Countering Fatphobia in kidslit

Meg St-Espirit, Pittsburgh-based freelance writer and editor, put together this incredibly thoughtful piece about counter-narratives to fatphobia in popular culture, and highlighted that children’s literature is still playing catchup. She cited the work of Tyler Feder and mine, and talked about the need for better stories and visual representations about fat children and/or fat families. In the article, she quotes Feder, who says:

“Before kids are exposed to diet culture, their curiosity about bodies is so pure and free of value judgments," Feder says. "I’ve heard from so many parents whose kids point out their soft tummies or stretch marks with genuine excitement.”

I really loved that Meg noticed the intersectional approach I took to making this book, making sure we had children past the words and looked at the visuals with varying heights and sizes, phenotypes, skin colors and hair types, disabilities, gender expressions, economic and religious backgrounds and markers of cultural belonging. I am thrilled that she included my commentary on the partnership of creative and publishing industries…

“It's up to the creative and publishing communities to hold each other accountable to a better standard,” she says. “We have to be intentional about inserting a variety of characters and illustrations in our stories. After all, all we have to really do is mirror life itself.”

Click here to read the entire article.

DiffDiff’er spotted posing with the inimitable Drew Barrymore.

It’s Jun 8th and a fellow educator brought Different Differenter to Drew Barrymore’s IGTV. She strains to read my name… but it’s not clear on Insta video. Maybe I should’ve sent her a copy!

NYT Wirecutter 2020: DiffDiff’er in teacher-recommended anti racist booklist

Another mention by the NYT Wirecutter for Different Differenter, this time by Jackie Reeve, a former librarian, quilter, and senior staff writer for the Wirecutter. Click here to read the entire list.

Different Differenter, a self-published independent book appears along other books like ‘All the Colors We Are/Todos los colores de nuestra piel: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color/La historia de por qué tenemos diferentes colores de piel’ by Katie Kissinger and Sulve by Lupita Nyong’o.

All of this made possible by a generous community of educators, parenting journalists, social justice activists, hiding in plain sight in various parts of the world. Special shout out to folks who made this journey that started in 2007 possible!!!

Screenshot of NYT WIrecutter article

DiffDiff’er makes resource list for nation’s social justice educators

#DifferentDifferenter listed as an educational resource alongside Pulitzer prize winners, NYT bestsellers, and leading advocacy organizations!

This is by far the proudest moment for #DifferentDifferenter.

It been included in the 2020-2021 Planning to Change the World: A Plan Book for Social Justice Educators, published by the Education for Liberation Network and Rethinking Schools. It’s been edited by Gretchen Brion-Meisels, Margaret Kavanaagh, Thomas Nikundiwe, and Carla Shalaby, all leading scholars and practitioners in the education abolition and liberation movement.

Below is the screenshot of the page that mentioned my book, along with resources published by organizations like Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance, NYT Magazine, Facing History and Ourselves, and individual authors/educators like Dr. Kendi, Tiffany Jewell, and numerous others. Happy to be in such awesome company!

Southeast Asian indie bookstore stocks DiffDiff’er

❤️ Now in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and Philippines.

Love it when the bookstore chooses their favorite sentence from your book, which also happens to be your favorite sentence... That's what instant connections are made of. Support independent voices, independent book stores.

Here’s what Malaysia-based, The Children’s Bookstore, described as a bookstore ‘for curious minds ages 3 months to 122’ shared on their instagram feed

‘Even today, people who believe that caste or race decide a person’s ability, don’t play or work with that person. Do you think that’s right?’

Different Differenter: An Activity Book About Skin Color by Jyoti Gupta from the @thecolourismproject is just the book the world needs today! In easy to understand language and lovely illustration, this book is a great educational tool and a conversation starter about skin colour, diversity, bullying and self-acceptance. There’s even a bit about skin biology- melanin, pigment, genes and food! We love all these different elements that make us all so uniquely different, are put together in this interactive children’s book.

Visit their website and support their mission!

Photo credit: The Children’s Bookstore, Malaysia

“…kick off authentic conversations that are both warm and thoughtful.” —Kelly Glass

The amazing Kelly Glass, an incredible journalist and mom with a clear vision for Black parenting, wrote about Different Differenter.

From The New York Times Wirecutter Holiday Gift Guide.

A book about differences

Few books are able to eloquently tackle the subject of race for kids while also offering something for adults. Different Differenter by Jyoti Gupta goes a step further, addressing a topic that, it turns out, is critical for kids to grasp before taking on racism: colorism. The beautifully illustrated Different Differenter introduces children—pictured with different skin colors, body types, and physical abilities—to terms like melanin and genes, as well as cultural differences among families and family traditions. Because it’s also an activity book, it’s full of instructions on how to learn and interact with children on these topics through play. My 5-year-old son, whom we call a chef for his love of playing with food, often asks to make the book’s recipe for laddoo, a popular Indian dessert. My teen took on one of Different Differenter’s more serious activities: making a one-minute anti-bullying video. Between the art activities and the theatrical prompts, it’s a book our family refers to often to kick off authentic conversations that are both warm and thoughtful.

—Kelly Glass

#racialliteracy #artseducation #independentvoices #colorism #darkskingirls #brownmoms #elementaryteacher #dei #multiracial

“…subtle yet powerful,” says Dr. Greene in his summary about skin color for ECE

#DD makes ‘Recommended’ List on Social Justice Books

Dr. Ed Greene, expert in child development, early learning, and media environments, reviewed Different Differenter for Social Justice Books. From their website:

SocialJusticeBooks.org is a project of Teaching for Change, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide teachers and parents with the tools to create schools where students learn to read, write and change the world.

Since its founding in 1989, Teaching for Change has vetted and promoted social justice books for children and adults. This is in response to the wide diversity gap in children’s books and the publishing industry.

More than half of the children enrolled in U.S. public schools are people of color or Native American, but only 22% of children’s books published in 2016 were about people of color, and fewer than 13% of books published were written by people of color or Native Americans. Teaching for Change developed SocialJusticeBooks.org in 2017 to identify and promote the best multicultural and social justice children’s books, as well as articles and books for educators. It builds on the tradition of the Council on Interracial Books for Children which provided a social justice lens to reviews of children’s literature.

Screenshot from the Social Justice Books review page.