If you are passionate about diversity and you have children, you might be interested in these children’s books. I have written about other diverse books that I bought for my children here.
A photo of the front cover of the book ‘Ugly’ by Robert Hoge. Background is light-greenish yellow. A rough sketch (as if done in black texta on white background) of a young man’s face. He has thick ears, short straight black scruffy-looking hair, big bushy eyebrows and small black eyes set wide apart. There is an uneven line drawn down the middle of his face (suggesting an uneven bone structure) passing through a wide asymmetrical-shaped nose. The word ‘Ugly’ is at the bottom of the page, slightly to the left, obscuring the chin of the sketched face. The word appears written with crooked block letters and looks as if it is coloured-in poorly with red pen.
It is a true story written for children probably from around ages 8 and up, although I found this book captivating to read myself. The blurb at the accurately refers to the book as “engaging” for readers but it was a bit disappointing to see it also refer to it as inspiring given that ‘inspiration porn’ is considered problematic by many people with disabilities. Regardless, this book gives some great general and specific life lessons about the stigma of disability, the unnecessary and cruel nature of teasing, about how dedication and practise can lead to success and about believing in the competence of people with disabilities. A must read!
Photo of the front cover of the book ‘I Love Being My Own Autistic Self!’ by London Bryce. Background colours are bold yellow, black and red. A blue cartoon character is situated near the centre of the red part of the background, from the chest up. The character has no hair, thin long dark blue eyebrows, thin closed dark blue eyes, small almost egg-shaped dark blue nose and an open wide mouth in the shape of a smile with two white bottom front teeth slightly visible. There is a speech bubble leading to the characters mouth (which is white fading to grey at the edges with black print) with the words ‘I Love Being My Own Autistic Self!’ in black. Across the bottom of the front page on a light grey background are the words ‘A thAutoons Book by Landon Bryce’.
This book is written for autistic children to help them make sense of their own identity and the contradictory messages they receive about autism from others. It is unique from other children’s books about autism in that it uses identity-first language, the preferred language of many autistic people.
This book is written from the perspective of a fictional autistic boy called Vector who introduces us to other characters in the story such as his autistic friends, neurotypical friends and family. All the characters appear as simple cartoon characters.
Vector explains the differing thoughts and feelings about autism of himself and each of the characters, including what Vector considers to be the “good” and “bad” parts of his own autism.
I actually scribbled out the words “good” and “bad” because it didn’t sit well with me and instead I wrote ‘strengths’ and ‘vulnerabilities’ above where those words are. Everybody has there own preferred language and I’ve never been a big fan of ‘good’ and ‘bad’.
What is best about this book is that it puts Vector’s thoughts and feelings about others’ perspectives at the forefront of the story and would probably help neurotypical readers to be less ableist and more supportive (if they were open-minded, which if they purchased the book, they probably are).
Photo of the front cover of ‘If the World Were a Village’ Third Edition. By David J. Smith. The front cover has a mottled dark blue background. A fuzzy circle approximately 15cm in diameter representing the world is in the centre of the page. Dark green colour represents the land mass and dark blue the sea. On the upper right hand side of the largest section of land mass there is a forest of lush green trees interspersed with groups of buildings of differing sizes with red roofs, white walls and blue windows. Outside the circle in the upper right-hand side and lower left-hand side is a large (2cm) yellow star with 5 points. The star on the bottom of the page has a triangular strip of yellow leading to it from the right- hand corner of the page. The title of the book ‘If the World Were a Village’ is at the top of the page in large yellow print. At the bottom of the page in slightly smaller yellow print is the text ‘A Book about the World’s People’.
Quoting directly from the book:
“This book is about “world-mindedness,” which is an attitude, an approach to life. It is the sense that our planet is actually a village, and we share this small, precious village with our neighbours. Knowing who our neighbours are, where they live and how they live, will help us live in peace.”
It condenses the world into a small village of 100 people in order to make comparisons between people in the world easier for children to comprehend. Each person in the village represents 71 million people from the world. The comparisons range from nationality and language to money and food security. For instance, only 9 out of the 100 villagers speak English; 21 speak a Chinese dialect.
The illustrations are quite stunning with bold colours and show a diversity of able-bodied adults and children throughout the book (although I might have seen a couple of walking canes- the pictures do not focus heavily on detail) as indicated by skin colour and clothing.
I found the facts very interesting myself and think this book would have to be one of the best ways to help children to understand that their experiences are just one of many ways that people are living in the world. There is not one way to be.
Photo of the front cover of ‘Sex is a Funny Word. A book about bodies, feelings and you’ by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth.The background is purple with a brick pattern representing the wall of a house. In the top half is the title of the book ‘Sex is a Funny Word’ in yellow block print, outlined in black, on a rounded square-shaped sign with red background. The sign is flush with the wall and directly above a rectangular window (with green background and pink curtains drawn to the sides). Four children are reaching up out of the window smiling. On the left-hand side, in the open window, is a child with an orange shirt, blue hair and light purple coloured skin (Omar). Omar’s right arm is raised in the air, his crutch is leaning against him and his left hand is resting on the window sill. To Omar’s left is a child with blue skin and shoulder-length straight black hair (Mimi). Mimi is wearing a red shirt and her left arm is raised in the air. To Mimi’s left is Zai, Zai has dark purple skin and hair. Zai is wearing a striped red and orange shirt with a green cardigan. Zai is resting both hands on the window sill. To Zai’s left is Cooper, Cooper is wearing a yellow shirt with a cat print. Cooper is wearing glasses and has red curly hair and freckles. Both Cooper’s arms are raised in the air. Omar, Mimi, Zai and Cooper are all smiling. In the bottom right-hand corner of the page are the words ‘A BOOK ABOUT BODIES, FEELINGS, AND YOU’ in white print on a red background. In the top right-hand corner of the page are the right side of two windows, one on top of the other with green backgrounds. On the window sill of the lower window is a pot plant containing two pink flowers and the upper window has green curtains.
This book takes four main characters (Omar, Mimi, Zai and Cooper) on a journey of discovery about their bodies, their rights, their preferred gender expression and their gender identity. The characters are diverse in appearance, gender and opinions. The only sexual activity covered in this book is masturbation, mostly referred to as “Touching Yourself.”
‘Sex is a Funny Word’ is LGBTIQ inclusive.
“Most boys are born with a penis and scrotum, and most girls are born with a vulva, vagina, and clitoris. But having a penis isn’t what makes you a boy. Having a vulva isn’t what makes you a girl. The truth is much more interesting than that!”
This book is also inclusive of people with disabilities. One of the four main characters has a visible disability and other characters pictured in the book also have visible disabilities.
What is also good about this book is that it also shows a variety of pictures of different looking “middle parts”. We don’t all look the same and the appearance of our “middle parts” changes with age. This is likely to be reassuring to some children or at least prepares them for change.
This is an excellent book to help children be accepting of differences in bodies, gender expression and gender identity. It also encourages further discussion by posing age -appropriate questions to the reader.
Photo of the front cover of ‘Our World Bardi Jaawi, Life at Ardiyooloon’. One Arm Point Remote Community School. The background colour is bright yellow, on which are painted simple dark yellow flowers.Taking up most of the centre of the front cover is a rough- edged circle of dark blue with a continuation of the painted flowers but in a lighter blue colour. In the centre of the circle, in large capital letters of yellow are the words ‘OUR WORLD’. On a line underneath in smaller more creative print (black print with thick yellow line containing black dots down the straight length of each letter) is the text ‘BARDI JAAWI’. Underneath this in smaller print again but the same style as the line above are the words ‘LIFE AT ARDIYOOLOON’. Finally, underneath this line in plain black capital letters of much smaller print is ‘ONE ARM POINT REMOTE COMMUNITY SCHOOL’. Various sea creatures inclusive of crabs, fish and turtles are simply sketched in a child-like way, in black, at the bottom of the circle under the text. At the top of the circle, above the text, partly extending into the yellow background, is a simply sketched boat with a motor. In the boat are three characters, in black and grey, fishing with fishing rods. Fish are attached to oversized hooks on two of the lines at least. A bird perches on the edge of the boat. In the top right hand corner of the page is a brown circular sticker with the words ‘THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, SHORT-LISTED BOOK’
This book documents activities undertaken by the children of One Arm Point Remote Community School (Western Australia) as part of the One Arm Point Culture Program. The program was initiated in 2008 to “find ways to pass on their knowledge and ensure that Bardi Jaawi traditional culture and language was kept alive for future generations”.
This book is beautifully designed by Tracey Gibbs. It includes photographs, drawings and recounts by the children of their experiences participating in various cultural activities from fishing and crabbing to looking for bush onions.
Clear, step-by-step directions with accompanying photos are provided throughout the book for some of the activities such as ‘Cooking Pandanus’ and ‘How to make a bough shelter’ in a recipe-like format. However, it is recommended that the reader does not repeat these activities without adult supervision and checking that they do not contravene local law (the Bardi Jaawi have Native Title over their land, sea, reef and islands).
Traditional stories and words (along with guidelines for pronunciation) are also shared in this very thorough book for children on the Bardi Jaawi culture.
Photo of the front page of the book ‘How Many Days to America? A Thanksgiving Story’ by Eve Bunting. The front cover has a pale yellow border about 1cm thick. At the top of the page are the words ‘How Many Days to America?’ in large black print. Underneath are the words ‘A Thanksgiving Story’ in smaller black print. The text is justified to the right. To the left of the text are several pale yellow ropes extending up next to a light brown mast of a small wooden boat. Part of one end of the boat is seen below the text, containing people all standing closely together. They look as if they could topple over the side of the boat easily in poor weather. There are two children nearest the edge of the boat, central to the front page. The girl in a pale pink dress, with a white shirt underneath, looks up at the boy in the collared white shirt. Behind the children stands a man and a woman both with serious expressions. The woman is wearing a bright pink long-sleeve top, blue shall and green skirt. The man is holding onto one of the ropes and is carrying a small sack on his left shoulder with the other arm. He is wearing a white-collared shirt, brown trousers and brown wide-brimmed hat. The sky is pale blue and the water appears choppy in shades of blue, purple and white.
Although it was published in 1988, this book is very relevant today. The story is narrated by a child, who’s family, after being visited by soldiers, needs to flee their home country so quickly that they take no possessions besides the clothes on their backs and jewellery to be traded for safety.
Their journey on a small, dilapidated boat, with other people seeking asylum, is harrowing. As each obstacle confronts them, the child’s parents reassure their children that they will soon reach freedom. Eventually, they reach the shores of America and are warmly welcomed with a feast to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Photo of the front cover of the book ‘My Brother Martin: A sister remembers. Growing up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King JR.’ By Christine King Farris. The background of the book is pale grey. The words ‘My Brother’ are in the top right corner, in lower case, in such a way that each letter appears as a product of rough colouring-in (in black) of a small uneven square and the uncoloured part forms each letter. Underneath ‘My Brother’ is the name ‘Martin’ in red block capital letters outlined in black. To the left of the page is a large head portrait of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King JR. The head portrait is a side profile and it is a slightly darker grey colour than the background and appears almost as a shadow. He is looking slightly upwards with his hand in a fist against his chin, which he holds between his thumb and forefinger. He has a neat moustache and the top of his white collar can be seen at the bottom of the page. To the left of the head portrait is a small blue square with rough edges, inside of which can be seen a young girl with her hair in a plait, tied up with a long, thick bright pink bow. The girl is wearing a bright yellow top. She is smiling and looking up into the eyes of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King JR. side profile. Below the girl are the words ‘A sister remembers’ in blue and below that in smaller print is ‘Growing up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King JR.’ At the very bottom of the front cover, justified to the right, in red print, is the text ‘NAACP IMAGE AWARD WINNER. A CHILD MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR’
This book is beautiful. It is beautiful for it’s illustrations, it’s message and it’s celebration of family.
It is narrated by Christine, Dr Martin Luther King JR.’s (M.L.) older sister. Christine recounts innocent childhood pranks, which are beautifully illustrated including the priceless expressions on the faces of their adult targets. However, their innocence is tainted when neighbourhood friends tell them they are not allowed to play with them because they are “negroes”.
The realities of racism to which they had been mostly shielded from were described and explained that day by their mother (Mother Dear). Christine and their siblings were given an excellent education on how to speak up for themselves, with the examples that their father gave when regaling them of tales of his day over the evening meal. On the day of rejection by the neighbourhood children, M.L. was heard by Christine to say to his mother “Mother Dear, one day I’m going to turn this world upside down.”
Photo of the front cover of the book ‘Nelson Mandela’ by Kadir Nelson. A head portrait of Nelson Mandela covers the entire front page, which has a reddish black background. He has short thick white hair perhaps an inch long all over and cleanly shaven face. His brown skin has warm orange red undertones. His face is illuminated by bright light, which reflects mostly down the centre line of his face. Several deep, long wrinkles line his forehead. Fine and feathery wrinkles are under his eyes. His thick red lips as neither turned up nor down. However, deep crevices either side of his mouth and nose may indicate an expression that relies on slightly raised cheeks. His shirt collar is bright white with straight edges with the top of his black jacket difficult to see against the dark background.
I find it hard to appreciate this book with a fresh perspective because I have read ‘Nelson Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom’. This children’s book manages to simplify his very eventful life into a story suitable for children. However, you don’t really get to know the man like you do in ‘The Long Walk to Freedom’. His character has to be imagined from his deeds, which were exceptional.
Mandela’s childhood and his experiences with the chief and elders are a wonderful introduction to the book. This book briefly covers his studies and work as a lawyer defending people who had been unjustly treated, his life as an organised activist, in subterfuge, during imprisonment and finally when he was released from prison a free man and true leader. It’s a fair introduction to apartheid and one of the key figures in it’s dismantling.
End Autism Stigma 