It’s shameful that here in the USA we still have to campaign for more cultural, racial, gender and ethnic diversity in the literature being produced for young people, but it is true.

The same year that I was born, Viking published Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day, and, you know,

Groundbreaking for its time.

 it did pretty well. But that was eons ago, and publishing didn’t keep pace with (or catch up with) changes in our country’s shifting population.  Learn more here. And here. (edited: link fixed)

It should be a given that all readers will read outside of their own cultures, ethnicities, etc., and if you aren’t actively looking to add diverse books to your to-be-read list, you should. There’s a whole wide world of experiences out there that you’re missing, and an amazing commonality of experience that you could be sharing.

What’s more, it’s absurd for a young reader not to be able to find more than a couple of books that reflect his or her own experiences. I mean, come on. It’s been more than half a century.

Most people get it, why this needs to change. I hope you’re one of them. Support the organization We Need Diverse Books, and read and buy diverse books. Please.