There is a lot of talk about the need to represent more diversity in books. Although it’s been a major focus for years, people of different ethnicities, sexual orientations and physical abilities still are hugely underrepresented in literature and in YA in particular. When they are, it’s often as the “quirky sidekick,” and not as the protagonist. When we only see one kind of protagonist in books, particularly when we’re growing up, we tend to think that only one kind of experience is valid. It shapes our view of the world. Unfortunately, despite decades of work toward a more inclusive society the world presented to our kids in books is almost overwhelmingly white and middle-class.
The #WeNeedDiverseBooks Twitter campaign that is going on right now is striving to remedy that by raising awareness, creating reading lists and offering other solutions to the issue. As part of that, great giveaways of entire diverse YA book collections are going on right now. I’m proud that THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY is one of the books being offered. Win your diverse YA book collection by entering the giveaway: click here.
RT @JamieFord: #weneeddiversebooks because no little kid ever said, “I want a box of 64 white crayons!” pic.twitter.com/A6f7HAEbXN
— cindy pon (@cindypon) May 1, 2014
