WISE WORDS
Reading books to and with young children is so important, giving them life skills and helping develop their imagination, learning and understanding of the world. I am amazed at the number of new children’s books we receive for reviewing in Creative Steps – each one with a new story or message – and I am pleased to see that these have become far more diverse and inclusive, both the characters in the stories and the authors themselves. This is highlighted in recent research by the BookTrust, which reveals 11.7% of children’s book creators in 2021 were people of colour, compared to just 4% in 2007. Children being able to see themselves in the books they read shapes how they view themselves and the world around them. Books can be an important…