Language Lizard is a proud sponsor of Multicultural Children’s Book Day on January 25, 2019. Children’s books that showcase diverse, multicultural characters have long been underrepresented on the shelves of libraries and bookstores. Here’s why the next time you’re book shopping, you’ll want to make multicultural children’s books a top priority.
We Need More Multicultural Children’s Books
Of the 3,700 children’s books reviewed by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center in 2017, only 25% featured non-white characters. While this is an improvement over the 10% in 2014 , clearly publishers still have a long way to go. Beyond that, we also need libraries and bookstores to carry more multicultural books, so that teachers, parents and children can have access to them.
When you’re selecting your next set of books, seek out ones that challenge stereotypes by featuring positive and realistic multicultural characters who will be empowering role models to young readers. Look for books with story lines that have universal appeal, so every child will be enthusiastic about reading.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day – January 25, 2019
Support Multicultural Children’s Book Day on January 25, 2019!
Use #ReadYourWorld on social media, and share your love of diverse characters and multicultural stories. It’s an easy way to help get more multicultural children’s books out into the world. There were 3.2 billion social media shares for Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2018… let’s beat that number this year!
Go to the event’s website and find other ways to support this great cause. There’s a free classroom poverty kit, diversity books lists and activities.
Check out their eBook fundraiser – all of the proceeds will be used to gift books to teachers for their classroom libraries!
Multicultural Stories & Book Sets
Language Lizard offers numerous books that celebrate diversity and teach children about different cultures. We offer bilingual multicultural stories in a choice of over 50 languages, as well as English-only book sets that focus on cultural holidays and traditions around the world.