International Children’s Digital Library

International Children's Digital Library. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://en.childrenslibrary.org/

This is a website which brings together a collection of e books for children. The books that are held in the collection come from all over the world and has stories in languages from all over the world. Many of the stories which are within the collection have been translated from one language to another, so that people speaking different languages can share stories from other cultures. The website is easy for children to navigate because it uses images that are easy to see and understand while reading the books. The home page of the website may be a little hard for younger children to navigate due to the large amount of writing however with guidance from and adult or older child to help them. However as the child becomes familiar with the site they can learn where to click. The aim of the website for younger children would be as a shared experience between child and carer. Older children however can use the site themselves and experience the joy of stories from their home country and around the world. In fact all users who use this website can enjoy stories from around the world. The beauty of this collection of stories is that it allows users to discover new stories from around the world and through this learn about unfamiliar cultures. Just by browsing the different stories that are available users can see what different cultures are represented which can lead to discussions with others around them about different cultures. In this way the children who use this resource can be more aware of the diversity that exists in the world that we live in. Through this awareness that is developed will allow the children to be more accepting of other cultures that exist in the world. Therefore when they come across these other cultures during their lifetimes they can be more accepting of the people from diverse cultures and also encourage others to do the same. As the users continue to become culturally aware through using this resource they will become aware of different races from a young age and therefore be able to learn not to discriminate against race. This will mean that studies like the one by Dulin-Keita, Hannon III, Fernandez, & Cockerham (2011) will not be necessary or the results will change as people become more accepting. Through exploring this website I discovered the range of cultural diversity that exist that is available for children to explore. Through this resource a range of traditional and modern stories will assist in creating an appreciation of diverse cultures. Therefore increasing the acceptance and equity within all peoples around the world.

Dulin-Keita, A., HANNON III, L., FERNANDEZ, J. R., & COCKERHAM, W. C. (2011). The defining moment: children’s conceptualization of race and experiences with racial discrimination. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 34(4), 662–682. doi:10.1080/01419870.2011.535906