Science shows that it is important for child development in their own identity and their sense of community to see images that reflect who they are, or characters who look like them, as well as images and characters who are different from them. This is one reason to explore and support diversity in children's literature, and you can find lots of resources for multicultural children's lit at Hekman Library. See more on this page for examples of diverse children's books, books about diversity in children's lit, and other recommended resources.
The Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison supports teaching, learning and research related to children's and young adult literature.
To help further an understanding and appreciation for multicultural literature, the CCBC offers a number of resources:
The Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature (CSMCL) is an educational research center in the field of multicultural literature, fostering interest and providing access to multicultural children's books.
Since 2013, the CSMCL has complied a list of the year's best multicultural children's books. Check out some of the recent selections.
The We Need Diverse Books movement advocates for the publishing industry and children's book lovers to produce and promote literature that reflects the lives of all young people. Books on different socioeconomic backgrounds, gender identities, sexual orientations, abilities, ethnicities, and cultures are important to the movement. To see examples of diverse books and learn how to search for them, check out their lists.