Curated by us,
cultivated by you
If you’re curious about what we look for when selecting books, how we go about it, and ways you can help, you’ve come to the right place.
Take a peek behind our curation curtain
People are curious. “Who the heck curates Stories of Color and how are books selected,” they ask? Well, we certainly don’t want it to be some black box or mystery to solve. Allow us to explain our process.
While our allies select the recommended books of the month, our main catalog of diverse living books is voluntarily curated with love by Nicole Cottrell, a biracial, decade-plus, Charlotte Mason homeschooling mom of three. The majority of books featured on Stories of Color have been carefully selected by her.
With thousands of titles in our catalog now, though, she has not read every book we feature. To supplement the review process, she does her research, cross-referencing book reviews from trusted sources to verify that each book is viewed positively among the native people groups such stories represent. While no one perspective is a monolith, we esteem those who are part of those groups as valuable sources of information and input.
As much as possible, we also seek out children’s books that are authored and illustrated by people of color. This point does not guarantee that a book is safe, and it certainly doesn’t guarantee that it’s of the “living” quality which Ms. Mason so thoroughly defined. Quite simply, the attributed authorship of a title is one contributing factor to a book being more likely to represent people of color in ways that avoid stereotypes, providing children with the “windows and mirrors” they so desperately need.
All this is to say, even if our selected titles are loved by many, just because a book makes the cut doesn’t mean our curator would personally recommend each and every book in our catalog, just as it does not guarantee that every person who reads the book will find it worth reading. After all, curation does not always equate to endorsement—it simply means it meets a standard. In this case, every book must meet the standard of being a diverse piece of literature which meets Charlotte Mason’s intentionally loose definition of a “living” book. And in the end, it is the parents who must choose what titles their children each read or avoid.
This is where you come in.
In addition to selecting the books your children read, we’re not ashamed to admit that we need your help. While every one of the titles in our catalog is vetted to ensure it meets our submission guidelines, Stories of Color is cultivated by a loyal community of homeschoolers and educators just like you.
If you don’t see a multicultural story among our titles that you think should be represented in one of our living book lists, we await your suggestion. Submit a book so we can continue curating this resource for children of all ages.
Likewise, if you see something wrong or incomplete with one of our titles, feel free to edit or flag it yourself. Truth be told, there are a handful of of books that have been entirely removed from our catalog thanks to the gracious (and sometimes, even ungracious) suggestions of our readers. We’re always learning, never arriving—and we welcome, value, and need your support.
In short, we curate, you cultivate. We hope you’ll join us.
What we do
→ Curate the book catalog
→ Research BIPOC opinions
→ Review your book suggestions
What you do
→ Pick the books your kids read
→ Contribute book suggestions
→ Flag or edit catalog changes
Definitions would be nice
In addition to questions about our curation process, we’re often asked about these so-called “living” books. What even are they? How do you know if a book is living? How long dead do the authors have to be for the title to be considered alive?* Let’s explore these ideas.
*Yeah, that last question should wreak of irony, and yet, it persists among homeschoolers.
What is a living book?
Living books is a phrase that was originally coined by Charlotte Mason, an educational philosopher who lived until the early 1900s. It remains a term that those who follow her philosophy continue using to this day.
In describing living books, Ms. Mason wrote:
“We do not mean by a book any printed matter in a binding, but a work possessing certain literary qualities able to bring that sensible delight to the reader which belongs to a literary word fitly spoken.”
She firmly believed that children “must grow up upon the best… There is never a time when they are unequal to worthy thoughts, well put; inspiring tales, well told."
She frequently juxtaposed living books with another phrase you may hear from many Charlotte Masoners: “twaddle.” On this topic, she critiqued, “I am speaking now of [children’s] lesson-books, which are all too apt to be written in a style of insufferable twaddle, probably because they are written by persons who have never chanced to meet a child. All who know children know that they do not talk twaddle and do not like it, and prefer that which appeals to their understanding.”
We agree with Ms. Mason wholeheartedly—and we also think she was ahead of her time when it came to her thoughts on diversity. As a result, the stories you find on Stories of Color will only be living books meant to represent “the best” that literature has to offer while simultaneously providing a more multicultural, representative perspective to the children who read them.
How old should a living book be?
Another misconception about living books that has grown in popularity has to do with its age.
Traditional, predominantly white, euro-centric Charlotte Mason book lists (and let’s be honest—just book lists in general) have led many people to believe that only old, “classic” books should be considered living. But in reading Ms. Mason’s words, we will quickly find this isn’t required. After all, it was she who wrote “The only vital method of education appears that children should read worthy books.”
When we look for worthy books, ones that aren’t twaddle and fluff, we are, of course, left with a smaller number. When you add to that criterion books about—and by—Black, Indigenous, and people of color, we are left with even fewer.
This is why homeschoolers who care about diversity must step outside of the typical “classics” in order to offer representative, multicultural living titles to their children. If we logically consider that there are fewer classic works by BIPOC people to begin with as an obvious byproduct of generations of oppression and racism, then we will see the need to add more current titles to supplement this fact.
And here’s another, perhaps even more salient idea to consider. Ms. Mason was known to use and assign contemporary books in her schools. In fact, she made a point of actively seeking out the modern thoughts of the day to infuse her students’ education. Of course, she preferred tried and true texts, but she was never opposed to new literature. It was Ms. Mason herself, for instance, who wrote:
“A book may be long or short, old or new, easy or hard, written by a great man or a lesser man, and yet be the living book which finds its way to the mind of a young reader.”
Over a century since her death, we can now only theorize as to what Ms. Mason might say about today’s contemporary works. But when we consider that the child is a born person (as she liked to say), then it seems clear that children of all ages deserve to read and have their minds filled with histories and narratives reflective of them and their experience. We, too, should be willing to step outside of “tradition” to honor our children and the diversely created world in which they live.
This isn’t to say we shouldn’t use classic literature or veer entirely away from such titles, it simply means we must supplement those tales alongside more modern—and still living—stories of color, because both can be honoring of a child’s heritage, imagination, and mind. What a worthy cause.
Book submission guidelines
If you’re going to contribute to our catalog, keep these 5 principles in mind.
Living books only
Stories of Color was designed with Charlotte Mason homeschoolers in mind, even though its usefulness is not limited to Charlotte Masoners. Regardless, all title submissions must meet the criterion of being what Ms. Mason referred to as a “living” book.
In her own words, “We do not mean by a book any printed matter in a binding, but a work possessing certain literary qualities able to bring that sensible delight to the reader which belongs to a literary word fitly spoken.” We agree with her that children “must grow up upon the best… There is never a time when they are unequal to worthy thoughts, well put; inspiring tales, well told.” In short, the books represented on Stories of Color should only reflect well written literature able to captivate and inspire readers of any age. Learn more about what we believe classifies as a living book.
Representation matters
That’s the whole reason Stories of Color exists in the first place—because we couldn’t find the type of books all in one spot which represented the people, cultures, and perspectives that we want our children to learn about and consider. As a result, our catalog is not intended to wholly replace the predominantly white, euro-centric book lists that other groups and curricula provide, but rather, supplement them.
With this in mind, we ask you to refrain from submitting commonplace titles predisposed toward colonial worldviews. Instead, please submit living book titles that are populated by those of Asian, Black, Indigenous, Latin, Pacific Islander, multiracial, and multicultural perspectives, whether past or contemporary. We especially request titles in which people of color (POC) and other nationalities are not stereotyped or characterized using derogatory tropes common among literature, whether overt or covert. Furthermore, if you know that a book is written or illustrated by a person of color, we like to highlight these titles and their creators all the more.
The more information, the better
Stories of Color is a passion project which is voluntarily curated by a busy, homeschooling mother of three. As such, it’s incredibly helpful when you can provide as much detail as possible about your submission and reduce the amount of effort required to effectively and efficiently curate this resource. Along these lines, please try to indicate what cultures, nations, and perspectives your submissions represent at a minimum.
We’ll get something wrong
The main reason we have a catalog is because of community members such as yourself being kind enough to suggest titles and provide as much information as possible about them. So, if you see a title which is incorrect or incomplete, duplicating another entry, or you don’t think belongs on the list at all, please edit or flag the book for us to review with your suggested additions, edits, and warnings. We review and act upon such flags with vigilance because, we know that we can’t do this alone.
Trust is built
While anybody is welcome to add a book, those who join our community on Instagram, submit more titles, and show up in participatory, inclusive ways are more likely to have their submissions vetted quickly. Furthermore, if you submit books or warnings that don’t meet the guidelines above or are hostile in anyway, your contributions may be ignored. It’s nothing personal, but since this is a curated resource trying to meet a very specific objective, we are relying upon trusted—and kind—allies who will help us achieve our mission over the long haul. Remember, it’s for our children. Our future.
Now that you know what we’re looking for, get busy…
More ways to help
There are several ways to support our mission beyond adding books—and we’ll take all the help we can get.
Donate
Give as little as $1 if Stories of Color has helped you in your teaching efforts.
Most helpful
Follow and share
Tell your friends, tell your mama, tell ev’rybody. We’re available for interviews, too.
Testify
Send your public (or private) encouragement to our makers. We need it.
Suggest a resource
Share homeschooling resource suggestions, not just book suggestions.
Other common questions
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To supplement our curation process, we turn to a number of trusted sources to verify how books are viewed among the native people groups such stories represent. In alphabetical order, some of these sources include sites like…
American Indians in Children’s Literature, when looking for a critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children’s and young adult books.
Jewish Book Council, which is the longest-running organization devoted exclusively to the support and celebration of Jewish literature.
Little Pasifika, which highlights and offers perspectives on books about Pacific Islanders.
Oyate, which provides excellent criteria for identifying books about Native peoples and themes which honor their people. (Note, this website has had more technical difficulties of late, but their publication, A Broken Flute, offers an excellent selection of children’s books highlighting the Native experience.)
Social Justice Books, offering critically reviewed selections of multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators.
Strong Nations, when researching books about Indigenous peoples from Turtle Island (North America).
Last but not least, we also look for long-form reviews about titles we research from people within the people group that certain books represent.
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Frankly, we don’t have a clearcut answer for you. Normally, our curation process is pretty quick. Once you’ve submitted a book, we’re notified instantly.
However, since we’re voluntarily curated and consider Stories of Color a labor of love rather than a business, it may take us a few minutes—or it might take us a few weeks.
We assure you that your submission wasn’t lost in the shuffle. It could be that your title didn’t meet our submission guidelines, but in most cases, it’s simply a matter of time, however long or short that may be. We’ll get to it. And when we do, you’ll be notified via email if it’s added to our catalog.
Thanks for your understanding. And please, don’t let us stop you from continuing to add and edit living books. We need you.
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Shoot. We know it can be disappointing when a book recommendation you offer doesn’t make the cut. We can’t name all the reasons your suggestion may not have been added. It may just be a matter of time (see above). But in the case that your recommendation wasn’t accepted, we can share a few of the top reasons people’s suggestions don’t typically make our list. Common reasons for exclusion include:
It’s a duplicate title and we already have it on our catalog or in our queue
The submission doesn’t meet our guidelines
Another person recommended we flag the book or remove it entirely
The book isn’t viewed highly among the people group or groups it represents
Again, we know this can be disappointing—and we certainly hope it doesn’t deter you from suggesting other books. If we can add any more color for you about why your book may not have made the cut, feel free to contact us.
Last but not least, thank you for your contribution and understanding. We couldn’t do this without you.
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Yes. If you’ve perused all our book lists but haven’t found a prepared list to your liking, feel free to contact us and let us know what you’re thinking.
In the meantime, we’d encourage you to use our powerful discovery features to filter, sort, and search our catalog to your liking.
Thank you for your thoughtful contributions, in advance.
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Turn to our help center for the answers and support you need. If that doesn’t work, you can always contact us, too.