Beyond Checklists: Applying an “I Spy” Approach to Evaluating Children's Literature in Urban Classrooms

While the value of inclusive children's libraries is widely recognized, practical guidance on how to determine books that contribute to culturally responsive, high-quality collections—particularly in urban classrooms—remains limited. In response, we return to the familiar and cross-cultural seek-and-find model of the I Spy game to introduce a new framework for evaluating children's books that reflect urban classroom diversity. Our approach challenges the constraints of traditional checklist methods by encouraging more nuanced, critically grounded, and contextually aware evaluation practices—those that better reflect the dynamic identities and realities of urban school communities.