Mission & Values

Mission

I’m Your Neighbor Books cultivates welcoming behaviors and builds a sense of belonging in all our communities by increasing access to and engagement with Immigrant and New Generation children’s literature.

We Value

Story

We share children’s literature not only to empower the future of our children and young adults but also because the illustrations and direct narratives of children’s books can have an immediate impact on readers of all ages and English language abilities.

The Contemporary

We feature books that represent modern, non-European migrants and their new generations to diversify school and national dialogues that have previously centered the stories of historical White migration.

An End to Bias

We work to diminish stereotypes and false narratives about Immigrant and New Generation communities by increasing access to the rich and growing diversity of stories in children’s literature.

Conversation

We lead discussions that connect the featured stories to a deeper understanding of oneself and others and the need for compassionate action.

Welcoming

We provide the building blocks for welcoming behaviors by providing books and conversations that establish empathy and cultural competency.

Belonging

We create access to Immigrant and New Generation books that invite every reader to see themselves and their communities represented in a manner that instills a crucial sense of belonging.

Home

We believe culturally specific books given directly to new arrival families is a welcoming act that can minimize the trauma of resettlement and establish a sense of belonging in a new home.

Action

We commit to inserting stories into current event hotspots in a manner that combats false narratives and/or missing narratives. This includes the intentional removal of Immigrant and New Generation books from public circulation.

Healing

We send books to Immigrant and New Generation communities (or the institutions that serve them) when local or global events cause harm or anxiety.

Reimagining

We hope that a full representation of Immigrant and New Generation identities leads us to individually and collectively reimagine how migrants find home.

I’m Your Neighbor Books acknowledges that colonization and subsequent migration has caused great harm to the Indigenous people of this continent.

The land where we work each day is the occupied and unceded territory of the Wabanaki, the People of the place where the sun first looks our way, who have stewarded this land throughout the generations.

We extend our respect and gratitude to the many Indigenous people and their ancestors whose rich histories and vibrant communities include the Abenaki, Maliseet, Micmac, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot Nations and all the Native communities who have lived in Chuwabunkeag for over three thousand generations in what is now called New England and the Canadian Maritimes.

We thank them for their strength and resilience in protecting this land and aspire to uphold our responsibilities according to their example.