well as their differences. And teaching young children this skill through diverse books and a classroom environment with diverse materials for the children to explore (i.e. a pretend play wheel chair, or pretend crutches, etc). or an African American baby doll, etc. is just the beginning of helping children to learn to see past differences when they encounter them). Finally, if children do ask questions about why someone is different, have a conversation with them, and help them to learn to feel comfortable talking about differences. But, that can only happen and take place if we as adults are role models for the children we teach and nurture, and make the time and space for children.