Hey, readers! In this month’s episode we discuss the perilous world of shopping for diverse children’s books. We’re overwhelmed by how much there is to consider with presenting children with authentic representation of people of color: When was the first time we saw ourselves in literature? Does it matter who writes and/or illustrates the book? How well do books handle interracial families or inter-community topics like colorism? And is it cheating to just buy your kid a book about a bear? (Answer: yes.)

Listen in as we discuss these questions and promote a few of our favorite titles. Join us for our next episode when we read The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin. As always, thanks for listening! Be sure to follow us on Twitter at @blackchicklit or check us out on Instagram at @bclpodcast.

Links:

• Just in case you missed the memo,Black people have always been around, thanks.
• The Pew Research Center wants to know who’s not reading books?
• I don’t know how we missed this original story, but, yes, quality genre fiction is just as good as quality literary fiction.
• This chat was inspired by an article published by the School Library Journal that discussed the percentages of published children’s books featuring characters from diverse backgrounds. (A readable version of that graphic.)
• Data were collected by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.