By Spencer Miller
Recently at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference in Toronto, featured speaker Cicely Lewis spoke about the importance of representation in reading. Cicely, the 2020 School Library Journal National Librarian of the Year, is perhaps best known as The Read Woke Librarian. The Read Woke movement started as a challenge Cicely made to her students at Meadowcreek High School in Georgia and quickly spread online.
What does it mean to “read woke”? Cicely explains that reading woke means reading books that
- amplify the voices of the disenfranchised, underrepresented, and oppressed;
- challenge social norms and disrupt the status quo; and
- encourage readers to take action in their communities.
In Toronto, Cicely emphasized the need for all kinds of representation in storytelling. It’s vital to promote books that directly tackle the issues of racism, discrimination, homophobia, Islamophobia, and antisemitism. But it’s equally important that young readers find diverse books featuring characters like them, that they can identify with, who are living regular lives—going to school, making friends, building relationships, laughing, making mistakes, learning, and having fun!
As the Editorial Coordinator for the Top Grade: CanLit for the Classroom program, I’ve been excited about the representation of diverse characters in recent books from independent Canadian publishers. These publishers are helping to give a platform to diverse voices across the country, and I’m happy to highlight some of their recent and upcoming titles.
Here are some Canadian books that will help students read woke.
K-3
My Favourite Colour is an uplifting celebration of diversity. In the story, one little girl dives into her imagination and considers every colour and all the reasons that she loves the whole rainbow.
Highlight: This book is also a fun teaching tool to learn the names of colours.
Khadija and the Elephant Toothpaste Experiment follows young Khadija and her family on a visit to the science fair. Khadija loves spotting all the scientists wearing safety goggles and lab coats but notices none of them are wearing a hijab. Back at home, Khadija is inspired to carry out her own experiments… with messy results!
Highlight: This story is written by two real-life scientists and encourages all girls to get interested in science.
I Love Myself is a sweet and imaginative picture book full of positive affirmations. Readers accompany a child through their day as they receive positive messages and reminders from a cuddly imaginary creature.
Highlight: This story shows little readers there are many ways to show love for yourself.
4-6
Maggie Lou, Firefox is a collection of three stories introducing heroine Maggie Lou, a determined Métis girl who loves trying new things. Maggie learns important lessons from her extended family about hard work, perseverance, and letting nothing stand in your way.
Highlight: I love when Maggie Lou’s mother tells her, “Keep taking up space, you’re only making room for the girls behind you.”
Mehndi Boy is an affirming story about a young boy who falls in love with the art of mehndi. When his favourite uncle tells him mehndi isn’t for boys, Tehzeeb must find the courage to be his true creative self.
Highlight: The positive representation of a boy exploring gender expression and challenging gender norms.
The Unloveable Alina Butt dives into all the messiness and embarrassment of growing up. Alina struggles to fit in after changing schools four times since her family moved to England from Pakistan. Her wacky sense of humour helps her find her unique way to shine.
Highlight: The quirky humour! Alina is a witty and charming protagonist.
7-10
Hopeless in Hope is a middle-grade novel with a compelling story of family and forgiveness. In the story, teenage Eva deals with loneliness and taking care of her younger brother before being separated and taken to live in a group home.
Highlight: Thoughtfully presents many complex challenges faced by Indigenous youth while leaving room for humour, hope, and healing.
Cosplay Crime is a high-interest accessible novel for middle-grade readers about solving a crime at a local anime expo. Shy thirteen-year-old Bree Wong must channel her inner detective to track down a stolen priceless original print.
Highlight: The setting of an anime convention grabs readers’ attention! Embedded within the exciting story are important themes and lessons about anxiety, gender identity, friendship, and acceptance.
Iz The Apocalypse is a stunning YA novel that dives into the experiences of youth in foster care. After a series of difficult experiences, fourteen-year-old Iz Beaufort is determined she deserves better. She dreams of attending a prestigious music school and will do anything it takes to make it happen—including lying and faking her way in.
Highlight: This one is a page-turner! The suspense builds with Iz’s lies, and readers will be desperate to know how the situation turns out.
11-12
When It All Syncs Up follows a Black teen dancer with dreams of landing a spot in a prestigious ballet company. Aisha learns to live life on her own terms after being told too many times that she doesn’t “look” the part.
Highlight: The realistic exploration of teen mental health struggles that includes supportive teen friendships.
Who We Are in Real Life thrusts protagonist Darcy into a series of tricky situations in both her Dungeons & Dragons game and in real life. After moving to a small prairie town and making new connections through table-top gaming, Darcy gets involved in a campaign to start a queer-straight alliance at her new school.
Highlight: The parallels between the D&D game and the real-life story are so fun!
Crash Landing is an upcoming YA novel to look out for. It’s a queer coming-of-age story set in the summer of 2010 all about growing up in an immigrant community and landing kickflips.
Highlight: It’s currently sitting atop my most anticipated reads list.
Spencer Miller (he/him) is a teacher, writer, reader and basketball fan. He advocates for Canadian books in the classroom as the Editorial Coordinator of Top Grade: CanLit for the Classroom, a program of the Association of Canadian Publishers. You can follow more of Spencer’s passion for books on Instagram @YACanadaBooks.