Books & Gatekeepers Infographic
SLJ Reviewer Laura Simeon’s Diversity Course Takeaways
During the summer of 2016, SLJ and LJ reviewers were invited to take a self-directed course on diversity and cultural literacy in reviewing children’s books. SLJ reviewer and school librarian Laura Simeon shares her thoughts on her experience taking the course. What do you get when you virtually gather a group of librarians from a […]
Intro to Disability Terms in Kid Lit
“Much of our everyday language is casually ableist, and this translates to ableist language in novels, whether the novel features disabled characters or not. Sometimes, these words are intentionally included to make a point. Other times, the author uses them unthinkingly, perhaps not even aware that certain terms are ableist in the first place.” Over […]
SLJ Diversity and Cultural Literacy Syllabus
Summer 2016 online course Week 1: Invisibility and Appropriation Articles: Colorblind Ideology Is a Form of Racism by Monnica T. Williams, Ph. D. (from Psychology Today) When You’re Invisible, Every Representation Matters (from Native Appropriations blog) A Cultural Conundrum: Exploring Cultural Appropriation in Children’s Literature (from The Book Wars blog) We [Native Peoples] Are Not People of Color by […]
Inclusive Language (from the SLJ Style Guide)
Part of an editor’s job is to examine text and make sure that terms and phrases used not only conform to our publication’s style guide (things like whether we use an Oxford comma or not–we do!), but whether the language and terms used are in line with our mission to serve a diverse readership. With that […]