Our theme for #DiverseKidLit in April is Favorites.
Please consider sharing diverse books and resources that support love and families. (As always, the theme is only a suggestion. Diverse posts on alternate topics are always welcome.)
My favorite books have an appreciating family theme:
We Are Family by Patricia Hegarty, illustrated by Ryan Wheatcroft
This jubilant rhyming picture book celebrates the bonds that make families strong with illustrations that depict diversity and acceptance of all kinds of families from mixed race, families of color, LGBTQ, to special needs. This pairs nicely with The Barefoot Book of Children to explore the ways kids and families are different, yet the same. [picture book, ages 2 and up]
When God Made You by Mathew Paul Turner, illustrated by David Catrow
A you who views others as sisters and brothers
and lives by three words: love one anther.
This lovely feel-g00d picture book celebrates the wonderful uniqueness of every child, when God made you all shiny and new. The message of the book suggests that everyone is part of a bigger “family,” and that each person has gifts to share with the world. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
Early Sunday Morning by Denene Millner, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Singing her first church solo makes a young African American girl nervous but her family is there all week to help her conquer her nerves. At her performance, she gets a special surprise that boosts her confidence when her father, who was supposed to work, makes it to her performance. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
A Long Pitch Home by Natalie Dias Lorenzi
Bilal and his family have to move quickly to the United States from Pakistan but his father has to stay behind to deal with political intrigue that threatens the family’s safety. Bilal must swap cricket for baseball, all the while hoping his father will be able to join them soon. As a year nearly passes without his father, Bilal finds that his newfound skill as a pitcher might be the key to helping his father. This chapter book shows how a family might end up seeking refuge in a new country, and the stresses that causes on a family. [chapter book, ages 8 and up]
Exciting News!
Supplies has offered a fabulous prize for participating in our upcoming #diversekidlit Twitter chat on Monday, April 10th from 8-9 pm ET.
One winner will receive all four of these wonderful diverse picture books: If Kids Ran the World; Golden Domes, Silver Lanterns; I’m New Here; and Same, Same But Different. These would make a wonderful addition to your home, classroom, or library.
You can find all the details about our upcoming chat, including a list of questions that we will be discussing, by clicking here. We hope to “see” you on Monday, April 10th from 8-9 pm ET – and good luck!
What Is #DiverseKidLit?
Diverse Children’s Books is a book-sharing meme designed to promote the reading and writing of children’s books that feature diverse characters. This community embraces all kinds of diversity including (and certainly not limited to) diverse, inclusive, multicultural, and global books for children of all backgrounds.
We encourage everyone who shares to support this blogging community by visiting and leaving comments for at least three others. Please also consider following the hosts on at least one of their social media outlets. Spread the word using #diversekidlit and/or adding our button to your site and your diverse posts.
We hope this community will grow into a great resource for parents, teachers, librarians, publishers, and authors! Our next linkup will be Saturday, April 15th and on the first and third Saturdays of every month.
Upcoming Theme & Chat
Our theme for the current month is Favorites. Themes are a suggestion only; all diverse book posts are welcome. If you’re interested, you can start planning now for our upcoming themes …
- April 15th continues the celebration of the one-year anniversary of #diversekidlit! Ourtheme with be Favorites. Share your top diverse books or authors or topics.
- Join us on Monday, April 10th from 8-9 pm Eastern Time for a Twitter chat aboutDiverse Children’s Books! In honor of one-year of the #diversekidlit linkup, we’ll bediscussing issues and challenges facing diverse books, as well as sharing our favorites.We hope you’ll join us!
- Future hops will take place on May 6th and 20th. Leave your ideas for a theme in the comments.
The most-clicked post from the previous #diversekidlit was Gayle’s wonderful list of books for Planting Seeds. Harvesting Change. Making Choices.
These three books emphasize the central theme of caring for our environment as a means of both action and activism. A great tie-in to doing some of your own planting too!
#DiverseKidLit is Hosted by:
Katie @ The Logonauts
Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest
Carolina @ La Clase de Sra. DuFault
Blog /
Twitter /
Facebook / Google+
Gayle Swift, Author of ABC, Adoption &
Me
Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Google+
Jane @ Rain City Librarian
/ Twitter / Instagram
Marjorie @ Mirrors Windows Doors
Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest
Mia @ Pragmatic Mom
Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest / Instagram
Myra @ Gathering Books
Shoumi Sen, Author of Toddler Diaries
Guest Hosts for April
Becky @ Franticmommmy
Blog / Twitter /
Facebook / Pinterest / Instagram
Gauri @ Kitaab World
an online bookstore for South Asian children’s books, toys and games
Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest / Instagram
Want to be notified when the next #diversekidlit linkup goes live? Click here to join the
mailing list. Interested in joining as a host or an occasional co-host? Contact katie at
thelogonauts.com.
(Never participated in a linkup before? Please click here for a more detailed step-by-step.)
Get #DiverseKidLit Recommendations on Pinterest!
Our Pinterest board highlights a wide range of amazing posts and resources for Diverse Children’s Books. Please consider following the board for even more great books!
Share Your Link Below
Loading InLinkz ...
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Multicultural Books for Kids on Pinterest.
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Children’s Book Activities on Pinterest.
My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award longlist
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Good luck, Mia!! I’ve been resistant to joining twitter, but it seems like I’m missing out on quite a bit. I hope it’s a successful event!!
Hi Maria,
We hope you will join us on Twitter this year! Thanks for the well wishes. It will be the first Twitter event coming up on Monday night.
Such a great collection of books! I really love being able to have a variety of diverse family books in my collection – our library is situated in a highly diverse community, and we have intercultural and interracial families, LGBTQ families, families that have been enriched through adoption, families where members have different abilities, and more, so it’s wonderful to be able to offer families books that celebrate them, and introduce them to other kinds of families!
Your library sounds wonderful Jane! It’s sounds so welcoming thanks to all the efforts you and your fellow librarians put in. I’m sure that is noticed and highly appreciated by your community!
These look like wonderful books!
Thanks so much Mother of 3!