Beyond Curriculum: Books to Celebrate Diversity and the Natural World
There are a number of challenges facing people of faith when it comes to communicating around the Earth and Creation, and one such challenge is the lack of curriculum that reflects diversity while inviting the reader to appreciate and even advocate for the natural world.
On October 12, Rev. Tura Foster Gillespie brought her extensive knowledge of children’s literature and picture books to the Climate Cafe Multifaith and shared what resources are available, and what books and processes she would recommend. What follows here is Rev. Foster Gillespie’s presentation, key recommendations (scroll down), and a conversation about how picture books in our faith settings—as well as within our families—can help us teach, learn, experience and act to address climate change.
On a personal note, this was one of the most fun and most engaging Climate Cafes we have hosted to date. There is so much depth to this topic, and who doesn’t love to engage with stories and picture books?
“Creation appreciation is sometimes where we need to start with people before we can get to climate advocacy.”
“No matter where you are, or who you are, a picture and a story gives you something you can connect with.”
-Rev. Tura Foster Gillespie
Photo by Marta Wave from Pexels
Today in America, our school-age classrooms are more diverse than ever. Fully half our kids under 15 are identified as belonging to a group other than white. Despite this, our picture books have not kept pace with the changing demographics of kids. Likewise, our adult conversations about climate change have not kept pace with the emergency we now face in the natural world, an emergency that will weigh heaviest on our kids. With these two things together, it is as if we are being offered an opportunity to see the world, ourselves and each other with a fresh set of eyes. Our changing classrooms and our changing awareness of our duty to our children and the Earth/Creation calls us to re-evaluate our curriculum and reading materials.
We can begin to think about diversity and children’s books with two key questions. Can our children in classrooms today see their faces, cultural experiences, and family traditions reflected in the picture books in the school library? Are children invited to learn about and appreciate the natural world we all-together share. Further, what about our church and worship community libraries? Rev. Tura Foster Gillespie is an expert at answering just these types of questions. Her answer is, ‘unfortunately, no.’ Although things are improving, there is a lot of room for improvement in the world of picture book publications. And she walks us through it in the presentation video, below.
Rev. Foster Gillespie curates picture books and runs the Teaching Cultural Compassion website. The project began when she was working as a bookseller. A parent came up to her and asked, ‘do you have any books where the children look like mine?’ From there, Rev. Foster Gillespie went deep. She brought this question to her faith, and built a ministry. She worked not only to raise awareness, but dug into some underlying causes—realizing that we don’t really know our neighbors, and haven’t really paid attention to the diversity our real world reflects. She realized, too, that here was an opportunity. With her deep love of books, she recognized that parents, booksellers and educators can ask publishers, authors and illustrators to create stories and illustrations that can help us learn about each other—developing empathy for each other and all of the Earth/Creation. This is what Teaching Cultural Compassion is all about.
“I think cultural compassion, especially as people of faith, is where we have to start. We have to want to know other people of other cultures, we have to want to care.”
Children need to see themselves and their world represented in picture books. This builds not only compassion for each other, but also appreciation for our Earth/Creation. Part of the power of seeing ourselves in story books is that we see that all kinds of people can ‘save the day’ and make a difference. Books help us learn, grow, and meet new challenges because that’s what books do. And at a time of climate crisis, we need that more than ever. Rev. Foster Gillespie explains, “Children of color are also more likely to be affected by Climate Change, in very drastic ways. So these children who are not seeing themselves in picture books, are also suffering the most from our environmental irresponsibility.”
We have to talk about it. Okay. But how? Rev. Foster Gillespie recommends including adults in the process. As with children, when adults read picture books they, too, are being offered an opportunity to develop empathy for neighbors and address reluctant topics such as climate change. “Getting adults to listen to a picture books is not as hard as you would think,” she says. “And by empathizing with a child, we take a lot of the sting out of a controversial topic.” For example, in reading a book with a child protagonist, where in the middle of a story there is concern for the environment, an adult can empathize and realize “this also affects children.” Which may then lead to, “maybe I should do something.”
One thing Rev. Foster Gillespie spoke to was the need for people to first develop a sense of appreciation for something, before they take steps toward advocacy. She says, “Creation appreciation is sometimes where we need to start with people before we can get to climate advocacy.” Storytellers seem to know this, too. Picture books come in an array of styles and are geared to different ages, but they also differ in the experience and information they offer to the reader. Some books offer an experience to be shared—these books help the reader develop appreciation for the subject. Other books tell us about a problem and explain what to do, in an effort to move us into action.
If you haven’t watched the presentation video above, I recommend doing that to help better understand not only the need to start with appreciation, but also Rev. Foster Gillespie offers some great examples of how different picture books used together will help take your kiddos or congregation on a journey from appreciation to change. She really emphasizes that if we want to build to action, we absolutely have to start with appreciation first—“sometimes we go right to action, and we lose some folks.”
For educators and sermon series, you can build curriculum over a number of weeks by choosing books of appreciation first, then adding in books of action and advocacy as you go. And some books move from appreciation to action from the front cover to the back cover, all in one go.
If you need help navigating the hundreds of possible books for your series, Rev. Foster Gillespie is here to help. Her website has a catalogue of searchable books. In addition, drawing scriptural lessons from otherwise secular books is her specialty, and she can help you put something together. She explains, “If you can take the lesson that the author created, and add to it a faith lesson that you’re already trying to teach the kids, now you’ve got a two-fer. If you can help them glean something that will inform their faith, you’re even better off.”
Rev. Tura Foster Gillespie is United Methodist by faith tradition, but is comfortable developing, or assisting in the development, of curriculum across denominations and Abrahamic traditions. For other faith traditions, she is glad to walk alongside and support those faith leaders and educators in the process of selection and development.
Also, for the occasion of the Climate Cafe, she compiled a list of books she recommends for growing appreciation and advocacy in your listeners. To help her support her ministry, she would be grateful if you could use her Bookshop.org link to order any books.
One more thing. It is important to recognize that book publishing is a business. Children’s book publishers create books in order to sell them. When you purchase an inclusive book—a book for a child to see themselves reflected in, and part of the story—you also send a $ message to publishers that it is good business for them to print more books with engaging and diverse characters and a good message about the Earth/Creation. “If there is not demand, they will not supply. If there is not demand, they will not publish more books.”
Book Recommendations!
In purchasing a book, look to the full booklist on Bookshop.org available from the Teaching Cultural Compassion Website. Purchasing books from this link helps support local bookshops, and also Rev. Foster Gillespie’s efforts.
Hello Humpback! by Robert Budd and Roy Henry Vickers.
My Friend Earth by Patricia MacLachlan and Francesca Sanna.
Under My Tree by Muriel Tallandier and Mizuho Fujisawa.
Love Is by Diane Adams and Claire Keane.
The Hike by Alison Farrell.
More books and more about these books here.
And remember, Rev. Foster Gillespie says when purchasing a book, developing curriculum, or donating to a book drive, “I would really beg you to consider who is receiving the book.”
Rev. Tura Foster Gillespie is the founder of Teaching Cultural Compassion which works to help kids and their adults find books with positive representation of underrepresented demographics. As a Deacon in the United Methodist Church, her ministry focuses on teaching groups of parents and other adults at libraries, churches, and service clubs how to ensure they are instilling children with a sense of their own innate dignity and the innate dignity of people who don't look like they do. Tura has been featured in Kiwanis International Magazine for her teachings on compassion and has presented before the Parliament of the World's Religions on her ministry. She has a love of nature and has written youth group curriculum on creation care for the General Board of Church and Society for the UMC. Tura is passionate about intersectionality and how multiple social justice issues can affect the same group of people and sees the desecration of creation and marginalization of people as hand in hand. She hopes she can inspire children to love themselves, others, and nature through her work.
Rev. Richenda Fairhurst is here for the friendship and conversations about climate, community, and connection. She organizes the Climate Cafe Multifaith as a co-leader of Faiths4Future. Find her in real life in Southern Oregon, working as Steward of Climate with the nonprofit Circle Faith Future.