Homeschool On the Range: 7 Reasons to Read Diverse Children's Books

A good, age-appropriate book can help develop empathy and understanding of what it’s like for people who have a different race, culture, religion, or socio-economic status...

Why read diverse children's books?

Develop early relationships. Reading books about diversity helps children learn to show kindness without judgement, better understand cultural differences, and nurture meaningful relationships in the classroom and on the playground.
Bring current events to life. Seeing news stories can be jarring for children, especially if they have no frame of reference for that region or culture. Reading a book can help them develop empathy and better understanding, and it can spark age-appropriate conversations.
See the similarities. Not every multicultural book spotlights diversity as a different experience. Sometimes it's about demonstrating a human truth - that we're not as different we think.
Learn a new language. Granted, you won't become fluent from reading diverse books, but exposing children to other languages at an early age primes those neurons for further linguistic development later on. Many diverse books are sprinkled with words and phrases from the featured culture.

Further explore learning a foreign language the natural way!

Explore your roots. Every family has a unique set of ancestry and heritage, particularly American families, which tend to have many different sets of roots. Taking the time to further explore those origins can put a personalized spin on learning about other cultures.
Dive into history. Books set in another country will often have historic information, geographic details, and illustrations or photos. Learning about these cultures and their history can open new doors and spark even more learning.
Travel the world. You don't need a passport to explore faraway regions and lands...all you need are the pages of a book. Good books will have characters that feel so life-like, you can relate to them and learn from their experiences.