Resources

Here’s a link to a short article from Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves with key information about finding, selecting and funding books.

Using the Find Books feature of our website you will find titles of books you want to check out and read before you buy. Try your local public library first. If the library doesn’t carry the book, they will often order it for you from another library. Most Librarians are eager to have a collection that meets the needs of their communities. Share your wish list of books and see if they can help.

Your local independent bookstore is the best source to purchase high quality children’s books. (Ours is Bookshop Santa Cruz ). Juvenile fiction goes out of print very quickly and the large publishers tend to only publish books that they believe will have a very broad audience. The independent bookstores are the ones that keep the smaller presses alive and are most responsive to ordering books for local customers. If you are not sure where a local bookstore is you can also order books from bookshop.org which represents local bookstores around the United States.

It’s not always easy to find the book you really need for your program or family. There are a few publishers we have come to rely upon that almost always have high quality, age appropriate anti-bias and peace education books and list them on-line. Look carefully at any listing of books by commercial publishers. Not all the books they offer are of the same quality and many are not accurate in terms of age appropriateness. If you’ve already found a book you love, write down the name of the publisher and take a look at their catalog. There’s a good chance they will have others that meet your needs.

Here is a partial list of places where we have found rich and wonderful books. As you identify others, please write us so we can add them to the site.

Larger Commercial Presses: major presses which publish a wide range of books many of which meet the Peace Library criteria

• Candlewick Press: Check out their “We Need Diverse Books”
• Chronicle Books: Take a look at their book list by age, 0 – 2, 3 – 5, 6– 8. Many of their books meet Peace Ed. and/or Anti-Bias criteria.
• Kokila/Penguin Random House: Scroll down to see their terrific list of picture books including many in Spanish.
• Lee & Low Publishing: One of the first and best publishers to focus on multi-cultural and diverse books for preschool through second grade. Their motto is “About Everyone: For Everyone”.

Smaller Presses: focused on visibility for groups that are usually marginalized”

• Heyday Press: They have an exceptional list of Native American and Japanese American writers and books. They also have books in Spanish and books focused on the natural world.
• Kids Can: Picture books focused mainly on 6 -8 year olds – but there are quite a few that are effective with younger children and we have found several jewels in their catalog.
• Birchbark Books: A wonderful resource of books written by and about Native children in the U.S. and in Canada. The first place we go when looking for accurate and age-appropriate books to break Indian stereotypes.

 

These are a few online resources for learning about and finding books  that speak to supporting young ones to become peace and justice builders in their worlds and build literacy in young children.  There are many such resources available. Here are a few of our favorite go-to sites.

• Teaching for Change
  Take a look at their list of board books, the list of ECE Anti-Bias books, and all of the wonderful social identity groups. While you’re at it – check out their video series on analyzing picture books and conversations with children. This is an amazing resource!
• Nurturing Anti-Racist Kids – Rebecca Gienapp
  This is a weekly blog post about young children, about books, about how to talk with children about injustice in ways that children can absorb. Her book lists are always enlightening and her workshops are excellent.
• Embrace Race:
  “Embrace Race was founded in early 2016 by two co-parents who set out to create the community and gather the resources they needed (need!) to meet the challenges faced by those raising children in a world where race matters”. Wonderful free webinars, with meaningful conversations between parents, teachers, and experts from various professions. We learn something each time we tune in.
• Engaging With Text and Narrative:
  This fabulous video should be required watching for any of us working with young children. Focused on bilingual children – but essential perspective for every child, the video demonstrates how to engage young children with text – through interactive read-alouds, dictation where children see their words turn into print, and foundational skills embedded in the process of learning about the world. (Part of a Series of videos from the SEAL project).
• Gender Justice in Early Childhood:
  Books for adults who work with young ones, downloadable articles, and handouts. Up to date, insightful and perceptive and focused on the world of early childhood.
• Colorín Colorado:
  A bilingual (English/Spanish) website chock full of resources for educators and family of English Language learners. Along with a wide range of helpful tips, they have an amazing listing of children’s picture books by social identities, ages, and topics.

Usually free or low cost and the most available source of ECE teacher preparation programs in most States in the U.S.. Check to see what Diversity/Equity courses they offer as well as courses on Children’s Books and/or Early Literacy. They may also offer courses in Gender Studies, Women Studies, Ethnic Studies, African American History, etc.

EPCC has Online and in person workshops focused specifically on infant through eight year olds for “ teachers and childcare personnel seeking information to assist them in responding to the violence which impacts children, families and themselves”

Exchange Press has excellent resources, including books, articles, the terrific journal Child Care Exchange, videos, and  workshops. Many of their offerings can be done on-line or with videos and workbooks. Ongoing focus on anti-bias and on literacy issues

NAEYC is the largest professional organization for those of us who teach and care for very young children. There are affiliates in every State (e.g. California Association of Young Children, Kansas Association of Young Children, etc.). They have evolved into an organization deeply committed to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and have published some of the most important ECE books on the topic. (Don’t miss the Equity Position Statement! ). They produce the journals “Young Children” and “Teaching Young Children”, videos about ECE issues, and provide national conferences and professional advocacy.