Mirrors and Windows

Matthew Winner is a Howard County educator who is probably more well known nationally than around town. I first became aware of him when I was traveling to different locations around the school system. Mr. Winner is a Media Specialist at Swansfield Elementary. He’s also the creator of the All the Wonders podcast, where he interviews authors and illustrators of children’s literature.

I’m sharing a guest post from Mr. Winner written for Kurt Stroh’s blog in his “Power of the Picture Book” blog series for November (picture book month). 

The Power of a Picture Book

He writes:

The more I talk of picture books being mirrors and windows to readers, the more I've realized how many books I read that are mirrors of my own culture and experiences. The more I realize the books I read aloud at school are mirrors of my own culture and experiences. The more I realized the books I was featuring on my children's book podcast were mirrors of my own culture and experiences.

The problem with surrounding yourself with mirrors is that soon you can't see anything else.

As we refocus our efforts in the Howard County Schools to address issues of equity, Mr. Winner’s observations here are especially relevant. When you open a book, who do you see? What does that mean, and why does it matter?