5 Easy Ways To Find Diverse Summer Reading For Kids

Photo courtesy of The Book Trust via Creative Commons

If you're a parent, caregiver for kids, youth activity leader, or tutor, then you know that Summer vacation for kids usually come with some required reading over the summer, too. As a conscientious caregiver, finding diverse stories to share with kids can seem difficult. But it doesn't have to be. Writing for Huffpost, Nancy Traversy, Co-Founder of Barefoot Books shares a few tips.  For example, don't just stick with stuff you remember from when you were a kid! Branch out a bit:

[T]here are many other exceptional books out there that represent a wide range of experiences. To find them, look for book awards lists that honor creators of specific identities and backgrounds and best-of-class publishing. For example, the Coretta Scott King Award honors African-American authors and illustrators, while the Stonewall Awardcelebrates books with positive LGBTQ representation and the Foreword INDIES Book Awards recognizes the best of independent, innovative publishing. Share these stories with your children, and you’ll not only keep their book diet diverse - you’ll also inspire them with some of the very best children’s literature available.

Another great, and overlooked resource? Your local librarians:

Ask them to recommend books by a wide range of authors and illustrators that are appropriate for your child’s reading level. Many libraries run free literacy programs over the summer, so ask them if they have events or activities that feature diverse books. Your librarians may also be able to point you to local readings and events that celebrate authors and illustrators from a range of cultures or religions. Borrow as many diverse books as you can carry and encourage your child to read them all.

There are three more tips Travesy gives that are simple, effective and easy to start doing right now, so go read the article to get the rest!

Readers, do you have any tips you'd like to share? Post 'em in the comments below!

Gaming Design With Kids In Mind: A How To

To paraphrase Mr. Rogers, play is the the "work" of children. And whether you are a game designer, a child psychologist, a user experience researcher, or are conducting playtesting, knowing how to approach this sort of gaming study is important. As researcher, user experience designer and author Antonia writes...

Gaming means a lot to me, not only was it my introduction to the digital world, it gave me a sense of belonging as a teenager. So any opportunity I get to work with game creation, I tend to throw myself into it, and so with research as well. This post is about some of the important tips, observations and experience I’ve had while running a research piece with kids. 

In this study, the research was to explore the usability of hand-held consoles vs tablets/smartphones with kids between the ages of 2 and 10. I had a sample size of 6. The research method was ethnography which I think is the best method when working with children. You want to learn and cocreate with them in a natural environment free of fear and stress.

Even if you don't think you'll ever be in a line of work involving playtesting or kids, the entire piece is a fascinating look at just what goes into feedback and game design, so I'd recommend you read the whole thing.

Kid Gets Secret Treasure Room For 4th Birthday

At ghghghgh, they detail how they turned an unused storage room adjacent to their 4 year old's room from a dusty, unused and unfurnished room into a space so wondrous that their son called it a "secret treasure room".

They hid the door to the storage room behind a kid-size dresser for two years, and when his fourth birthday drew near, the set to re-flooring the room, putting up and painting new walls, and stocking the room with furniture and drawing supplies and stickers and a world map that wouldn't have fit on the wall of his other room.



This is an awesome project, and pretty unique gift to give to a kid-- how many of us have daydreamed of dressers or bookshelves in a home leading to secret rooms? These folks worked together and gave him one. You can read how they did it, complete with pictures, here at Goer.org.

Video: Adorable Kids Cosplaying At SDCC

One of the most entertaining parts of any large comic convention is admiring all the incredible costumes on display. One of the most smile-inducing things to capture on video is seeing kids being absolutely adorable. This recent video combines both of these things as Kendra Pettis of Racialicious is the guest interviewer for Bleeding Cool News, and her subjects are a number of kids (and their families) that are all dressed up and attended this year's Sand Diego Comic-Con.

Watch the video below for 4 minutes of incredibly awesome and incredibly cute kids waxing enthusiastic about costumes both home-made and those done with help from Mom or Dad.

Meet Your New Favorite Superhero, Spark

Ted Anderson and Alex Law, the team behind the awesome blog "Little Girls Are Better At Designing Superheroes Than You", have teamed up again to bring another awesome superhero to life: Sparks, the secret identity of 9 year old Lucia Marquez-Miller. She's a budding engineer with telekinetic powers that she calls her "spark".

Her creators are making an open pitch to gauge interest. If there's enough interest, the want to make the comic on ongoing, published series. Here's the pitch:

As Spark, the world’s youngest superhero, she’s a junior member of a superhero team while also trying to live a normal life. Can Lucia juggle her friends and family while also saving the world from super villains? We’re posting a 15-page standalone comic here to give readers an idea of what the book would be like.

Take a gander:




Want to see the rest? It's available in full size here.