Reading is important for children, it encourages creativity and improves communication skills.
How important are the characters we see reflected in the books we read, and do they shape the person we become?
I spoke to Sara (mum of three) who told me how buying diverse books for her children helped give them an insight into different cultures from a young age.
“Books are a way into understanding the world we live in.” Sara often bought books for her children containing folk tales from different areas of the world as she was “always keen for her children to have an idea of what other people's worlds look like.” She bought books about different countries by authors who live in those countries, in order to give her children an accurate representation of life in that specific area of the world.
I also spoke to multi-award-winning author Joanna Brown, (who writes under the name J.T. Williams) about her children’s books and the importance of diversity in literature.
Joanna Brown is the author of the new book series- The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries (aimed at readers 9+). They’re historical fiction books inspired by real people who lived in London during the 18th century.
The series comprises of two books: The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries, Drama and Danger and the sequel, The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries, Portraits and Poison.
The books have received many awards including: The Week Junior’s Children’s Book of the Year award for Best Breakthrough Novel (2023), The Diverse Children’s Book Awards (2023) and most recently the sequel won the Little Rebels Award (2024).
Joanna highlights how diverse our society is and feels that literature should reflect this. “Although in recent years literature has become more diverse there is still more work to be done." She emphasised how important books are in the shaping of a young person's character.
“Everyone can enjoy and learn about Black British stories through my books.” Her aim when writing the books was to give children the chance to see themselves as main characters who are not usually represented in literature.
“The literacy available to young readers needs to be representative of the society they live in.” When Joanna was younger, she felt she wasn’t represented enough in the books she read. When she was a teen there weren’t many books by Black British authors, so she mainly read books by Black American authors such as: Rosa Guy and Alice Walker.
Although there are more books by Black authors today, there is still a gap she aims to help fill for the next generation of readers.
Modern Black British authors who write historical fiction books such as, S.I. Martin, Catherine Johnson and Alex Wheatle, are all authors whose books she enjoys reading.
Joanna stresses the need to use our voices to advocate for diverse books if we don’t see enough representation in our libraries or schools.
Joanna’s success in the industry is a positive sign of the progress that has been made in creating more representative literature. Hopefully, this will inspire more diverse writers to follow in her footsteps.
J.T. William's books can be found in all good book stores.
