Bringing Children's Books to Life

In 1965, Nancy Larrick, former president of the International Reading Association, published a groundbreaking essay in The Saturday Review: "The All-White World of Children's Books." In it, she noted that more than 95 percent of recently published children's books included no Black characters, emphasizing the negative impact that this omission had on all children. In the nearly 60 years since, a number of organizations that track the publication of children's and young adult literature, like the Cooperative Children's Book Center, have seen a significant increase in the number of such books written about children of color, disabled children, and children from non-traditional families, but this isn't always reflected in the books that show up in school libraries.

The Penn Libraries Community Engagement team wanted to help change that by examining and improving the classic “storytime” or “read-aloud” experience for elementary school students. That's why the team, including six Penn student workers, spent last summer compiling a curated selection of some of the best children's books available today and creating specialized read-aloud guides to help volunteers with longtime partner West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC) share those stories. Today, over 70 of these guides are in use in collaboratively-run elementary school libraries in 14 Philadelphia Public Schools.

“We want to make sure that the kids in the Philadelphia Public Schools are represented in the books that they are reading and hearing in their school libraries,” said Rosie Jacobson, PLCE's Community Initiatives Manager. 

Anatomy of a Read-Aloud Guide

Created by student workers, each read-aloud guide is a one-page document with discussion questions meant to help the book's reader share the story with listeners. They include "skill questions" which directly relate to the text of the story, as well as "connection questions" that are meant to help children explore how they relate to the book, or to discuss the feelings the story brings up. Each one-pager also includes "storytelling hints" that provide physical and verbal tips to engage listeners' minds and bodies. One-pagers are structured with Pennsylvania Core Standards for English Language Arts and the Philadelphia School District English Language Arts curriculum in mind, which help to align library programming with what students are learning in the classroom

As part of the process of creating these guides, Penn students worked with experts in children's education and storytelling, including Librarian for Education Joanna Thompson and Curator of Research Services Alicia Meyer, as well as Jessie Dorfman, school librarian at the Community Partnership School in Philadelphia, and storyteller Diane Leslie. These experts introduced the students to important education concepts and vital skills that helped them select books and develop questions.

One of the big lessons they learned was how important it was to get into the mind of the elementary school students who would eventually be enjoying the books.

"There were two iterations of our discussion questions: before Jessie Dorfman and after Jessie Dorfman," said Ibrahim El-Morsy, C '26. " At first, we weren't thinking from the perspective of the children. We were thinking from the perspective of a teacher and what we would want the kids to take away from the story. That’s important, but we also wanted to find opportunities to get the children thinking on their own."

Sydney Kariuki, SEAS '25, added that Diane Leslie's experience as a storyteller also influenced the way they developed the reading guides. "One thing that really helped us throughout this project was reading to each other. It helped us notice what kind of physical engagement there would be, or moments where the reader might have to pause and connect with the listeners. It was very important to hear how the book was coming across when we read to each other."

Ibrahim and Sydney visit the Common Press Studio as part of their summer with PLCE.

"Books about people's experiences of being people"

PLCE had a number of criteria they wanted to follow when selecting read-aloud books. Along with being for the K-3 age group, they chose books that included dynamic storytelling, repeated phrases, rhyme schemes, and lots of opportunities for physical engagement. They also wanted the books they chose to focus less on abstract concepts and more on characters' experiences. As Rosie put it, "We wanted to find books that were about people's experiences of being people."

From there, each of the students chose a specific theme around which to make their selections. For Ibrahim, that theme was "big feelings." Each of the 16 books he chose focused on an important and impactful emotion: joy, sadness, anger, or fear.

“Feelings felt very artificial in the books I had seen before," explained Ibrahim. "For example, when a kid was angry, it might be because an ice cream fell on the floor, and suddenly there would be fire coming out of their mouth. They didn’t help children understand why they were angry, or how to move on from that emotion."

He added, "I wanted to help children understand and regulate their emotions. A lot of children grow up not learning that, and it can lead to a lot of misunderstandings along the way."  

Sydney took a different approach: she chose books that told stories of self-discovery through art. "A big thing that contributed to who I am today was the depiction of art and music in what I was reading," she explained. "I think children are used to seeing kids drawing with crayons or using clay, but I wanted to broaden their minds. I wanted to show them that they could be a ballerina who plays basketball, or play the tuba, or do all kinds of different things with art."

She recommended books about a child who loves basketball and ballet, another who creates abstract drawings to express his emotions, and one who welcomes a new neighbor through her art, among others. Sydney was particularly interested in books that showed how children can use artistry and creativity to connect with the people around them. "I noticed that a lot of characters would use art to make friends. I wanted to represent how art can help you find yourself and your community, and to show kids the creative potential in their own environments."

All the books Sydney, Ibrahim, Rosie, and the rest of the team chose include engaging stories that take children's lives seriously. "A lot of kids' books today aren’t entertaining enough. They don't have plots that twist and turn. We should be supporting children and inspiring children," said Ibrahim. And, at least in part, that means finding better books. He added, "Children’s books can be about something, but it shouldn’t just be a message for the kids. It should be a story as well. The books we ended up choosing [for our read-aloud guides] did that." 

Reading Books, Building Community 

The PLCE team has now shared their book recommendations and read-aloud guides with WePAC volunteers who read to students at partner schools every week, and they are gathering feedback based on those on-the-ground experiences. They are hoping to continue developing more guides, as well as improving the ones they have already made, based on school and community need.

Sydney and Ibrahim are also thinking about the ways that the lessons they have learned will continue to influence their lives.

Sydney, who is studying to be a chemical engineer, sees a direct connection between her work with PLCE and her future career. "As a chemical engineer, it's very crucial to understand the needs of the community because that's who you are engineering solutions for. Although this project was not directly tied to the technical aspect of my work, it was a reminder to always having community needs at the forefront. Working with PLCE has given me a unique perspective on what people really need and how to understand that."

Ibrahim agrees. "I plan on working in health policy, and I think it's important to remember that a lot of these things interconnect. Not having access to healthcare can impact your education and impact your experience of life. It’s really important to remember all the ways your work is impacting families and children."

But he also has some other advantages in mind. "On a basic note, I plan on having children. This project helped me pick out books in a way that's going to give me a leg up on all the other parents."

Picture Book Picks

The PLCE team read over 600 books over the course of the summer and narrowed their list down to 116 recommendations for partner schools. Here are just some of Ibrahim, Sydney, and Rosie's favorites.  

Note: The descriptions below are collected from publishers and edited for brevity and clarity.

Maybe Tomorrow? By Charlotte Agell (author) and Ana Ramirez Gonzalez (illustrator)

This tender exploration of grief will resonate with anyone who has experienced hardship, sensitively demonstrating the healing power of a friend who can see, listen, sit with, and love us through all our feelings.  

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

In a sweetly appealing tale of overcoming your fears, Gaia Cornwall captures a moment between a patient and encouraging father and a determined little boy you can't help but root for.

Harriet Gets Carried Away by Jessie Sima

From the author and illustrator of the bestselling Not Quite Narwhal comes a sweet and funny story about remembering where you belong, no matter how far you roam, or what you're wearing when you get there.

Allie All Along by Sarah Lynne Reul

Allie All Along explores simple ways kids can center themselves in the face of overwhelming emotions. The illustrations' varying hues and vibrant colors capture the powerful feelings that young children can't always express in words.

Real to Me by Minh Lê (author) and Raissa Figueroa (illustrator)

An acclaimed author and a Coretta Scott King Honoree pair up for this tender story about friendship and accepting change. Two best friends (one of whom is imaginary) are inseparable until the day when one of them unexpectedly disappears.

Magic Candies by Heena Baek, translated into English by Sophie Bowman

A quirky story about finding your voice, from internationally acclaimed author Heena Baek. At turns funny, weird, and heartfelt, this imaginative picture book takes readers along on a boy’s journey as he goes from lonely to brave.

Niko Draws a Feeling by Robert Raczka (author) and Simone Shin (illustrator)

This imaginative and tender story explores the creative process, abstract art, friendship, and the universal desire to feel understood.

The Remember Balloons by Jessie Oliveros (author) and Dana Wulfekotte (illustrator)

This tender, sensitive picture book gently explains the memory loss associated with aging and diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Love Made Me More by Colleen Rowan Kosinski (author) and Sonia Sanchez (illustrator)

An unexpectedly heartfelt tale of a friendship between a boy and an origami crane that continues throughout the boy's life.