The Windows/Mirrors Book Review series documents my own journey through children’s literature, in search of better ways to be myself, better ways to connect with others and better ways to write a good story.

Many thanks to Rudine Sims Bishop for the concept of literature as “Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors” (video of Ms. Bishop summarizing original 1990 essay). This metaphor gives us a framework for thinking about how books for children reflect readers to themselves as well as invite readers to imagine the “other,” especially when those books include well-written diverse characters and worlds. Thanks also to Debbie Reese for adding the component of “Curtains” to this metaphor, suggesting that marginalized communities may wish to keep certain parts of their culture “behind the curtain,” (video at this link explains Debbie’s thinking), and that these things should not be written about for profit or consumption by the mainstream culture.

Click on the cover below to read my review and for links to buy the book. Look for a new review once a month and please contact me if you know of a book you think I should read and review.

How do I choose which books to review? It’s a semi-random process:

1. Take my children to the local public library.
2. Stand in front of the New Books shelf in the children’s section.
3. Keep an eyeball on the kids while I browse for books with titles, covers, authors, illustrators and themes that appeal to me.
4. Create a giant pile of books.
5. Initial sort – does it include characters or themes typically underrepresented in children’s literature?
6. Second sort – was the book created by an author or illustrator typically underrepresented in children’s literature? (My goal is for at least 50% of the Wednesday Windows/Mirrors Book Reviews to be created by an author and/or illustrator typically underrepresented in kid lit.)
7. Make my children carry all the books home, so I don’t hurt my back, knee or elbow.
8. READ!
9. Set the books I LOVED on my desk for review.
10. Renew several times.
11. Write the review for the book I cannot return to the library without telling other people about first.
12. Repeat.

I hope you enjoy some of these books as much as I have.