I am writing to request review copies for the Diverse BookFinder, the only circulating collection of children’s picture books featuring people of color and indigenous people (IPOC). The Diverse BookFinder is not a list of recommended titles, but a research collection aimed at bringing a critical conversation to multicultural picture books. The collection is housed at Ladd Library on the Bates College campus and includes:
- fiction and narrative non-fiction picture books depicting (non-licensed) human characters of color and indigenous characters,
- suitable for grades K-3 (with the exception of board books and early readers),
- and published between 2002 and the present.
With funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services, we’ve reviewed and cataloged approximately 2,000 (and growing!) children’s trade picture books fitting these criteria to create:
A Search Tool: a first-of-its-kind online, searchable database of our collection that makes it easier for librarians, scholars and educators, and parents to locate and explore children’s picture books featuring IPOC characters.
A Source of Critical Data: Â real-time data about which IPOC characters are depicted in trade picture books (the “who”) and what messages these stories send (the “how”), to enable deeper conversation and change. Our team has used this data to publish academic papers and present at conferences.
To ensure that Loving Healing Press is fully recognized within the collection–so that your titles can be identified, borrowed and purchased widely by everyone who uses the Diverse BookFinder–I am writing to request review copies of the following titles:
- I’m Mixed!
- Snow White’s Seven Patches
- A Manual for Marco
- Reena’s Bollywood Dream
