On my personal site, I share short thoughts about every book I read. This helps me reflect on what I read and evaluate trends across my book choices. When I was thinking about what I wanted to write about for this new site, doing something similar for children’s books immediately came to mind. Books are such an important way for kids to learn about the world and I’m frightened by the ever-growing pile of partisan book bans and challenges in the US. This is a coordinated effort to censor diverse books which, by way of simply existing, challenge the white, cisgender, heterosexual power structure in this country. I want us to counter this by championing books which promote the values we want our kids to develop. Real family values — ones that celebrate diversity, recognize not everyone looks like us, not every family looks the same, all people have worth, and empathy and emotional maturity are goals to strive for, not weaknesses.
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