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Top Takeaways is a series of recaps from important conversations, town halls, webinars and virtual events about early learning.

If the frequency and intensity of Zoom comments is any indication, a Feb. 4 webinar coproduced by , the 听补苍诲 was one of the most dynamic webinars I鈥檝e attended since the start of the pandemic. Appropriately enough, Writing a New Chapter: Advancing Diversity in Children鈥檚 Books featured a variety of voices.

K. T. Horning, director of the at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, provided evidence that the publishing industry has begun to showcase more authors and characters of color. Furthermore, Michaela Goade recently became the first Native American illustrator to win the Randolph Caldecott Medal for best children鈥檚 picture story. However, representation on shelves still doesn鈥檛 amount to the demographic makeup of the United States.

Here are our takeaways from the webinar:

1. Books shape children鈥檚 attitudes and beliefs about themselves and the world.

Iheoma U. Iruka, founding director of the Equity Research Action Coalition, emphasized the importance of what happens during a child鈥檚 first 1,000 days. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when the foundations of brain development are built,鈥� she said.

Once a book becomes a favorite, it becomes a part of children鈥檚 lives 鈥� forever. Mom and dad will be asked to read it over and over. It will become the springboard for children learning to read.

鈥淩eading achievement predicts futures,鈥� Iruka said.

Years later, they will probably still be able to recite passages from memory and to conjure the illustrations in their mind. So the words matter. The pictures matter.

2. 鈥淲hen you speak to the children, you speak to the family.鈥�

Shabazz Larkin, author and illustrator of , was an electrifying presence on Zoom, bursting with enthusiasm and insight 鈥� for instance, pointing out the way children鈥檚 books reach the adults on whose laps the children are sitting.

As someone with a lap, this struck me as simultaneously obvious and mind-blowing. When families read together, they鈥檙e discovering the world together, and the white suburban fantasy that the majority of children鈥檚 books depict slights the real world. When he first envisioned The Thing about Bees, he was thinking about the white bread illustrations of Norman Rockwell. 鈥淚 always felt it was a world that wasn鈥檛 mine,鈥� he said, recalling that he thought to himself: “Let me paint some new people in this classic American world.”

3. Books are machines for belonging and respect.

Larkin underscored the urgency of this function, noting that even in his own home, situated in a diverse part of Brooklyn, with its walls covered by portraits of Black people, his son once confided that he didn鈥檛 like the color of his own skin. 鈥淗ow is this possible?鈥� he wondered.

Patty Wong, who recently became the first Asian American president of the recalled, 鈥淚 rarely saw myself or my diverse community in picture books. Children need to see themselves and others.鈥�

Sensitive to what constitutes age-appropriate materials and attuned to the interests of young readers, teachers and librarians are champions of diverse books.

All of the webinar speakers also forcefully weighed in against banning books, encouraging participants to buy books, to be vocal on social media and to show up in city council and school board meetings.

4. Large and small publishers are making a difference.

Kyle Zimmer, CEO and cofounder of , conveyed the scope of her organization鈥檚 reach by citing statistics: 17 million books distributed annually to more than 500,000 educators. Engaging publishers in demand is how to elevate the market for diverse content, she said. 鈥淲e push the prices down and promote relevancy and diversity.鈥�

First Book launched the initiative to build empathetic 鈥渃hange-makers.鈥� Author and curator Cynthia Leitich Smith introduced the of HarperCollins, which offers books for and about Native Americans. She stressed that many titles feature everyday plots. 鈥淲e are not defined by the bad things that have happened to us,鈥� she said.

In a more independent vein, Philip Lee, publisher of , served up his vision of food-themed children鈥檚 books that tie into family, climate change and activism.

5. Distribution matters.

As a publisher, Lee spoke from experience when he said that printing books is only half the battle. The product must reach readers, and many or most potential readers of diverse books lack easy access. That鈥檚 why First Book has an elastic definition of the educators in its community 鈥� including, for example, barbers. Readers to Eaters partners with farmers markets.

And Too Small to Fail鈥檚 Patti Miller praised an effort from the to distribute 25,000 diverse books and support from the to focus on this issue.

Michelle Torgerson, president and CEO of Raising A Reader, outlined their book distribution reach to partners including child care, library and housing communities, and NBCDI鈥檚 Jocelyn Sturdivant described Read to Succeed, which is devoted to stocking home libraries with culturally relevant and developmentally appropriate children鈥檚 books.

Panelists noted that there are many kinds of diversity. Beyond inclusive texts, children鈥檚 literature should also provide a window on disability, LGBTQ families and minority religious groups. Again and again, participants cited a construct set forth by : children鈥檚 books act as mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors. 鈥淭hese windows,鈥� Bishop has written, 鈥渁re also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created and recreated by the author.鈥�

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 麻豆精品. Learn more here.