Families, Families, Families! by Suzanne Lang

Mirror and window books, which educator Emily Style originated in the 1980s, are found in all genres and across all ages. Reading books that offered mirrors (seeing themselves) and windows (seeing the world in which they live) reinforced the importance of valuing our differences and appreciating our diversity. Fill your shelves with books that offer children mirrors of their own world and windows into the diverse world beyond. And they were dreaming - about places to see and ways they could make an impact. They were hearing new author voices - offering different perspectives. My students were connecting to the books personally - seeing characters that looked like them or their families.

I brought in books for us to learn more about people and places around the world and integrated them into many of my lessons.

My students were excited to hear where I had gone and what I had seen, so I would pull down our classroom world map and share my photographs, souvenirs, and stories. And in my elementary classroom, diverse picture books helped propel my students toward learning about themselves and the world around them.Īs a teacher, I loved to travel during holiday breaks and summers. Some of the most powerful tools in the classroom are books. This post was written by educator Julie Yeros.

Families, Families, Families! by Suzanne Lang