What is LLLAB?
The Language Learner Library Advisory Board.
Who are the 2022-2023 members of the LLLAB?
| First Name | Last Name | Languages |
| Amanda | Benavidez-Williams | Spanish |
| Natalia | Delaat | French |
| Ben | Fisher-Rodriguez | German |
| Karen | Gipson | French |
| Sandy | Jackson | Spanish |
| Kristi | Lentz | Spanish |
| Melanie | Mello | German |
| Esmeralda | Mora | Spanish |
| Ben | Tinsley | French |
What is LLLAB’s Mission Statement?
The mission of the Language Learner Literature Advisory Board (LLLAB) is to provide well rounded feedback about Classroom Library material as it pertains to race, ethnicity, cultures, social class, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, religion, family structure, neurodiversity, abilities, and experiences. The board is composed of a group of diverse members that are well advanced in their field and can provide trustworthy information to help dismantle social inequalities and support teachers and authors in developing and curating culturally-sustaining reading material.
We are committed to (un)learning and welcome feedback and suggestions for honoring and validating everyone’s identities, experiences, and realities.
Members are committed to a year each term (August-July). Leadership will be elected every year. General Board members can renew their membership every year.
How many times per year do members meet?
At least once a month.
How many language-learner books are reviewed per year?
Our goal is to publish 10-20 reviews a year.
How are books selected?
Books are randomly selected from this list.
What is the review process?
- Members are paired by language and review one or two books a month, selected randomly.
- Members use a review template which was created based on reading guides by various Equity Centers (see below).
- Reviews are presented to the board and must be unanimously approved before being posted.
- Reviews are then released on this website.
How did you create your review template/process?
We relied on three main sources by trusted Equity Centers:
- Reading Diversity: A tool for selecting diverse text (Teaching Tolerance)
- Culturally Responsive Curriculum Scorecard (Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools)
- Guidelines and questions to use when selecting inclusive and identity-affirming content (The Conscious Kid)
Are you rating books?
No. We leverage the diversity of our board membership to offer thoughtful reviews about books. We seek to produce descriptive reviews, not ratings.
How do you maintain impartiality?
As human beings, we all have bias. To ensure as much impartiality as possible we created two distinct checkpoints in the process:
- Two reviewers per book
- Full board approval needed in order to publish a review on our website
We also remove board members from the reviewing process if they have been involved in the publication of the book in any capacity: beta reader, copy editor, proof reading, or authorship.
How do I search for a book, a specific theme, or a proficiency level?
Use the search bar at the bottom of each page to look for a book. Additionally, each review has several tags, including themes and proficiency levels. Click on a tag to find similar books.
LLLAB does not publish unique word count because there is no standard across publishers/authors. For the unique word count, please contact the author/publisher or check their website.
How can I get in touch with LLLAB?
Contact us here.
What if I want to report an error?
Please do let us know as soon as possible here. Make sure to reference the title of the book in your message.
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