Abstract:
Children’s literature has been around for centuries, yet this literature is not universally relatable
to all children. Most children’s literature reflects the perspective of majority groups while
students from minoritized backgrounds have their perspectives ignored and/or
misrepresented. In my time as a pre-service teacher, I have noticed, in particular, a lack of
literature that supports bilingual students as well as a lack of literature that shows families that
have been brought together by adoption. The book Becoming Familia was created to serve both
of these purposes. I used research that showed the lack of diversity in children’s literature to
inform the process of how I wrote the book. Becoming Familia tells a story that is missing from
children’s literature while leaving space for readers to add their own reflections into the story.
This is supported by research that indicates that students benefit from seeing their own
perspective, and the perspective of others reflected in the literature that they read.
