Culturally diverse literature

In every sense of the word, our class is truly diverse! However, the contents of our classoom library do not reflect the beautiful diversity of our community.  In order to increase excitement and engagement, we need to add literature that all students can connect with.  With a commitment to promote equity and engage learners, we need to add great literature full of diverse characters, full of complexity and depth.  The benefits of a more culturally diverse library are two-fold: Increasing the amount of texts with minority characters gives students of color affirmation of their own experiences, and gives white students insight into the lives of other cultures.  The result is increased interest in reading, and a deeper understanding of each other. 

I will be using any funds used to directly purchase quality books from a list I have created full of authors such as Nikki Grimes, Kwame Alexander, Gary Soto, and many others.  They will be directly used in a reading unit about celebrating diversity and available for students to read at their own leisure.  

I will need up to $500 to complete this list, and every cent will be worth it for the  growth in reading skills and maybe even more importantly, living and thriving in a diverse community.