Sifting through my first-grader's bookshelf...

After reading the 10 Quick Ways article by the Council on Interracial Books for Children, I came away somewhat conflicted. On the one hand, books are of a particular time and place (item no. 10 on the Council’s list: Look at the copyright date). Case in point: From my daughter’s bookshelf, I pulled a Curious George compilation and The Big Green Book of Beginner Books (Dr. Seuss), which feature stories dating to the 1940s (latest copyright date: 1987). For the most part, the illustrations show women in dresses and heels and men in suits, though one Dr. Seuss story (Maybe You Should Fly a Jet!) shows women in various professional occupations, including flying said jet. And everyone in the Dr. Seuss book, and almost everyone in the Curious George stories, is white. Not a surprise.

Today, however, it is assumed that authors and illustrators will depict people of all colors and families of all kinds. It is so easy to do, yet for me the question becomes, how realistic is the depiction? In other words, does the diversity feel forced? I have often thought about ways my daughter’s book, Wake Up, World! A Day in the Life of Children Around the World, could be recast. Published by Oxfam, the book is essentially a photo essay of a day in the life of eight happy children: We see each kid eat breakfast, go to school, spend time with family, etc. Four are children of color who live in poverty in the developing world.  The other four live in relative prosperity in Europe, the United States, and Australia. We could argue that the authors should have chosen an urban child in Africa instead of one who lives in a mud hut. How would that alter a child’s take-away image of Africa? Does showing a poor child in Africa perpetuate a stereotype, or does it provide a window into a very real segment of the population? Similarly, the authors chose an upper-middle-class white girl in suburban London. Could they have chosen, say, an Indian immigrant family in another British city? Both images would be accurate, and maybe the point is to consider the age of the reader and what he or she will take from the book. Maybe it’s OK for a 6-year-old to simply peruse the stories and pictures of children around the world, leaving the exploration of other differences for older children?

I realize the above examples may not be what the Council had in mind in developing its list, but I think many, many books could be called into question, depending on the lens with which we choose to examine them.