Kids need to see themselves reflected in media. Here are some recommendations

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Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Tired of looking for family entertainment where diverseness does n’t feel like a token after-thought ? Look no far. Our contributors to this list are : Kevin Clark, a children ‘s media adviser who recently served as creative producer on the Netflix series Bookmarks : Celebrating Black Voices Yalda Uhls, founder and executive film director of the Center for Scholars & Storytellers at UCLA Jeff Haynes, senior editor program of television games and websites at Common Sense Media Princess Daazhraii Johnson, writer and creative producer of Molly of Denali Deborah Pope, executive director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation Amy Jordan, professor and chair of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University
Two recent studies on diversity in television and children ‘s media in particular usher that :

• Mainstream media content still features mostly White characters, despite the fact that the U.S. population is increasingly more racially diverse.
• The world of children’s media is slightly more diverse than adult content, but it too is still not representative of its target audience. Roughly half of all children are non-White.
• An increasingly diverse population favors diversity in the media they consume.

“ The media sometimes serves as a window and sometimes serves as a mirror, ” says Mariana Diaz-Wioczek. She spent years as the drumhead of education and research on Nickelodeon ‘s Dora the Explorer and presently consults on the fresh PBS Kids show Alma ‘s Way, one of our recommend titles below. “ The shows and characters that resonate the most are actually both. You see yourself reflected in them, but you besides get to learn about other things through them. ”

We asked a handful of children ‘s media experts to recommend their favorite new contented that gets senior high school marks for both great storytelling and inclusion. here are some of their picks for books, video games, and television receiver from 2021 and 2020.

LITTLE KIDS

Picture books

Random House Children ‘s Books
Nana Akua Goes to School , written by Tricia Elam Walker with illustrations by April Harrison Zura wants to bring her west african grandma to school for Grandparents Day but she ‘s afraid the traditional tribal markings on her grimace will frighten her classmates. “ But her grandma fair aces the situation by showing how she can make differences familiar and therefore bridge … the cultural col, ” says Deborah Pope, executive director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. “ I think all kids will resonate with Zura ‘s … fears of being different, and then in truth be comforted by the room you resolve those fears. ” The Me I Choose to Be , written by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley with photography by Regis and Kahran Bethencourt A young ballerina dances across a aglow, purple night flip. A child astronaut donning a flatware courtship is poised to explore the galax. Children ‘s media adviser Kevin Clark calls The Me I Choose to Be ‘s reach-for-the-stars declarations an “ uplifting, brawny book that encourages self-awareness and confidence and talks about possibilities. ” Clark says the “ brilliantly, vibrant ” images are “ unlike anything I ‘ve ever seen in a children ‘s mental picture book. ” Brick by Brick , written and illustrated by Heidi Woodward Sheffield With a smatter of spanish throughout, Luis loves talking about his church father, Papi, a construction proletarian. “ Papi ‘s work is brick by brick. Mine is book by book, ” Luis beam with pride. Pope says Sheffield ‘s colorful collages “ knock it out of the park ” and applauds the report for highlighting a father/son relationship, “ something that we need to see more of in children ‘s books. ” Can Bears Ski? , written by Raymond Antrobus with illustrations by Polly Dunbar

little Bear experiences the world through feel, the “ rumbles ” when his dad yells, the “ crunch ” when he walks in the snow. But fiddling Bear has trouble understanding people when they speak. A visit to an audiologist reveals he ‘s experiencing deafness. “ What ‘s special about this book, ” says Pope, “ is that it very reveals to the earshot readers how deep the worldly concern is in terms of ace for non-hearing people. ”

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Roaring Brook Press

Roaring Brook Press

We Are Water Protectors , written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade A little Ojibwe girlfriend warns of the dangers of “ the bootleg snake, ” a metaphor for the Dakota Access Pipeline. Lindstrom and Goade “ do such a beautiful job showing how we are connected to the land, the water in especial and all of the animals and those main elements that we depend upon, ” says Princess Daazhraii Johnson, a writer and producer on the PBS Kids show Molly of Denali.

Television

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PBS

PBS

Alma’s Way Created by former Sesame Street actor Sonia Manzano, Alma is a little Puerto Rican girlfriend from the Bronx who makes inclusivity cool. She ‘s a trouble problem solver who exudes favorableness. The PBS Kids show takes on “ common childhood issues about how to be a good supporter or, if you want to be good at something, you need to practice, ” says Rutgers professor Amy Jordan. “ The colors pop. The characters are bright. It ‘s barely a in truth well-done course of study. ” City of Ghosts From a skate shop class in Venice to a restaurant in Boyle Heights, a group of kids consultation the ghosts that inhabit Los Angeles. In the process they learn about their city ‘s history. “ Unique, ” “ groundbreaking ” and “ my cup of tea, ” gushes Princess Daazhraii Johnson about the new Netflix series. “ I just love how it relates then deeply to place, ” she says. “ It ‘s then amaze to see this sort of depth and connection … that truly honors the First Peoples of that station. ”

Video games

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Nintendo

Nintendo

DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power , ages 8-10 In this open world, all-female, action venture, players get both a sense of the characters “ as their superhero selves going on quests and adventures, ” says Jeff Haynes, aged editor of video games and websites for Common Sense Media, and “ their change ego lives, so you see them going to high school and interact with some of the characters from the television receiver express ” of the lapp diagnose. Oregon Trail Apple Arcade Edition , 8-10 If, according to the Oregon Trail game ‘s web site, “ Surviving blizzards, break limbs, snakebites, exhaustion, starvation, and the awful dysentery ” is your estimate of playfulness, this is the game for you. Haynes says this update adaptation of the classic 1971 Oregon Trail game “ actually breaks a bunch of raw ground, ” by including native Americans equally well as African-Americans and other races that besides migrated west.

TWEENS

Books

Stuntboy in the Meantime , written by Jason Reynolds with illustrations by Raul The Third Portico Reed is described as “ the greatest superhero you ‘ve never heard of. ” He lives in an apartment construction he calls “ the biggest family on the block, ” where “ behind every door is a fresh television display. ” Kevin Clark says, “ It ‘s curious. It ‘s capricious. … It tackles issues like disassociate and anxiety and strong-arm in a way that is authentic and disarming then that you ‘re not being preached to. ”

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North Atlantic Books

North Atlantic Books

The Whale Child , written and illustrated by Keith Egawa and Chenoa Egawa A whale child is turned into a human in order to spread the news that the oceans are in trouble. He befriends a human girlfriend and tells her about his firsthand know of the affect of pollution on the water, “ the populate veins of our planet. ” Princess Daazhraii Johnson says, “ They just have this understanding that they ‘re going to come together and learn from one another. ” Johnson, a member of the Gwich’in people of Alaska, is thrilled to see a story that reminds her of her own polish. “ We have so many stories of how we as humans became the animals sol that we could understand each other better and know how to revere and respect one another. ”

Video games

XSEED Games, Marvelous USA, Inc .
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin , ages 11-13 “ But even a goddess needs to eat … ” according to the web site for this multi-layered game. The ocular presentation is “ gorgeous, ” says Haynes. “ It ‘s a very interest mix of japanese mythology, farming, role-playing. It seems like it would n’t necessarily wind up working, but it works very, very well. ”

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marvel

Marvel

Miles Morales , 11-13 not entirely is Miles Morales navigating life as a adolescent, he ‘s Spider-Man trying to protect his Harlem vicinity from an malefic pot and street gangs. Haynes says multiple layers keep this game concern. Miles cares deeply about his divers community, which includes people of color, people with disabilities and LGBTQ people. But the military action adventure is all about “ this character who is very good trying to get his powers under command, ” says Haynes.

BIGGER KIDS (14+)

Books

Apple (Skin to the Core) , written by Eric Gansworth Gansworth, an enroll member of the Onondaga Nation, explores the return of identity in the side of colonization and reclaims the discussion “ apple, ” a racial blur meaning “ red on the outside, and white on the inside. ” For Johnson, this memoir-in-verse contextualizes history and “ brings you into the nooks and crannies ” of what generations of one family experienced through forced assimilation in politics boarding schools.

Video games

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©2021 Microsoft. All rights reserved .

©2021 Microsoft. All rights reserved.

Tell Me Why , ages 14-17 Ten years after the death of their mother, twins are reunited in their Alaska hometown with a lot of questions about the past. Tell Me Why is the foremost major studio game to feature a transgender lead fictional character. The developers consulted with GLAAD as the history was being created. Issues addressed in this supernatural mystery include sexual identity, mental health and religion. “ It goes through indeed many different aspects of content, while besides giving the actor the ability to, in some cases, define or refine the report, ” says Haynes.

Television

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Erika Doss/ABC

Erika Doss/ABC

The Wonder Years The boot of the 1988 series changes the race of the family at the center of the history from White to Black. Yalda Uhls, fall through and executive director of the Center for Scholars & Storytellers at UCLA, praises the read for its authenticity. “ It ‘s a Black, middle-class family that is together. They ‘re not pathologized. ” For example, says Uhls, the mother is n’t colorized, “ She feels veridical. ” Uhls believes the newly Wonder Years gives viewers what today ‘s audiences want : “ more nuance in diverseness. ”

Gentefied Three cousins try to save their grandfather ‘s taqueria – and a draw more – in this comedy-drama rig in Boyle Heights, the majority Latino region in Los Angeles. They ‘re fighting his possible exile, all while trying to pursue their dreams. “ As a child of immigrants, that is a report that I truly relate to, ” says Yalda Uhls, whose parents were born in Iran. Uhls says Gentefied is “ a naturalistic look ” at gentrification, immigration, family and the “ travel of socialization. ” Need more ideas? Check out Common Sense Media and/or the ALSC Book and Media Awards Shelf, curated by the Association for Library Service to Children ( ALSC ), a division of the American Library Association .