The United Nations declared 1995 to be a Year of Tolerance and created a Declaration of Principles of Tolerance to provide guidance to governing bodies and organizations around the world. Every year since then, the organization that celebrated an International Day of Tolerance in November to remind the world how important tolerance is.
One of the best ways to build respect, acceptance and appreciation for others is to step into their world through stories. Reading about different cultures and life experiences is one of the best ways to help break down intolerances you may not even know you have, as well as increase your knowledge and awareness of intolerances that exists around the world.
When authors write stories based on their own lives, they invite readers to understand very real experiences. Kids can make these connections through middle grade novels by reading about characters their own age. In fact, these kinds of “own voices” books can be a powerful way for caregivers to talk to kids and celebrate diverse families like these ones, compiled by our Mattawa Librarian Tiffany and all found in our library collection.
Original source can be found here.
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