When I was at ALA this summer, I somehow ended up wearing this button that says we need diverse books. And I just think that’s an exciting new development. I’m not very good on tweeting and texting and all that good stuff, but I think one of the things that’s exciting about this campaign is that they are taking advantage of social media so it has the potential to reach a lot of people that something like the Nancy Larrick piece would not reach.
I like the idea. I understand that they’re really focusing on classroom, on books in the classroom, which is where we absolutely need to focus these books, and I think that’s exciting. I understand that they’re planning a festival of diverse books in 2016. So, I think it’s really an exciting new development and has the potential to have an impact that’s similar to if not greater than the Larrick piece of almost 50 years ago. It’s something new and exciting in the field.
The Council on Interracial Books for Children started about the time of the Nancy Larrick piece. In fact I think Nancy was one of the founding members. It had profound impact in its day. It was responsible for getting the first books of Walter D. Myers; Mildred Taylor; Kristin Hunter perhaps, her first children’s book, and calling attention to artists like Pat Cummings and so on.
I think that if it were to be reconstituted, it might have — I think it could still be effective. It would, again, like we need diverse books, need to take advantage of today’s technology, but it was a thorn in the side of publishers, and maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing if it were to happen again. But that contest that they sponsored was a very effective move with, as I said, a really profound effect I think.
