Books about immigrant experiences are part of Maine DOE and I’m Your Neighbor Books’ collection that the department distributed to all Maine school districts. (Photo by Mark Mattos Photography)
There were two crates waiting for Valerie Smith, an elementary school librarian, when she arrived at the Sanford School Department’s central office on Monday. In one was a collection of 30 picture books featuring experiences of modern-day immigrants and their families, along with discussion prompts. In the other, a custom display built by Maine businesses to highlight the books.
For the district that has recently seen an influx of immigrants from Central Africa, Smith said it was the perfect fit. With tightening school budgets, the new Maine Department of Education initiative to send the diverse and inclusive collection to every district in the state will benefit all students, she said.
The Portland-based nonprofit, I’m Your Neighbor Books, that has developed and distributed the collection nationwide said after almost three years of widespread bans targeting books on similar topics, this project strengthens Maine’s commitment to inclusive, diverse education. Smith, who hasn’t personally been targeted by the attacks on librarians through the book banning movement but has been wary of them, echoed the importance of the positive educational opportunities the collection will bring to her district.
“That’s what we do in libraries. We want kids to see themselves in our books,” she said.
“Being able to enhance our collection, or widen it, with these books is going to be super — not only for those new Mainers or kiddos from different cultures coming to our schools, but are also great for our kiddos, who have been here all their life, because they can learn about some of those experiences by reading those books.”
The collection features books highlighting representation, inclusion and belonging of immigrants and first-through-third generation families that I’m Your Neighbor books has distributed to schools across the country. They include titles written by and about immigrants from different parts of the world, such as Abuelita and Me by Leonarda Carranza, about a girl and her grandmother experiencing racism, In My Mosque by M.O. Yuksel, a book highlighting mosques as gathering places, and Priya Dreams of Marigold & Masala by Meenal Patel, a book containing colorful descriptions of India.
That’s what we do in libraries. We want kids to see themselves in our books.
– Valerie Smith, elementary school librarian in Sanford
Peaks Island author Anne Sibley O’Brien’s book, I’m New Here, about three immigrant children’s experiences in an English-speaking elementary school, is also featured in the collection.
However, the partnership with the Maine DOE, dubbed The Pine Project, is the first of its kind, distributing the organization’s Welcoming Library collection to every public school district with almost $650,000 in federal pandemic relief funds, according to Kendra Carter, an education marketing coordinator for the DOE.
The initiative will put almost 6,200 total books in circulation across the state, to be used as districts see fit, said Kirsten Cappy, executive director of I’m Your Neighbor Books.
“If we do not add in a collection of books about modern migrants and new generation communities, we’re leaving out what our classrooms and communities actually look like,” Cappy said about the importance of the collection, which she thinks will significantly diversify the titles available to Maine teachers.
“The presence of these books changes teaching, and it changes minds.”
The goal of the project, according to the Maine DOE, is to “enhance students’ understanding of diverse experiences and foster inclusive school environments,” Carter said in an email. The department will also offer an online training on September 30 to help educators teach the topics the books cover, which includes social emotional learning.
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