New Edition of Popular Resource Celebrates Family Diversities

An extensive reading resource showcasing some of the best children's books that deal with family diversity, has been updated for its 10th anniversary.

Edited by Dr Richard Woolley, Deputy Head of the Institute of Education at the University of Worcester, and Janice Morris, Teaching Resources Librarian at Bishop Grosseteste University, the resource now features over 150 high quality children's picture books.

The Family Diversities Reading provides a way for those involved in education " as well as community groups and parents/carers - to identify high quality resources for use in classrooms, libraries, resource packs and in the home.

"Families come in all shapes and sizes," said Dr Woolley. "Children live in a variety of homes " of different sizes, in houses or apartments, in trailers or on boats. They also live with a diverse range of others, including in one- and two-parent households, with mum and dad or dad and dad, with grandma or an uncle, with siblings or in public care. Some have a parent who works away from home, or who stays away from home. Some live between two homes.

"This collection puts in one place some of the best picture books that help to teach children about diversity."

The resource was originally published in 2007, and last year the two academics began work to refresh its contents.

The resource is freely available to download as a pdf document at the children's literature page.

Many of the books listed in the Resource can be found in the Teaching Resources Collection at Bishop Grosseteste University and at The Hive, the University of Worcester's joint public and university library.