Multicultural Children’s Book Day is both a nonprofit organization and an event. Celebrated in the last week of January since 2012, the event has donated over 10,000 books to underserved children, classrooms, and organizations. This coming year the event will be held in the evening on Thursday, January 26, 2023, and it is a mission that author Deedee Cummings supports wholeheartedly.
In fact, Deedee is so committed that her company, Make a Way Media, is a super platinum sponsor of the upcoming event for the fifth time! She also serves on the organization’s board of advisors.
But why are diverse books so important?
Diverse books provide a sense of security and comfort. “Diverse books send messages to all of us about the beauty of being a human being and getting to know someone else’s story. They teach us and remind us that we can work together and be more compassionate, more kind, and more engaged with one another,” she says.
If you’re an avid reader, you’ve heard the adage that books can be mirrors, reflecting someone who looks, feels, or has experiences similar to ours back, or windows, helping us see a world we wouldn’t normally see. Both are important. We need to feel that we aren’t alone and that the person we are is valuable enough to have a story about them shared with the world. We also need to be able to understand others, to walk in their shoes in a safe way, and a book is one of the best ways to do this.
“Reading changes lives…but our children need to read and see stories with characters of all colors, religions, ethnic origins, abilities, and
socio-economic backgrounds. Having more diverse books written and published is only half the battle. Parents, educators, caregivers, and librarians need to know these books exist in order to give our kids what they need,” Deedee says.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day is one way to help these stakeholders give kids the books they need. The non-profit provides hundreds of free books and resources for teachers, parents, and anyone else who thinks helping children understand others through books is a great way to teach empathy and explore humanity. Join us for the virtual party this month by registering here. Also, follow along with the hashtag #ReadYourWorld for updates and more information on social media. Don’t miss the party. It’s a lot of fun and packed with free prizes and new relationships! We’ll see you there!!!
About Deedee Cummings
Deedee Cummings is a professional dreamer. She is also an author, therapist, attorney, and mom from Louisville, Kentucky. Cummings founded Make A Way Media in 2014 after struggling to find books with characters who looked like her own children and an extreme lack of stories that reflected their life experiences. Books published by Make A Way focus on hope, diversity, social justice, and therapeutic skills for children and adults. Her work has been featured in HuffPost, Forbes, NPR, USA Today, Essence Magazine, Psych Central, Well+Good, and The EveryGirl, among other media outlets. In 2021, she was appointed to the Kentucky Early Childhood Advisory Council by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and reappointed to a second term in 2025 acknowledging her decades long service to the children and families of Kentucky. Deedee is also the founder of The Louisville Book Festival. She was inspired to work to highlight and celebrate a culture of reading in her community after working as an in-home therapist and visiting homes of children who had no books. Cummings believes literacy is a fundamental human right. Her work highlights inspiring messages that remind us all it is never too late to begin again.
