If you’re interested in learning more about why it is so important to include diverse young adult literature in schools and libraries, check out these awesome books, articles, and studies on the subject!
Resource Books
Marley Dias Gets It Done And So Can You
Author: Marley Dias
Teaching Young Adult Literature Today: Insights, Considerations, and Perspectives for the Classroom Teacher
Authors: Judith A. Hayn, Jeffrey S. Kaplan, and Karina R. Clemmons
Citation: Hayn, J.A. & Kaplan, J.S. (2016). Teaching Young Adult Literature Today. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of ‘80s and ‘90s Teen Fiction
Author: Gabrielle Moss
Citation: Moss, G. (2018). Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of ‘80s and ‘90s Teen Fiction. Penguin Random House.
Was The Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books
Author: Philip Nel
Free Within Ourselves: The Development of African American Children’s Literature
Author: Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop
Citation: Bishop, R. S. (2007). Free Within Ourselves: The Development of African American Children’s Literature. Heinemann.
Shadow and Substance: Afro-American Experience in Contemporary Children's Fiction
Author: Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop
Citation: Bishop, R. S. (1982). Shadow and Substance: Afro-American Experience in Contemporary Children’s Fiction. National Council of teachers.
The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games
Author: Ebony Elizabeth Thomas
Citation: Thomas, E. E. (2019). The Dark Fantastic: Race and Imagination From Harry Potter to the Hunger Games. Postmillennial Pop.
Reference Articles
Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors: Bishop, R.S. (1990). Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors. Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom, 6(3).
The All-White World of Children’s Books: Larrick, N. (1965). The all-white world of children’s books. Saturday Review, 48, 63-85.
Studies on Access to Multicultural Young Adult Literature:
Bickmore, S., Xu, Y., Sheridan, M.I. (2017). Where Are the People of Color? Representation of Cultural Diversity in the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and Advocating for Diverse Books in Non-Post Racial Society. Taboo, 16(1), 39-54.
Glenn, W. (2012). Developing Understandings of Race: Preservice Teachers’ Counter-Narrative (Re)Constructions of People of Color in Young Adult Literature. English Education, 44(4), 326-353.
Glenn, W.; Ginsberg, R. (2016). Resisting Readers’ Identity (Re)Construction across English and Young Adult Literature Course Contexts. Research in the Teaching of English, 51(1), 84-105.
Haddix, M., Price-Dennis, D. (2013). Urban Fiction and Multicultural Literature as Transformative Tools for Preparing English Teachers for Diverse Classrooms. English Education, 45(3), 247-283.
Lafferty, K. E. (2014). “What Are You Reading?”: How School Libraries Can Promote Racial Diversity in Multicultural Literature. Multicultural Perspectives, 16(4), 203-209.
McNair, J. C. (2010). Classic African American Children's Literature. The Reading Teacher, 64(2), 96-105.
Underwood, J., Kimmel, S., Forest, D., Dickinson, G. (2015). Culturally Relevant Booktalking: Using a Mixed Reality Simulation with Preservice School Librarians. School Libraries Worldwide, 21(1), 91-107.
Studies on Access to LGBTQIA+ Young Adult Literature:
Blackburn, Mollie., Clark, C., Nemeth, E. (2015). Examining Queer Elements and Ideologies in LGBT-Themed Literature: What Queer Literature Can Offer Young Adult Readers. Journal of Literary Research, 47(1), 11-48.
Garry, C. P.(2015). Selection or Censorship? School Librarians and LGBTQ Resources. School Libraries Worldwide, 21(1), 73-90.
Logan, S., Lasswell, T., Hood, Y., Watson, D. (2014). Criteria for the Selection of Young Adult Queer Literature. English Journal, 103(5), 30-41.
Studies on Access to Disability and Mental Health Young Adult Literature:
Curwood, J.S. (2013). Redefining Normal: A Critical Analysis of (Dis)ability in Young Adult Literature. Children’s Literature in Education, 44(1), 15-28.
Donne, V. (2016). Young Adult Books: Helping Prepare Teachers for Augmentative Alternative Communication. International Journal of Special Education, 31(2), 161-168.
Kelley J. E., Barrio, B.L., Brando-Subis, C., Lee, S., Cardon, T. (2018). DSM-Autism spectrum disorder symptomology in award-winning narrative fiction. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 53(2), 115-127.
Additional Citations:
TheRaDR. (2018, December 2). We need diverse representation not only so every kid can see themselves as the hero of the story, but so that every kid can understand that other kinds of kids are also the heroes of the story [Twitter post]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/TheRaDR/status/1069256089991110657.