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Erika Gonzalez

Danielle Foquette

ENGL 239

12 July 2017

Diverse Books Are a Necessity

Children’s literature is intended for them to learn a valuable lesson or experience. It is

important for every child to have a well rounded background which is why it is necessary for

books to be ethnically and racially diverse. Simply because a book slightly touches on the

concept of multi-culture does not characterize it as diverse. Young readers, especially children of

color can encounter a difficult time finding a mirror image of themselves because an author can

fail to provide experience to which they feel a close connection. Limiting students to read books

that lack diversity can affect not only students, but parents as well. Schools should be required to

inculcate books written by authors of varies cultures and ethnicities in their curriculum.

Literature can often be seen as just text that other details are looked over. For instance, a

young child can pick up a book because of curiosity or illustrations. Children do not mind who it

is written by or if it reflects their life at all. According to Leah Donnella, in 2016, only 736 out of

3,400 books are either written or illustrated by people of color which accounts for only twenty-

two percent of children’s books. When taking these numbers into proportion, one can see that

they are very low and do not remotely reach half the percent. This demonstrates that many races

are not being granted the opportunity to see things they can relate to through a book, “and in

some cases, they were looks for books that didn’t exist,” said Director Kathleen Horning

(Donella- 2017). The fact that school faculty try to accommodate for their students and are

unable to do so is completely unreasonable. Too many, the numbers may not seem too much of a
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surprise, but it should not have to come to this, children should be able to read or look for a book

through which they can see their experiences.

When a book is written by an author who shares the same culture as a student it can

create a greater impact which draws a closer connection. It is not only the literary elements of

plot, setting, or conflict that play a major role in a story, but language as well. It is different and

only someone who has gone through the same thing can tell it as it is. For example, being

Mexican-American I celebrate Christmas on the 24th instead of the 25th, it is just a tradition. A

posada is a ritual right before this holiday and the term that may sound very familiar to children

who share the same culture. However, if this celebration were to be included in a book written by

an author who is only looking at it through the outside without any personal relationship it would

not portray the same image, nor would it sound the same. If the Shoe Fits by Gary Soto

encouraged me to use this personal connection. Soto himself is a proud Mexican-American

author who embraces his culture and makes it obvious through most of his famous works. This

one in particular is about a Mexican working class family of eight living in one household. The

main character Rigo is dealing with the fact that his family does not have enough money to spare

on clothes for him, therefore hand-me-downs have to do. Soto writes about relatable real day

struggles that a working class goes through. Furthermore, he includes Spanish slang words with a

glossary which makes it easier for his readers to understand what he is saying. This book is

meaningful because of how closely it can resemble to the life of most Mexican-Americans.

Books are great for entertainment, but they can serve as more than just that. Including

books written by racially diverse authors can be used as a tool for bilingual students and their

parents. The material that is included there is more likely to be something that the parent for one

can understand, and two have first hand knowledge. As a result of this, children can have the
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ability to bond with their parent and possibly learn even more than was intended because of the

way they are being taught. Hearing and learning by someone who has personally gone through a

specific situation can allow children to see things from a different perspective. Off of this tool,

parents will better assist their child with their school work and become more involved with what

they do. Since children are expected to read literature that is composed by white authors, parents

will continue to feel disconnected because of the lack of resources their child’s school has. Yet,

the main focus here is the student. If children are not being exposed to these type of books, then

they are not being taught to know anything aside from themselves. This all relates back to the

concept explained by Rudine Sims Bishop in “Mirror, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors” of

mirrors and windows. If a student cannot relate to anything that is occurring in a piece of

literature, there is a problem. Text is supposed to be a way in which a reader can relate to, or at

least get an insight of others. Having the ability to understand people other than yourself is a

social value.

Books like these should also be a requirement because it can give children a better

understanding of their own culture. Schools do not instill their roots, nor give them the

opportunity to practice their first language, until a higher level. Being taught or read from all

Americanized books can be seen as degradation to their own culture. It can also cause students to

forget about their own culture or even worse prevent them from learning about it at all since the

time is spent on other books. Books on the topic of diversity will enlightened not just for one

culture, but many others as well; which is why it is not fair for the required text to be “classics” it

should also be those that depict everyone’s culture. Whether that be Latino, Vietnamese, or

Black everyone matters and it should be a part of the school curriculum. Not one single culture
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or race should be looked at as superior and literature should be enjoyable despite these two

things.

All American Boys is contemporary fiction novel written by Jason Reynolds and Brendan

Kiely. This novel is about two teenagers who narrate the entire thing one white one black; Quinn

and Rashad. They are both high school teenagers attending the same high school and their only

difference is their skin color. Rashad is falsely accused of stealing a bag of chips and is badly

beaten by a white police officer because he was “resisting arrest”. Quinn witnessed the entire

thing and when Rashad is accused of these things on the news he contemplates whether to speak

up or not, because the cop that beat Rashad is someone he truly admired for stepping up as a

father figure to him. This story is told from the lens of two narrators which allows the readers to

be aware of the two conflicts present in the story and gives readers a personal connection with

both. It is easy to relate to either or and the fact that this type of literature exists is an opportunity

for both races to get an insight of what it is like. From Rashad’s perspective, many readers can

closely relate because they have witnessed that with some of their own family members and with

Quinn, many can be with him on being hesitant to speak up. No details are lacking because it is

told from both perspectives, it is almost guaranteed that their will be a connection with either

character because of how the story is told. More books need to be able to provide the same effect

that All American Boys does because society needs to see what it feels like to get beat for no

reason. Additionally, realize there are many things people of color need to agree on in order to

avoid trouble such as “not talking back or wearing saggy pants” (Reynolds, Kiely). This young

teenager’s life changed completely over an accusation, He suffered consequences that he should

have never encountered if his skin color were different.

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This book is also great because it provides a mirror or a window for children. A mirror

for those who have constantly dealt with accusations or stares because of skin color and a

window to anyone who has never gone through it aside from being told stories. Hopefully many

people realized that racism is very well still alive and that something has to be done about it.

Reading this literature can be a way for many to feel a closer connection. It is great that both of

these authors decided to collaborate on a severe worldwide issue that has been and continues to

be present in society.

Overall, it is important for books to be written by ethnically diverse authors because of

everything they can provide in the sphere of literature. It would definitely improve the latest

statistics and potentially increase the numbers throughout future years. Having an author write

more in depth off of personal experiences is more likely to have children understand situations

better. The way something is written is a lot different from how it sounds, and the only way this

can be managed is by deciding what should be a requirement.

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Works Cited

Bishop, Rudine Sims. "Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors." Reading Is Fundamental.

N.p., 1990. Web. 7 July 2017.

Donnella, Leah. "People Of Color Accounted For 22 Percent Of Children's Books Characters In

2016." NPR. NPR, 17 Feb. 2017. Web. 6 July 2017.

Reynolds, Jason, and Brendan Kiely. All American Boys. New York: Atheneum for Young

Readers, 2015. Print.

Soto, Gary, and Terry Widener. If the Shoe Fits. Columbus, O.H.: Zaner-Bloser, 2013. Print.