Diverse Perspectives

It is important for young readers to understand the importance of diversity. I think it is essential for students to learn about diversity in many different ways. Diversity isn't just only about race and cultural differences, there are many other ways to look at diversity such as disabilities and gender inequalities. The benefits for children reading diverse books are that it presents information and knowledge about the historical and contributions of the people of diverse cultures who live in the United States. It also connects children to the world by giving them information and viewpoints of other students. Categories in the predominant groups in the United States are African Americans, Latino Americans, Asian Americans, and American Indians. I think those are some categories that are important for students to read about. I also think that some other diverse perspectives are really important for young children to learn about. These categories consist of:

• Aging: These are books that teach children about elderly and the stages of life. A lot of children only portray elderly people as senile and close to death. 
• Example: The Hello, Goodbye Window by: Norton Juster
• Gender Equity: These books devoid of stereotypes that have traditionally constrained gender roles in society.
• Example: 100 Things Guys Need to Know by: Bill Zimmerman
• Exceptionalities: These books portray characters with physical, mental, or behavioral challenges and giftedness must avoid stereotypes and focus on what they can do. 
• Example: Out of My Mind by: Sharon Draper
• Language: These books are written in English and other language or books about people who speak more than one language.
• Example: I Hate English by: Ellen Levine
• Social Diversity: These are books that portray poverty, low social class, homelessness, illiteracy, or migrant life.
• Example: The Teddy Bear by: David Mcphail
• Family structures: These are books about a variety of family social structures. This includes adoption, divorced families, single-parent families, and more.
• Example: Celebrating Families by: Rosemarie Hausherr