Whether you are a former student or a parent of a child at school, join our #anudgefordiversebooks campaign to fill your school library.
For many people looking back at childhood years, books played a big part of their growth and understanding of the world. Whether it be Enid Blyton and the Famous Five or the nostalgic tales of Biff, Chip and Kipper, the lessons and the memories of the books we read at school have stayed with us onto adulthood. Yet, upon reflecting on these book, very few of them consisted of characters of diverse life experiences. Many sections of society historically have been underrepresented in children's books, and the scope for children to learn about people unlike themselves has been limited as a consequence. Likewise, children from these underrepresented groups often feel neglected in the tales told in schools and find it hard to connect with books when none of them reflect their family makeup or their life.
It is our No.1 mission to make sure that the books that children read at school reflect the makeup of the world around them. We know that this is important for you too so we have created a template so you can share what we are doing with your primary school.
All you need to do is Copy & Paste our template, edit it as much as you like, and send it to your school so they know how important diverse children's literature and education is for you. Our template:
Dear ____, (Headteacher/ Local Authority Governor/ Librarian/ Reception) I recently came across a Lives of Colour initiative that aims to increase the amount of diverse children's books in school libraries and classes across the UK, and thought it could be an initiative ________ School would be interested in. Lives of Colour have set up the 'Authors of Colour Book Club for Schools' that offers resources and books to schools in order to encourage discussions and allow for all students and communities across the UK to be represented. The books include protagonists across different genders, religions, ages, disabilities, ethnicities and sexual orientation and are tailored to the reading ability and maturity of each age group. These books cover topics I wish I had the ability to learn from when I was at school and I know these are qualities which pupils from ______ School would benefit from immensely. It would be great if you could check out their website and get in touch! https://www.livesofcolour.co.uk/authors-of-colour-for-schools Yours sincerely, _______ (Former Pupil/ Parent)