But too often the older characters are uninteresting, one-dimensional and dependent on the child to fix a problem. Many books for children focus on warm relationships between grandparents and grandchildren, or on evoking empathy-all good things. They (and we) deserve exposure to older role models and a more accurate diversity of abilities, talents and interests. children also deserve to see their future selves devoid of the ageist myths and negative stereotypes so prevalent in the media. Greater attention is given to race, culture, ethnicity, gender and sexual identity-with the belief that all kids need to see themselves in books. There is growing support for increased diversity in the characters portrayed in children’s books. Adulthood is frequently ignored and late life is often seen as sad. The fact is-we all have lots of living to do beyond age 18, yet the images of growing older in books for kids are often skewed to portray negative stereotypes as truth. Childhood is an important stage of life, but it’s time limited.
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