Multicultural Children's Book Day

#ReadYourWorld

Why Jewish Kidlit Shouldn’t be Offered to ONLY Jewish Children

by

{Guest post from Chana Stiefel}

I recently saw a question posed by Multicultural Children’s Book Day that I felt needed a thoughtful response from me.

The question was, “What book-related topics/concerns are you seeing discussed? Where do you feel there are “gaps” in representation when it comes to multicultural books for kids?”

First, I want to say a heartfelt “thank you” to the MCBD team and all of the hard work they are doing to spread the word about diversity in children’s books. When I saw their request for feedback about underrepresented groups, the first thought that came to mind was that I would love to see more Jewish books and Jewish authors and illustrators included in this important conversation.

Most people don’t realize that Jews make up less than 2% of the American population. Yet, according to FBI statistics from 2019, 60% of religious hate crimes targeted Jews. In addition, according to the ADL, one third of American Jewish college students have experienced antisemitism on campus. Think about that: One out of three Jewish college students has experienced antisemitism!
One way to combat antisemitism is to educate children when they are young and help increase empathy by including books about Jewish characters, Jewish holidays, and Jewish life in general in classrooms and libraries. In addition, Jewish authors should be included in panels on diversity.
What’s more, children need to know that Jews are not “one thing.” Jews are Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi. Jews are Asian. Jews are BIPOC. Jews are LGBTQ.
These are some of the reasons why it’s so important and meaningful when organizations like Little Free Library set an example, by including Jewish books on their diversity lists. (See LFL’s Read in Color list of Jewish books here.)
Jewish books shouldn’t be offered to only Jewish children. They should be shared with ALL children. Feel free to reach out for more Jewish reading list suggestions, resources, authors, illustrators, and more!
And thank you again for your continued dedication to this important mission.

Chana Stiefel is the author of more than 25 books for children, both fiction and nonfiction. Her next picture book biography is THE TOWER OF LIFE: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs, illustrated by Susan Gal (Scholastic, Fall 2022). A fun holiday book, MENDEL’S HANUKKAH MESS UP, illustrated by Daphna Awadish, will be coming from Kalaniot in Fall 2022. Chana’s most recent nonfiction picture book is LET LIBERTY RISE: How America’s Schoolchildren Helped Save the Statue of Liberty (illustrated by Chuck Groenink, Scholastic, 2021). Chana is represented by Miranda Paul at Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Learn more at chanastiefel.com.

Connect with Chana on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Comments

  1. Vivian Kirkfield says

    Fabulous article! Thank you, Chana, for shining a light on this topic. Books are a window on the world for kids…let’s help them to see ALL cultures and peoples. And of course, a huge thank you to MCBD and its founders.

  2. Carol Green Ungar says

    My book “The Surprise in the Desk” was sold in Jewish book stores and on amazon but it’s a story about a man who happened to be a Rabbi who found a bag full of cash in a second-hand desk and returned the money. When it happened the real story went viral and I dont see why my picture book retelling cant be appreciated by kids of all types.

  3. Michelle says

    Thank you for the great article! I have been pleasantly surprised by a number of new books coming out with Jewish main characters and themes (and not being Holocaust books). When I talk about multicultural, I truly try to include everybody.