On Friday, May 20, 2016, the UCR Library in partnership with the Graduate School of Education (GSOE) celebrated the importance of diversity in children’s literature at a special event that also honored the 100^th birthday and ground-breaking work of author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats.

The event program featured a presentation by Dr. Claudette McLinn, the Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature in Inglewood, California.

McLinn addressed more than 100 students, some undergraduates as well as graduate students from the GSOE Teacher Education Program.  Her presentation touched on seminal works by Keats and other authors and illustrators who were determined that children’s literature would reflect the diversity of identity and experiences of young readers.

Students engaged in a lively Q & A, many commenting on different books that impacted them as a young reader, and taking note of Dr. McLinn’s “must-read” recommendations.