After her son was born, a former educator had trouble finding children's books featuring Asian American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander characters. So, she became an author herself.
Joanna Ho is the author of five children's books. Her latest picture book,"One Day," was released in March.The "Eyes That Kiss in the Corners" author said she’s noticed there are more authors like her today who identify as Asian American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, but said there’s a need for moreand encourages the AANHPI community to make space "so that all of our stories are told and valued.
Lessa Kanani'opua Pelayo-Lozada is the current president of the American Library Association, the world's largest library association representing nearly 50,000 members. Pelayo-Lozada started as a children's librarian and remains active in the children's space as a board member of the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature and a member of the ALA's Association for Library Service to Children.
"When we're talking about equity, diversity and inclusion, it looks like sharing of stories, it looks like collaborations, it looks like having characters of many different backgrounds in our books … but also, I think that the stories that we need to have are still out there and still need to be tapped," Pelayo-Lozada added.The benefit for children of inclusive stories is boundless, Pelayo-Lozada said.
"It can help children understand why someone's family may have emigrated, or why their family is a refugee, or why their religion looks different. And so it's really important for us to allow children to be able to process the different emotions, the different things that they're seeing in the world and to process them through books," Pelayo-Lozada explained. "Parents don't always have the answers and so books can allow them to start that conversation together.
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