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Schedule Key 

[P] = a book you are required to purchase for class 

[E]  = available under the “reading materials” tab on eLearning 

(all other texts available via links – email me if a link isn’t working!) 

 

Unit 1: Historical Background of Diversity in Children’s Literature 

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Week 1 

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M:  

• COMPLETE: Introductory Email 

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W:  

• READ: “A New Era for Children’s Literature” (2020) by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center 

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Week 2 

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M: NO CLASS - MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY 

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W:  

• READ: Little Black Sambo (1908) by Helen Bannerman, Illustrated by John R. Neill 

• READ: The Five Chinese Brothers (1938) by Claire Huchet Bishop, Illustrated by Kurt Wiese 

 

Week 3 

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M:  

• READ: The Snowy Day (1962) by Ezra Jack Keats 

• READ: Corduroy (1968) by Don Freeman 

• READ: Ten Little Rabbits (1991) by Virginia Grossman    

• READ: “Reconsidering Ten Little Rabbits – Evaluating Books from the Viewpoint of Other Cultures (2007) by Tricia Stohr-Hunt  

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W: 

• READ: “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors” (2015) by Rudine Simms Bishop  

• WATCH: “The Mirrors and Windows of Your Child’s Bookshelf” by Grace Lin  

 

Unit 2: Introducing the #WeNeedDiverseBooks Movement 

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Week 4  

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M:  

• READ: “‘We Need Diverse Books’: Diversity, Activism, and Children’s Literature” by Sarah Park Dahlen [E] 

• VIEW: “Diversity in Children’s Books: 2015” Image 

• VIEW: “Diversity in Children’s Books: 2018” Image 

 

W: 

• LISTEN: WNDB panel  

• EXPLORE: WNDB website 

• READ: “A Cheat Sheet for Selling Diversity” (2014) by Grace Lin  

 

Unit 3: Authenticity in Diverse Children’s Literature 

 

Week 5  

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M:  

• READ: “Critical Indigenous Literacies: Selecting and Using Children’s Books about Indigenous Peoples” (2018) by Debbie Reese 

• READ: We Are Water Protectors (2020) by Carole Lindstrom 

• READ: Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story (2019) by Kevin Maillard 

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W: 

• READ: The Birchbark House (1999) by Louise Erdrich Prologue - Ch.6 [P] 

 

Week 6  

 

M:  

• READ: The Birchbark House (1999) by Louise Erdrich Ch. 7 - Ch. 10 [P] 

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W: 

• READ: The Birchbark House (1999) by Louise Erdrich Ch. 11 - end [P] 

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Week 7 

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M:  

• READ: Julian is a Mermaid (2018) by Jessica Love 

• READ: Milo Imagines the World (2021) by Matt de la Peña 

• READ: Big (2023) by Vashti Harrison  

 

W: 

• WATCH: “Loop” (2021) by Pixar SparkShort 

• WATCH: “Hair Love” (2019) by Disney 

 

Week 8 

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M:  

• READ: El Deafo (2014) by Cece Bell beginning – Ch. 9 [P]

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W: 

• READ: El Deafo (2014) by Cece Bell Ch. 10 – end [P] 

 

SPRING BREAK 

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Unit 4: Resistance and Book Banning: Challenges to the We Need Diverse Books Movement 

 

Week 9 

 

M:  

• EXPLORE: “Top 10 Most Challenged Books Lists” (2001 - Present) by the American Library Association  

• WATCH: “A Look at Children’s Books that Have Been Banned” () by Shirley Chisom  

• WATCH: “The ABCs of Book Banning” (2023) by Trish Adlesic, Nazenet Habtezghi, and Sheila Nevins [P] - available through Parmount+ free trial  

 

W: 

• READ: The Proudest Blue (2019) by Ibtihaj Muhammad 

• READ: And Tango Makes Three (2005) by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell   

• READ: The Undefeated (2019) by Kwame Alexander  

 

Week 10  

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M:  

• READ: Melissa (2022) by Alex Gino beginning – Ch. 7 [P] 

 

W:  

• READ: Melissa (2022) by Alex Gino Ch. 7 – end [P] 

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Week 11 

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M:  

• READ: Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship (2018) by Charles Walters and Irene Latham  

 

W: 

• READ: The 1619 Project: Born on the Water (2021) by Nikole Hannah-Jones 

 

Week 12 

 

M:  

• READ: Ghost Boys (2018) by Jewell Parker Rhodes beginning – ch.16 [P] 

 

W: 

• READ: Ghost Boys (2018) by Jewell Parker Rhodes ch.16 - end [P]  

 

Unit 5: What Can We Do? Action-Taking with the We Need Diverse Books Movement 

 

Week 13 

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M: 

• READ: “Stories Still Matter: Rethinking the Role of Diverse Children’s Literature Today” (2016) by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas 

• READ: “Are Children’s Books Improving Representation?” (2023) by Jesse Greenspan 

 

W: 

• READ: Kids’ Right to Read Action Kit (2022) by the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) 

• READ: “Teaching Banned Books: MELISSA by Alex Gino” (2023) by Mikkaka Overstreet 

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Week 14 

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M:  

• READ: Take the Mic: Fictional Stories of Everyday Resistance (2019) edited by Bethany C. Morrow first half 

 

W:  

• READ: Take the Mic: Fictional Stories of Everyday Resistance (2019) edited by Bethany C. Morrow second half  

 

Finals Week  

• PRESENT: Final Project – Date/Time TBD