not so long ago…
Once upon a time,
Stories of Color was created by a biracial, decade-plus Charlotte Mason homeschooler who was dissatisfied with the predominantly white, euro-centric book lists so commonplace among homeschooling communities and curriculums. If we’re truly looking to provide future generations with a rich, holistic view of history, it requires we share more diverse, multicultural stories that bring new ideas, experiences, and perspectives to life for our children.
That was the catalyst behind our mission and growing list of features, but this is no ordinary resource. We are a community-led book and resource sharing platform that’s cultivated by caring parents and teachers like you. If you don’t see an untold or undertold story in our living book catalog that you think should be represented, we await your suggestion. Submit a book that meets our guidelines so we can continue curating this resource for homeschooling families and educators everywhere. Similarly, if you see something wrong or incomplete with one of our titles, feel free to edit or flag it yourself.
tl;dr: We need your help
It’s long past time we turn the page on homogeneous, status quo book lists and put an end to the narrow, limited view of history too many generations have received. After all, it was Charlotte Mason herself who said, “We introduce children as early as possible to the contemporary history of other countries as the study of English history alone is apt to lead to a certain insular and arrogant habit of mind.” In fact, Ms. Mason had quite a bit to say about diversity.
In the end, this is more your story and your children’s than it is ours. Give the next generation the gift of stories so vibrant that they will make better, deeper, more representative connections throughout their entire lives. It’s only possible together.
Join our mission
As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Life's most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?” That was the question that drove us, too. If we had to whittle down all the words across our ever-growing web presence into a single mission statement, we would now respond to MLK’s question like this…
We exist to encourage, equip, and entrust homeschoolers to spread a more diverse feast.
If you would like us to explain our mission statement for you even further, we can definitely do that.
But the main thing to know is this: We can’t accomplish this mission alone. As much as our efforts are curated with love by trusted allies, it’s cultivated by other parents and educators just like you. Learn how you can get started.
Our allies amaze us
Contributing to a more diverse, representative education for our children is far too daunting a mission to be pursued alone. Just as the fight for equity and justice in our world requires allies and co-conspirators, Stories of Color needs the same, including you. These are some of the loving, gracious, and radical Charlotte Mason champions who passionately, deliberately, and humbly contribute to our cause.
If Stories of Color has helped you and your family in any way, we thank you for considering the opportunity to give to our mission and share us with others in your sphere of influence.
FAQs about us
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No, Stories of Color is not a nonprofit. We are a labor of love, voluntarily curated by our founder and primarily funded by her family.
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Our founder and curator lives the majority of the year in Phoenix, Arizona. But she, her husband, and their three homeschooled children live and work abroad during the summer.
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Stories of Color launched on June 18, 2021 in celebration of the first federal observation of Juneteenth. At the time, we had only 200(ish) living book titles and a couple dozen of lists to pick from, but we quickly expanded the scope of our features and reach of our community in the months that followed. Since then, our catalog has expanded to thousands of titles strong—and it continues growing every season.
Of course, our story is still being written, and we sincerely can’t do this as we intend to without your help. Contribute today.
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As of our latest user survey data, 85.2% of our readers are homeschooling families with 3.04 children on average. In addition, 8.0% of our readers are private and public school teachers, with an average number of 21.79 children per classroom. Last but not least, another 4.7% of our readers are other educators in the form of librarians, curriculum providers, and education brands. We leverage this data to help us measure our impact.
Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background, welcome.
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Of course—let us add some color.
To restate our mission, we exist to “encourage, entrust, and equip homeschoolers to spread a more diverse feast.”
Encouragement is what all homeschooling families need—especially the parents and educators who are at the forefront of the effort each and every day. It’s tiring work, and it can feel repetitive. Our hope is to help encourage you with content that understands what it takes.
Equipping is perhaps the most important aspect of our mission. As much as we do encourage and entrust, Stories of Color is primarily meant to be a service that arms you with the knowledge and resources necessary to provide your students with a more diverse, representative education to the best of your ability. We’ll constantly be improving our features to help accomplish this aim.
Entrusting is all about reminding parents, educators, and involved family members that they are the best possible people for the job of educating their students. It doesn’t always feel that way, but there’s nobody else that knows—and loves—those kids more than you do. You know the right books they need for now, and we support you in that.
Spread(ing) a more diverse feast may sound a little strange upon first reading, but it’s something we’re quite passionate about—just as Charlotte Mason was. Her take on spreading a feast was unique and remains paramount to the educational philosophy Stories of Color seeks to uphold.
Last but not least, it’s worth reiterating that we do all of this with one core audience in mind—homeschoolers. Typically, that means mamas, but we’re certainly not exclusive. Whether you’re a stay-at-home dad, family member deeply involved in a child’s education, student looking for interesting new books, or one-room schoolhouse teacher, Stories of Color was built with you in mind.
Of course, we can’t accomplish any of this alone. As much as our efforts are curated by trusted allies, it’s cultivated by others just like you. Learn how you can help.
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There are a few specific asks we have of our community. The biggest help of all is when people (a) donate to our mission, (b) share us with others, and (c) add and edit books that meet our guidelines.
That said, if you have another way to help us that’s on your mind, consider us all ears for something more creative. Contact us to let us know what you’re thinking. If you’re a brand, curriculum provider, or publisher, we also offer partnership opportunities.
We’re grateful for your support.
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The short answer is yes. Our founder and curator, Nicole Cottrell, is a strong advocate for robust home education using diverse, representative living books—as are all our allies. As such, Nicole hopes to advance our mission across channels that reach well beyond Stories of Color’s existing audience.
Whether you’re looking for a dynamic conference speaker, podcast interviewee, guest writer, IG live collaborator, or something else entirely, contact us today to coordinate the details.
But, even if you don’t have a platform like those mentioned above, we still need you. Learn how you can contribute.
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Turn to our help center for the answers and support you need. If that doesn’t work, you can always contact us, too.