Organised by Manchester Libraries TrustWe’re on a mission to spread the word about See Myself in Books, which promotes representation in children's books. Help us gift a free book collection to every primary school in Manchester by making a donation today!
In March, Read Manchester host the country’s first ever See Myself in Books Festival, promoting representation in children’s books. To accompany the festival, two new book collections for primary school children have been developed – one focusing on ethnic diversity and one on neurodiversity. See Myself in Books celebrates diversity in children’s literature and aims to raise awareness of the importance of children being able to access books with characters that they can relate to.
Reading for enjoyment brings so many benefits. When children and young people enjoy reading in their free time, they find it easier to relax, feel happy, learn new things, understand the views of others, learn about other cultures and be confident. But too many children are missing out because they don’t feel represented in the books they read. Recent research from The National Literacy Trust shows that 1 in 3 children and young people aged 8-18 said that being given books or having books that represent them would make them want to read more. Over half (53.1%) of children aged 8-11 said they find it difficult to find books with characters or people like them.
The first See Myself in Books collection includes 25 children’s books that reflect the ethnically diverse communities across Manchester. All the books are written by authors from ethnically diverse backgrounds and their central characters are children from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. 64% of Manchester primary school pupils are from ethnically diverse backgrounds and there are over 200 languages spoken in the city.
The latest See Myself in Books collection recognises and represents neurodiverse children, including those with ADHD, autism and dyslexia. It consists of 25 books for primary school pupils that feature children and families’ stories of neurodiversity, as well as a resource sheet and synopsis.
Each of these collections feature quality books by UK based authors, with an accompanying teacher resource also being offered free of charge to schools. View the collections here
Above: Children's author and Manchester Library Trust Trustee, Ashley Thorpe, talks about the See Myself in Books - Book Gifting Appeal!
It does not make a difference if one is black or one is white, and if one is a Muslim and the other one is Christian. Who cares, we’re equal! Adam
We should have diverse books in school because we need books about everything. Books about a character from a different country can help us learn lots of things and it shows we are all equal. Harris
We should show how other people feel and be empathetic and see how it is from other people’s point of view. Amina
Because the collections are written by authors of colour, our children have been inspired to be authors and illustrators.
It raised awareness for the staff team about the importance of ensuring that the children we teach are always represented in the books we choose to teach with.
We are aiming to raise £5,000 to help purchase 32 See Myself in Books sets for schools – around new 800 books!
Each £5 donation will help purchase another new book for these collections
Above: Children's author, Diana Anyakwo, supports the See Myself in Books Book Gifting Appeal
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