How diverse is your child’s library? How diverse are the apps on your digital devices? I’ve collected some resources to help parents and caregivers build diverse digital libraries.

At the American Library Association’s annual conference, the “Promoting Cultural Competence in Digital Storytimes” session explored apps that parents can use to build a more diverse digital library. I’ve embedded the slides from that presentation below…

University of Alabama School of Library & Information Studies associate professor Jamie Naidoo defined cultural competence as “the ability to come to know and respect diverse cultural backgrounds and characteristics through interaction with individuals from diverse linguistic, cultural and socioeconomic groups.”

During that session, Little eLit founder Cen Campbell and Language Castle consultant Karen Nemeth shared a long list of apps that can help parents build a diverse digital library. I’ve linked to their suggestions and added a few of my own.

Resources for Building a Diverse Digital Library

International Children’s Digital Library: Free access to high-quality digital books from around the world. Browse by age, genre, book length, character types, or even the color of a book’s cover.

Hip Hop Speaks To Children edited by poet Nikki Giovanni: “Readers can immerse themselves in 51 selections from 42 poets and performers, and 30 performances on the audio CD, many recorded specially for this collection.”

Reading Rainbow: This hand-picked collection of more than 300 digital books includes a variety of books

The Story of Kalkalilh: “Parents and children are transported to a world filled with beautiful visuals and memorable characters, learning more about the cultural traditions from the Squamish Nation.”

A Day in the Market: “Available in both English and Filipino, the app lets kids enjoy every step of a young girl’s first trip to the market. A sorting game and a cooking game are featured as well.

Fam Bam: “This family all loves music, but everybody has their own favorites and doesn’t want to listen to the others’ music. What’s a tight-knit fam bam to do? The conflict resolves with a fun twist as everyone learns to compromise.”

Round Is a Mooncake, A Book Of Shapes: A little girl’s urban neighborhood becomes a discovery ground of things round, square and rectangular in this lyrical picturebook.

Wee You Things: “Meet the Wee You-Things in an interactive book and happy app designed to encourage kids (ages 3-7) to appreciate differences. Fun features include a chance to create your own “you” and become a part of the story.

(Image via Young Folks’ Library)