If you’re looking to celebrate Black History Month with the children in your life, reading books that champion black voices is a great place to start.  

33.5% of school age children in the UK are of black, asian or minority ethnic origins. But, only 5% of children’s books released in 2019 had an ethnic minority main character. That’s a lot of children who aren’t seeing themselves represented in the stories they read. 

At Save the Children, we’re so proud of the diversity within our Wonderbooks; each one is inspired by children we’ve met through our work in different countries. And from what you tell us, you love it too! We regularly hear that you and your young readers love seeing and learning about the real life children at the end of each book.  

We want to showcase two of our Wonderbooks for Black History Month – Bolo’s Best Song and The Girl with the Book. The real life Bolo and Maryam behind these stories are inspirational voices for all of us. Here’s why…

BOLO’S BEST SONG

Bolo’s Best Song is our October book. 

Bolo is  an aspiring singer living in the Sava region in Madagascar. Madagascar is one of the hardest place to grow up as a child; 3 out of 4 people live below the poverty line, over 40% of children (under the age of five) suffer from stunting, and the country has the world’s fifth highest number of out-of-school children in the world. 

But Bolo is an inspiration and a force of nature. This is why he is the star of Bolo’s Best Song! He really knows who he wants to become.

Bolo attends Save the Children’s  training centre in Madagascar where we help him and other young people to improve their livelihoods by teaching them a trade – like vanilla farming. Bolo uses the money he earns from vanilla farming to record his songs.  

But vanilla farming can be difficult. Find out what Bolo does when a disaster hits his community’s crops…

Did you know?  80% of the world’s vanilla comes from the Sava region in Madagascar. That’s because Vanilla vines will only grow about 10 to 20 degrees north and south of the equator. What a fussy plant! That’s one of our educational facts in the Grown-ups Guide that you get with each book. Can you and your little reader think about all the things that have vanilla in them? 

THE GIRL WITH THE BOOK

Maryam, is Save the Children’s Girl’s Champion in Nigeria. She is passionate about supporting girls to get an education and prevent child marriage. She wrote a poem “A Girl with a Book” about girl’s rights and the power of education which inspired our Wonderbook. 

Maryam was inspired to become an activist for girls’ rights when her cousin was married as a child. Maryam and her cousin were both 11 years old at the time. Within two years, her cousin had given birth to two children.  

Maryam firmly believes that education is “the master key to shaping the world” and that it can give girls the knowledge they need to take care of themselves and their children in the future. We agree! 

WHAT ARE WONDERBOOKS?

Championing diversity and inclusion and amplifying children’s voices is crucial to our work at Save the Children. Our children’s book subscription, Wonderbooks, was inspired by the children we work with around the world. By subscribing to Wonderbooks, each month you will get a new book, grown-ups guide and fun facts postcard delivered to your door in exchange for a minimum donation of £9. Go on new adventures and meet children from around the world through our stories! 

It’s that time of year again – back to school season! At Save the Children, we know that getting kids ready for a new school year can be both exciting and challenging. To help you navigate this transitional period, we’ve compiled a list of 7 essential back to school tips that will not only make the process smoother but also fun for your little ones. So let’s dive into these tips together!

1. Bedtime Stories: A Nightly Ritual

Kickstart your back to school routine with a nightly bedtime story. Snuggling up with your little one and a children’s book is a delightful way to wind down and foster a love for reading. With Wonderbooks, bedtime reading can be fun and engaging. Your little one will be transported to new countries and find out how other children from around the world live. This month’s book, Ife the Adventurer, is inspired by the real-life stories of children in Ethiopia.

2. Get Some Fresh Air Daily

Don’t underestimate the power of fresh air! Encourage your child to spend time outdoors, whether it’s playing in the garden, park or going for a family walk. The calming effects of nature can help them recharge, boost their mood, and prepare them for a day of learning.

3. Hugs: A Daily Dose of Affection

Starting school can be an emotional rollercoaster for kids. Ensure they start their day with a warm hug and a reassuring word of encouragement. These little moments of affection can make a world of difference in helping them feel loved, supported, and ready to take on the world.

4. Exercise for a Healthy Mind and Body

Try to incorporate some physical activity into your child’s daily routine. Whether it’s a morning stretch, a game of catch, or a dance party in the living room, exercise is key to promoting a healthy mind and body. It helps improve focus, reduces stress, and sets a positive tone for the day, for both children and us parents!

5. Making New Friends: Encourage Social Connections

One of the most exciting aspects of going back to school is the opportunity to make new friends. Talk to your child about the importance of being friendly and kind. Share stories from your own school days about making friends and reassure them that they’re not alone in their quest to build new friendships.

6. Establish a Solid Routine

Consistency is key when it comes to back to school success. Create a daily routine that includes designated study time, playtime, and family time. Having a structured schedule provides a sense of security and helps children understand what to expect each day.

7. Stay Engaged in Learning

Even when school hours are over, keep the learning spirit alive at home. Explore educational games, science experiments, or creative projects that align with your child’s interests. Encourage curiosity, and show them that learning is not confined to the classroom.

In conclusion, the back to school season doesn’t have to be daunting; it can be an exciting time of growth and discovery for your child. Hopefully these tips will help your child navigate this transition with confidence, a love for reading through bedtime stories, the joys of fresh air, plenty of hugs, the benefits of exercise, the thrill of making new friends, and the comfort of a solid routine. Here’s to a successful and joyful start to the school year! 📚🌞🤗🏃‍♀️👫📆

We often hear phrases such as “Boys will be boys,” or “Stop being such a girl!” and don’t give them a second thought. But for young children, who develop an awareness of gender characteristics by age two, these comments can be more formative than we think.

Our responsibility as parents is to open our children’s minds as opposed to encouraging these outmoded stereotypes. Gender equality starts at home.

As a parent of two boys and a girl, I have often struggled with the dynamics of fairness and equality myself. Growing up with one sister, I was always taught that girls can do anything that boys can and I strive to teach my children the same. It’s not always easy nor is it a perfect science, but here are some ways to help your children view both genders as equal both in capability and opportunity. 

1. Role Modeling is Key

The home is the first place your children pick up their social cues. From the onset, encourage them to view themselves as unique individuals as opposed to boys or girls. Strive to praise independent effort and nurture distinct interests within each child at home. In our household, I also, try to avoid falling into gender-typical stereotypes within the household by sharing chores and decision-making with my your partner as evenly as possible. Each family member should feel responsible for helping out within the house and tasks should be shared and rotated. Finally, it’s critical that every voice is respected and fully heard. 

Outside of the household, it’s helpful to point out successful success stories of people of all genders, both men and women across sport, business, science, and politics. If young children see a wide variety of strong leaders, thinkers, and athletes early on it will deter them from putting limits on themselves and those around them. Also, when speaking to children about these high profile personalities, it is important to keep the dialogue objective as opposed to personal, which sometimes unconsciously creates gender stereotypes. 

2. Mix It Up

There are some interesting studies on innate gender preference for toys as well as a parent’s role in socialising certain types of toys for each gender, but overall I have found that other factors including personality traits and birth order also play a part in what each child gravitates towards. The good thing about having a mixture of boys and girls in our house is that they all have access to different types of toys and play together with Lego, doll houses, or the play kitchen depending on the day. We mix up and rotate toys, games, and books regularly so that the children have exposure to a variety of different material (fiction vs. non-fiction books for instance).

I’ve also found sport to be an amazing equaliser for young children as they enjoy coming together and competing as a team. We’ve often had the choice of putting our daughter in a girls’ only class vs. a mixed group and almost always chose mixed. This will likely change as she gets older, but for young children it’s often better to emphasise teamwork and skill-building as opposed to gender differences. 

3. Encourage Education and Diversity 

Awareness of the world around us is critically important. It’s important to talk through history with your children (in an age-appropriate way) so that they understand the progress we have made in society in terms of women gaining the right to own property, have an education and vote. But children should also understand that while some countries have made tremendous progress, others have lagged behind. For instance, in two of the Wonderbooks Rosni and the Hundred Hungry Goats and Munni’s Rooftop School, we learn that access to education is difficult in many impoverished countries, particularly for girls who are often the first to miss out. 

4. Less Is More

In general, I have found that constantly calling things out for being sexist is negative and not wholly productive. The less of an issue we make of gender constructs, the more children can feel free to be themselves. With good role models around them, access to a variety of resources, activities with a mix of boys and girls, and a proper curiosity about the world around them, the next generation should thrive and progress even further.

Erica Jalli is a mother of three based in London who regularly writes on all things parenting here. 

*Picture credit: Charlie Forgham-Bailey for Save the Children

If they can see it, they can be it… 

Children need role models in their books. If children can’t see themselves in a story’s character, how can they relate?  

It’s been refreshing to see that recent movies like Disney’s Encanto and Pixar’s Turning Red feature characters from more diverse backgrounds. Books, too, have a wider range of topics and have moved on somewhat from princesses, knights and wizards.

But the question remains – is diversity in children’s books where it should be? Is it representative of society and the little readers? Let’s recap. 

How is ethnicity represented in children’s books?

A report by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) revealed that 5% of children’s books released in 2019 had an ethnic minority main character. This is a stark improvement from 1% in 2017. As a comparison, 33.5% of the UK school population were of minority ethnic origins, so there is still a huge gap. On the other hand, 38% of children’s books featured animals as main characters. Thus children are almost eight times as likely to encounter an animal than a human main character who isn’t white! An emphasis on animal characters is distracting, and diverts everyone from addressing the issue of  under-representation of ethnic minorities. 

We are on the right path, but we still do not see enough multicultural books to reflect the diversity in our society and that needs to change. 

Where are the girls in the books?

Another major recent study has shown that while gender bias in children’s books appears to have declined significantly over the years, it still exists. It found that the male-to-female ratio of protagonists varied according to author gender, age of the target audience, character type, and book genre. 

Over the last decade the representation of male heroes compared to their female leads, was at a ratio of 1.2 to 1.  Interestingly, the study finds that this representation was also not uniform. For example, male authors were much less likely than female authors to feature girls as their protagonists. In fact, male authors were three times more likely to write a male protagonist than a female one.   

How is disability represented? 

According to the Cooperative Children’s Book Center’s 2019 study, only 3.4% of children’s books have disabled main characters. Compare this statistic from Scope that 9% of children in the UK have a disability.  

Teen blogger Megan advocates that disability does not define her – she is a daughter, student, friend too, she just happens to use a wheelchair. She makes an excellent point: how many disabled characters can you name off the top of your head. Probably not that many…  

The children’s book industry needs to do better to break the stereotypes and normalise our perception on children books protagonists. There is scope to portray the myriad of ways children exist and interact with the world. Ways that many children experience themselves or know someone who does. 

What are Wonderbooks?

At Save the Children we stand for every child. Diversity and inclusion are two of our key pillars and amplifying children’s stories is crucial to our work. Our children’s book subscription, Wonderbooks, was born from real life stories and inspired by the children we work with around the world. Children are children, no matter their background or physical abilities. So don’t just take our word for it and check out Wonderbooks. Whether it’s Seima in Cambodia saving the day, or Munni inspiring girls to learn in India, or Maryam in Nigeria speaking out against child marriage. They are our true heroes.