Empathy is now a core competency in the socio-emotional content of independent schools’ curriculum, and many schools continue to emphasize on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging initiatives. One aspect of SSSAS’ Action Steps for Racial Justice focuses on our academic curriculum and the goal to equip “students with the lens and skills to understand experiences outside of their own and to use this understanding to make the world a more inclusive place.” Children’s picture books are vehicles to support these initiatives, as they provide pathways and portals to transport children to special places both internally and externally. As such, this presentation will attempt to address how picture books serve as pathways for readers as they provide mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors in order to explore empathy and inspire action. It will quickly review the evolution of children’s picture books over the past 350 years, including the introduction of diversity. Not all diverse literature is created equal as picture books can serve as pathways, but also as obstacles or detours. As such, the presentation concludes with a guide to evaluate picture books with a DEIB lens.

1. Picture Books:
Pathways to Explore Empathy &
Inspire Action
Julie M. Esanu, MLIS
St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School
Colloquium for the Common Good: January 2022

2. Essential Questions
● How has the landscape of children’s picture books
changed over time?
● Why does the diversity of perspectives matter?
● How can picture books build empathy and inspire action?
● How can readers evaluate picture books with a DEIB lens?

3. 1.
Children’s Picture Books
A Brief History

4. Picture Books: 1657-1900s
1657 1878
1744 1902

5. Picture Books: 1920s-1960s
1928 1938
1937 1963

6. Introducing “Diversity”
i.e., cultural stereotyping

7. Changing Landscape: Meet Peter
1962
“My book would have him there simply
because he should have been there all
along….I just loved looking at him. This
was the child who be the hero of my book.”
Ezra Jack Keats
Source: Ezra Jack Keats Foundation (http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/ezras-life/)

8. Changing Landscape

9. Changing Landscape

10. (Slowly) Changing Landscape

11. (Slowly) Changing Landscape

12. 2.
Diversity of Perspectives
Why Does It Matter?

13. Mirrors &
Windows
Source: http://www.slj.com/2014/05/diversity/culturally-diverse-books-selected-by-sljs-review-editors/

14. And Sliding Glass Doors: Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop:
Source: Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop (2016), “WIndows, Mirrors, and Sliding Glass Doors,” Reading Rockets (2016)

15. Source: “The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf,” Grace Lin TED Talk (2016)

16. Source: Huyck, David and Sarah Park Dahlen. (2019 June 19). Diversity in Children’s Books 2018.

17. Source: Walter Dean Myers, “Where Are the People of Color in Children’s Books?” New York Times, March 2014.

18. 3.
Building Empathy &
Inspiring Action
How can picture books build and foster these essential
mindsets and ideas?

19. Empathy
“ ...the feeling of being able to
understand and share another
person’s experiences and
emotions.”
Thom Markham, “Why Empathy Holds the Key to Transforming 21st Century Learning,” KQED Mindshift, November 16, 2016

20. Develop &
Affirm
Identities
Make
Connections
Explore
Perspectives
Building & Fostering Empathy

21. Developing & Affirming Identities
● Names
● Families
● Race
● Ethnicity
● Gender
● Socio-economic
status
● Culture & traditions
● Ability
● Religion
● Sexual Orientation
● Gender Expression
● Feelings & emotions
● Values
● Talents
● Interests
21

22. Exploring Perspectives
Source: “Perspective.” Merriam Webster Dictionary :( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perspective)

23. Making Connections

24. Develop &
Affirm
Identities
Make
Connections
Explore
Perspectives
Inspiring Action
+ +
=
Action

25. “ Imagine if we could
instill a social
consciousness in every
nine-year old…”
Andrew Aydin
Source: National Book Award and Coretta Scott King Award Winner Andrew Aydin addressing the School Library Journal Leadership Summit, October 15, 2016; Mr.
Aydin is the co-author the March Trilogy and Digital Director for Congressman Lewis.

26. 4.
Evaluation
How can readers evaluate pictures books using a DEIB lens?

27. Detour or Obstacle?
Representation Matters

28. Evaluating Books with a DEIB Lens
Step 1: Review Background Information
● Author and illustrator & their perspectives
● Copyright date
● Fiction or nonfiction
Step 2 : Take a Picture Walk
● Explore the illustrations with an eye on:
○ Character representation
○ Perspectives
○ Setting
Source: https://socialjusticebooks.org/guide-for-selecting-anti-bias-childrens-books/

29. Evaluating Books with a DEIB Lens
Step 3: Explore storyline, topics & themes
● Check the storyline
● Examine power dynamics and character relationships
● Look for messages about different lifestyles and loaded
words
● Consider the effects on children’s self and social identities
● Agents of change: are characters engaging in actions for
change
Source: https://socialjusticebooks.org/guide-for-selecting-anti-bias-childrens-books/
SSSAS Sinclair Library Picture Book DEIB Evaluation Tool

30. Source: http://www.printawallpaper.com/detail/nature/forest-pathway

31. Contact & Resources
Julie M. Esanu, MLIS
Head Lower School Librarian & Interdisciplinary Curriculum Coordinator
St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School
Alexandria, VA
jesanu@sssas.org
@booksandbytes
Book recommendations & related resources can be found on the
Picture Books Pathways Padlet:
https://padlet.com/lslibrary/picturebookpathways