Do you remember a time when you were young and you wanted to be included, but you weren’t? It’s a terrible feeling. It’s strange that now as an adult, it doesn’t bother me much at all. When I first heard of the term FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) I thought, “That’s totally me!” However, in middle age, I prefer a slow pace and an open schedule to be home with my family!

On the contrary, let’s teach our children to include those who are left behind, helping spread kindness.

Inclusion has multiple layers. It doesn’t just refer to including others but it also means including those who are different than we are. This can be individuals who speak a different language, like the example we say in the book Chocolate Milk, Por Favor. It can also mean including others who don’t look like us or like the same things as us, as was illustrated beautifully in the picture book Cookie & Milk.

After performing our deep dive audit into our picture book collection at Cardinal Rule Press, we found an area that we would like to better represent – disabilities. During the pandemic, we made connections with ASL (American Sign Language) translators and had our books interpreted when read online by our authors. By including sign language, as well as closed captioning, we are including those who have difficulty hearing.

All readers deserve the right to read. How can we make it possible for other groups? We can offer our books in different languages (we have Spanish and Korean covered!) as well as in Braille (working on it!) We can also make sure children who do not have access to home libraries get books into their homes (donations to groups like First Books who are working on this awesome goal!)

Tell me, do you experience FOMO? Do you remember a time you were left out as a child or maybe you have sat in the heartache with your own child when this has happened? If there are ways we, as a publishing company can “do better” to include others, don’t hesitate to give us suggestions! Remember, we are #BetterTogether!

FREE COMMUNITY OFFERINGS

• You are invited to join a Virtual Career Day March 28th @ 2 PM EST. Hear from 5 professionals about their careers. This panel is geared towards K-5 classrooms and homeschool groups. Sign up here!​​
• This Could Be You will come out on April 1st. You are invited to meet the author in person here in Michigan at the Impression 5 Science Center for kids on April 2nd from 11-2. OR hear the author read her book for the first time, virtually on April 1st.