Herrick Library is hosting an exhibit organized by Professor Susan Morehouse and students in English 217, Blood, and Guts and Alphabets: The Gory Truth about Children’s Literature.
The exhibit includes books from Herrick Library’s Children’s Collection, selected for their demonstration (in both text and images) of diversity and anti-bias in early literature for children.
The students stated, “We believe that if children learn appreciation for other people, cultures, places, and beliefs alongside their abc’s they will have the power to change the world.”
As part of the group project and exhibit, the students developed “5 Do’s for Creating an Anti-Bias Early Reader Library.”
DO the books in your library reflect diverse cultures and diverse lifestyles?
- Do they show the values and beliefs of different cultures that reflect the contemporary world? Do they inspire students to learn more about diverse cultures? Is history also accurately represented?
DO the books in your library reflect the truth of cultures, lifestyles, and abilities?
- Do they avoid injurious or demeaning stereotypes? Do they avoid tokenism, showing a diversity of cultures and abilities as a regular part of life?
DO your books include authors from a variety of different backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities?
- Do they include the visions and voices of writers and artists of diverse cultures?
DO the books in your library cover people, places, cultures, etc. in your everyday life?
- Do they show women and men, and girls and boys, in non-traditional or non-gender-typed roles?
DO you have a wide variety of family dynamics visible in your library?
- Families are more ethnically, racially, and religiously diverse than half a generation ago. Does your library reflect this?
The books and related documentation will be on exhibit in Herrick through the end of the fall 2019 semester.
