But, before we can market books with POC to our audiences, more of them need to be created. We need diverse “diverse” books—reflecting the many-storied and many-leveled experience of people of color not only in this country, but in our global community. We are bombarded enough with negative and many times erroneous images and interpretations of how a Latino, or Asian, or Arab teen lives. Let’s not be lazy thinkers, and let’s not teach our next generation to be the same. There are middle class African Americans. There are blonde, blue-eyed Hispanics. There are Southeast Asians living in the Midwest. And we all get visits from the tooth fairy, have a first day of school, and face cyber bullying from our peers. Where are the stories that reflect that? Where are the authors that write that? Where are the artists that illustrate that?

Shelley Diaz, “We Need Diverse ‘Diverse’ Book” (via schoollibraryjournal)

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