Scholastic Reads

I Exist: Why Representation in Children's Books Matters


Listen Later

`

"I stopped reading books that had humans in them after Harriet [the Spy] because I knew there wouldn't be any humans like me," — Sarah Moon, author of Sparrow

At Scholastic, we're proud to publish authors of differend backgrounds, cultures, races, abilities, and orientations. But we also know that many of our authors have felt the same way Sarah did as a child. Like her, many felt that they didn't exist in children's books when they were growing up. And like her, many are now writing to change that for future generations. We invited them to share their stories and to talk about why representation in children's books is so crucial. These stories will break your heart, but they will also give you hope: hope that today's children will never doubt that they can be the heroes of their own stories. 

Contributing authors:

  • Daniel José Older, author of the Shadowshaper series
  • Wendy Wan-Long Shang, co-author of This is Just a Test
  • Billy Merrell, author of Vanilla
  • Kody Keplinger, author of Run
  • Lamar Giles, author of Overturned
  • Sarah Moon, author of Sparrow
  • Goldy Moldovsky, author of No Good Deed
  • Varian Johnson, author of To Catch a Cheat
  • Angela Cervantes, author of Allie, First at Last
  • Bill Konigsberg, author of Honestly Ben
  • Special thanks:


  • Music composed by Lucas Elliot Eberl

  • Sound mix and editing by Daniel Jordan and Christopher Johnson

  • Produced by Emily Morrow

  • `

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    Scholastic ReadsBy Scholastic Inc.

    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6

    4.6

    50 ratings


    More shows like Scholastic Reads

    View all
    On the Media by WNYC Studios

    On the Media

    9,068 Listeners

    Radiolab by WNYC Studios

    Radiolab

    43,845 Listeners

    This American Life by This American Life

    This American Life

    90,695 Listeners

    StoryCorps by NPR

    StoryCorps

    3,986 Listeners

    Stuff You Should Know by iHeartPodcasts

    Stuff You Should Know

    77,295 Listeners

    Stuff You Missed in History Class by iHeartPodcasts

    Stuff You Missed in History Class

    23,665 Listeners

    TED Radio Hour by NPR

    TED Radio Hour

    22,161 Listeners

    From the Front Porch by The Bookshelf Thomasville

    From the Front Porch

    1,176 Listeners

    The Yarn by Travis Jonker and Colby Sharp

    The Yarn

    118 Listeners

    Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

    Hidden Brain

    43,320 Listeners

    The Daily by The New York Times

    The Daily

    111,177 Listeners

    Currently Reading by Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb

    Currently Reading

    1,681 Listeners

    Sarah's Bookshelves Live by Sarah Dickinson | Sarah's Bookshelves

    Sarah's Bookshelves Live

    750 Listeners

    The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart by Comedy Central

    The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart

    10,282 Listeners

    The Mel Robbins Podcast by Mel Robbins

    The Mel Robbins Podcast

    20,737 Listeners