Diverse Books to Improve Cultural Awareness in Children

What makes the world extra special and beautiful is the diversity of the people. Different people come from different cultural backgrounds, different races, and different physical appearances. The world is so diverse and that is what makes it beautiful. But, how do we see diversity in the innocent eyes of the child? Their innocence is the reset this world needs from the racial discrimination that has become so prevalent in society today. 

When is the right time to discuss diversity with your child? 

The right time to discuss diversity with your child is in their early childhood. According to the author of the multi-cultural book that raises cultural awareness-Hues and You, Dr Lucretia Berry, when children are given the language and framework, they will not see diversity as a threat, rather, they will grow up with respect for differences of people. 

Cultural diversity, or cultural sensitivity, is the knowledge, acceptance, and awareness of other cultures (Wikipedia). When a person (or a child) is culturally aware, he/she is sensitive to the differences among people and becomes more sensitive in communicating with people from different cultural backgrounds. Discussions and lessons on diversity should be the role of every parent. But, just like most parents, your first question would most probably be: how do I start? 

Ideally, conversations on diversity should start naturally. In fact, when children are more exposed to their environment they begin to question why some people look a little “different”. This is your perfect chance to discuss with your child why different people vary in the way they look. Diverse children’s books are also a wise choice, in fact, the use of diverse children’s books is the easiest way to discuss diversity because it will feel more natural to the child if it was told in a story. 

When children are exposed to diverse storybooks, you give them the chance to see a diverse society as something normal and natural. Children from BAME backgrounds need to see themselves in the books that they are reading. When they don’t, they receive a resounding message that their culture is not that important (Campbell Naidoo, 2014). Children deserve to see themselves in the books that they are reading. In fact, ownership of the text is an important element in perceiving oneself as a reader (Dymore and Griffiths, 2010). 

The reflecting realities report shows that in 2019, only 10% of the books published in the UK had BAME characters. This number is under-representative of UK’s diverse population, with 35% of the population composed of people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Moreover, only a small fraction of these books reach the shelves of school libraries, if they ever reach at all. 

Parents and educators collectively call for book publishers to publish more diverse children’s books. Diverse children’s books should not be looked at as a niche, but rather, as a norm in the storybook industry. 

Recent reports show that many parents, especially those from BAME backgrounds, struggle to find books that reflect and represent them. Personalised books are your best choice! In a personalised book, you can create your child’s character that closely resembles them. Their name is even featured in the story as the HERO. A personalised book gives your child the opportunity to see themselves in a published book. Image the look on their face when they see themselves in the story! 

Cultural awareness starts in early childhood. It is the role of every parent to teach their child lessons on diversity. Cultural awareness is for every child: black, white, Hispanic, Asian, and other races. When the child is culturally aware, he grows with love and respect for every person, regardless of their race.