Molly of Denali is a podcast for children that is unique from other children’s podcasts for several reasons.  The main character, Molly, is a 10 year old Alaskan native who is curious, adventurous, and solves mysteries.  What sets the podcast apart from others is that all of the indigenous characters are voiced by indigenous people.  This is a huge step in the right direction for appropriate representation.  Many television shows, movies, and podcasts have the right intentions but they make the mistake of casting people of different ethnic backgrounds to tell the story of Native Americans.  The podcast takes place in modern day Alaska, and it is the first of…

“Imagine a world in which all children can see themselves in the pages of a book.”  This is the tagline on WeNeedDiverseBooks.org.  This website provides teachers, writers, and caretakers with the resources they need to create a more diverse library for all of our readers.  The website offers a variety of resources from a blog highlighting their press releases to a page that sends site-users directly to websites where they can purchase diverse books or read book reviews.  The site also has information about how anyone can get involved in their diverse books movement and information about different programs that they offer.  This website is important in advocating for more…

Marley Dias, 14 year old literacy activist, has curated a campaign to make aware the lack of diverse picture books for children.  She started the #1000BlackGirlBooks movement at the age of 11 in an effort to gain more awareness of the rather large gap in publishing between books about white characters and books about diverse populations.  Her movement has been an inspiration for all; she has been an example of children making a difference in education for the last 4 years.  The campaign website, GrassROOTS Community Foundation, is a resource guide that provides information about their causes, their program, and upcoming events in the tri-state area of Pennsylvania, New York,…

The weekend of April 5th-8th I spent visiting Toronto, Canada.  As a member of AERA, I attended their Annual Conference to check in with the latest research in education.  I had the opportunity to sit in on many different topics, with one that stood out to me and my areas of interest.  I attended a session on the Gentrification of Neighborhoods and School (Re)Segregation.  The session was chaired by Janelle Scott from University of California- Berkeley and Jennifer Jellison Holme from University of Texas at Austin.  The presenters examined what happens to schools in cities that have become gentrified.  Some schools suffer low enrollment as rent goes up and low-income…

The Bank Street College of Education in New York City hosts a Latinx Conference yearly.  This year’s theme was Diverse Voices in Latinx Children’s Literature.  The one day conference featured panels of Latinx authors of various children’s books that challenge whitewashed publishing of children’s books.  The conference began with some words from Loida Garcia-Fabo, the President of the American Library Association.  She started her opening remarks by reciting a poem from memorization.  The poem was titled Majestad Negra, written by Puerto Rican poet Luis Pales Matos.  The panelist discussions were fascinating.  The authors talked about their experiences with reading while growing up, with author Liniers Macanudo making reference to a…