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Laura M. Jiménez, PhD, Lecturer in the Language and Literacy program, has recently been named a Coalition Member for Social Justice Books: A Teaching for Change Project and their See What We See initiative.

See What We See is a database of reviews that provide critical analysis of books in the classroom. As a new Coalition Member, Dr. Jiménez will provide critical reviews of graphic novels, picture-books, and young adult fiction (YA) novels with an intersectional lens.

The database seeks to engage constructive dialogue with publishers, editors, writers, illustrators, book reviewers, educators, librarians, families, and community activists. The intent is to provide rigorous and readable reviews that are accessible to all.

The coalition has three primary objectives:

1. To promote engaging books for young readers that accurately reflect the many cultures, distinct traditions, and varied realities of Indigenous and people of color in historical and contemporary contexts.
2. To expose and track inequity in children’s publishing.
3. To provide substantive, critical reviews of children’s and young adult books in order to create awareness of the omissions, myths, stereotypes, and distortions that misrepresent Indigenous and people of color.

As a new member of this collaborative effort, Dr. Jiménez is committed to promoting engaging books for young readers that accurately reflect the values held in each of the above objectives. Excerpt from Social Justice Books’ See What We See page:

“We hope especially to reach caregivers, teachers, and professors of pre-service education students because they introduce children to the books that will shape their perception of the world.

The SWWS reviews, drawn from coalition collaborators and beyond, are intended to 1) help teachers, caregivers, and librarians make informed choices, 2) guide writers, editors, and illustrators as they create materials for children, and 3) ultimately, to hold the publishing industry accountable.”