This is a class blog for the literacy methods course at Lewis & Clark College in Portland Oregon. We are preservice teachers working in K-5 classrooms throughout the Portland metro area. The blog was created to share our reviews of inclusive, multicultural, social-justice themed children’s books.

This project is informed by the work of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop who first used the metaphor of “windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors” as a schema for thinking about representation in children’s literature. Books that are mirrors reflect our lived experiences including race, class, gender, ability, sexual orientation, family structure, and other categories of difference. Books that are windows allow us to see an experience that is different from our own. Finally, books as sliding glass doors brings attention to the manner in which books can invite the reader into unfamiliar surroundings for an immersive experience; more than a window, these books have the potential to change the reader through engaging with characters and in situations that are significantly different from the reader’s lived experiences. As teachers, we are dedicated to “more shelf awareness” and creating inclusive classroom libraries.

Also central to this work is recognition of “the representation gap” in children’s literature. As you can see from the infographic below, there are stark racial disparities when it comes to children seeing themselves and their lived experiences reflected back to them in the books they read.

Our work with diverse, social-justice themed children’s books is intended to address this gap so that our classrooms are spaces of inclusion and representation. We are also dedicated to looking closely at how difference is represented and making sure that the books we choose reflect the complexity of diversity. Finally, we are dedicated to amplifying the voices of people of color and honoring the #ownvoices movement in the books we review.

Welcome to our blog. We hope you find a book that will make you want to curl up and read it to a child.

This blog is dedicated to Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop. You can learn more about her work HERE.