Children’s literacy program at Kingsbridge Library highlights immigrant stories and identity
By Michelle Mullen

At the Kingsbridge Library this month, young readers are setting off on a literary journey. For some, it’s a chance to embrace their own stories. For others, it’s a chance to discover someone else’s

It’s part of this year’s Diversity in Literacy campaign, an annual initiative by the nonprofit Literacy in Community, or LINC, which uses children’s books to introduce young readers and their families to stories that reflect the many languages, traditions and backgrounds that make up the five boroughs. 

This year’s theme, “A Love Letter to NYC Immigrants & Working Families,” aims to create space for children from immigrant and working families to recognize themselves in the stories they read, while allowing others to learn about cultures beyond their own. The program is designed for families with children up to age five, a stage when early exposure to books can shape how children approach reading for years to come.

Launched in partnership with Fidelis Care, the campaign will run through April 4 with eight literacy events scheduled across New York City.

For organizers like Riverdale resident and LINC’s chief program officer, Laura Walsh, the goal extends beyond teaching young children to read. It is also about helping them see themselves reflected in the stories they encounter.

“In order to ensure that our goal is met, that every child is reading, we need to make sure that the literature that our families and our children are exposed to are reflective of who they are,” she said. “We’re really passionate about getting books in the hands of children, but we’re also really passionate about literacy as a vessel for storytelling, for advocacy.”

Walsh described this idea through “mirrors and windows.” The concept is that books can serve as mirrors when children see aspects of their own lives reflected in stories where their languages, families or traditions appear on the page.

“That window piece is really powerful,” she said. “Because it helps children understand and appreciate cultures that might be outside of their own.”

The Kingsbridge event will feature a visit from children’s author Ashley Woodfolk, whose picture book “Beach Hair,” illustrated by Nina Mata, explores identity through the experience of a multiracial child learning to embrace her natural hair.

Emmanuel Novy, LINC’s chief of strategic initiatives, said the story reflects the campaign’s broader goal of helping children navigate each other’s differences and find confidence in their own identities.

“I think, in the simplest way to say it, it’s a book about someone who, because of their background or the way they look, is experiencing something that is different from someone else,” Novy said. “And at first it feels maybe a little bit scary, or it feels like you are other than but at the end of the book, you know that everyone is important. Everyone counts.”

Other featured authors in the campaign include Susie Jaramillo, creator of the bilingual “Canticos” book series inspired by Latin American lullabies and folk traditions. But the events are designed to be more than traditional book readings.

In a city as diverse as New York, LINC Director of Strategic Initiatives Karen Rogel noted, both are essential.

“It’s a place where so many cultures live side by side, and that balance really matters,” she said, adding books that introduce unfamiliar cultures can help young readers build empathy and curiosity about the world around them.

For some families, that recognition can be especially meaningful.

“We want children to be able to walk out of there feeling that love and feeling that pride,” Rogel said. “New York is a city of immigrants, and it is a beautiful place to be.”

The Diversity Through Literacy campaign is designed to do both, offering an escape for parents as well.

“If you open the news cycle and you see everything, it can seem like such a devastating time for our immigrant population,” Walsh said. “But I am proud to be at an organization that is committed to showing immigrants and immigrant families that ‘we love you.’”

During the event, the first 60 families who register will receive signed copies of the featured author’s book, while all children in attendance will leave with books of their own.  In total, the organizers expect to distribute more than 500 free books throughout the campaign.

Take-home literacy kits will also allow families to continue the experience after the event ends. The kits include materials for children to draw self-portraits and write short “love letters” to themselves — simple exercises meant to build early writing skills while encouraging children to think about their identities.

Keeping the events at no cost to families is central to the program’s mission, organizers say, ensuring families across the city can participate regardless of income or background.

“We know the only way that we get the essential work into the family’s hands in a very real way is to keep it free,” Novy said.

To register for the Diversity Through Literacy program at the Kingsbridge Library on Tuesday, March 31, visit: tinyurl.com/DTL26KB.