As the
Director of an early childhood center and the father of a three year old boy,
I’ve come to appreciate the first five years of a child's life as critical in
laying down the foundation for future health and happiness. A
child’s relationships, experiences and environment are central in shaping their
view of the world. Picture books help shape that view. Books teach children lessons
about life, compassion and how to understand the world. With all the
intolerance circulating in our country, children’s books are more important
than ever to help break the cycle of fear. Unfortunately, there is a huge diversity gap in children’s
publishing. Although 37% of the US population are people of color, only 10% of
children’s books published in the past 21 years depict multicultural content. I
want my son to be able to identify with the characters in the books he reads
and I want him exposed to books that reflect the diversity of our society. When
children see diversity in cultures and people in the books they read they can
break free of the ignorance, prejudices and stereotypes that blind so many.
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| Angel M. Alvarez- Spot Illustration for SCBWI Member newsletter |
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