{"id":138864,"date":"2021-03-09T13:26:02","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T02:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/?p=138864"},"modified":"2021-03-15T13:46:57","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T02:46:57","slug":"why-diversity-in-kids-books-is-important","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2021\/03\/09\/why-diversity-in-kids-books-is-important\/","title":{"rendered":"Why diversity in kids books is important"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Celebrating<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This month, Booktopia is highlighting diversity in kids books with a collection<\/a><\/strong> of beautiful books that celebrate and embrace kindness, inclusivity and self acceptance. Today, our Brand & Content manager Mark Harding is on the blog to share some of his personal story and how important books can be to kids still figuring out who they are. Read on!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Mark

Booktopia’s Brand & Content Manager, Mark Harding<\/p><\/div>\n

On books and belonging<\/strong><\/h4>\n

I can remember being a confused child.<\/p>\n

I had always felt different, but for a long time I lacked the concepts or the language to really understand how. And in all of the stories that my parents read to me, or that I borrowed from the library, I never saw myself reflected. What was reinforced to me over and over again was that I felt different, acted different, and didn\u2019t quite belong.<\/p>\n\n\n

This sense of not belonging was internalised, not just for me, but for generations of diverse children, and it\u2019s the kind of thing you carry with you always. Even if you\u2019re lucky enough, as I have been, to find your place as an adult, the feeling still persists. You can get better at dealing with it, but it\u2019s always going to be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stories are our way of understanding the world and our place in it. It is therefore of the utmost importance that we share diverse stories with our children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am now a proud married gay man, with two little girls who are growing up in our rainbow family. It is truly remarkable that there are so many stories available now that reflect diversity. Our children have grown up being able to see their family reflected back to them in the books they read, and have been exposed to so many diverse stories, characters, and ways of existing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t know who my children will be when they are grown. There are so many things about themselves they are yet to discover, but it is my sincere hope that they don\u2019t have to bear the struggles of feeling alone, isolated and ashamed, simply because of who they are. Sharing and celebrating diverse stories with them is an important way that I can give them something that I missed in my childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The books featured in our Celebrating Diversity in Kids Books campaign celebrate inclusivity, kindness, and self-acceptance, with many wonderful stories to discover and share. And if you\u2019re reading this blog, I don\u2019t need to tell you the impact a good story can have on your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our picks for kids<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are some highlights from our Diversity in Kids Books collection!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Day Break<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

by Amy McQuire and Matt Chun (Illustrator)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9781760508159\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Day Break<\/em> is the story of a family making their way back to Country on January 26. We see the strength they draw from being together, and from sharing stories as they move through a shifting landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy it here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How to Be a Real Man<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

by Scott Stuart<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9781760507848\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Scott Stuart encourages boys to embrace who they truly are in this empowering and funny story, smashing age-old assumption about what it means to be a man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy it here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Welcome to Consent<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

by Yumi Stynes and Dr Melissa Kang<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9781760507497\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

An inclusive, frank and funny guide to navigating consent for tweens and teens of all genders, from the award-winning authors of Welcome To Your Period<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy it here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wide Big World<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

by Maxine Beneba Clarke and Isobel Knowles (Illustrator)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9780734420503\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Difference is everywhere, just look and see. This whole-wide-big-world is wondrous-unique. A gorgeous picture book about our diverse and wonderful world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy it here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Edge of Thirteen<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

by Nova Weetman<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9780702263125\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This story of fitting in and falling out perfectly captures how it feels to balance on the edge of who you are and who you want to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy it here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Boy from the Mish<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

by Gary Lonesborough<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9781760525880\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A funny and heart-warming queer Indigenous YA novel, set in a rural Australian community, about seventeen-year-old Jackson finding the courage to explore who he is, even if it scares him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy it here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Explore our Diversity in Kids Books collection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Diversity<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark Harding reflects on how books can help kids to belong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":138869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[12299,12634,12298,12635,10199,12640,12301,12638,7394,10217,12300,3608,10465,11509,11683,12639,12585,12636,12637,8575],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/diversity-blog-social.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138864"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138864"}],"version-history":[{"count":45,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139329,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138864\/revisions\/139329"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}