Post by Black Leaders Worldwide™

"Leah and the 0% Match: The Algorithm of Friendship" is an own-voices children's chapter book (ages 7–10) by educator and author Dalbin Osorio, M.Ed/MSW — a story that uses a kid-friendly premise to open a conversation every parent, teacher, and leader will recognize: what happens when we let an algorithm decide who belongs. When a new friend-matching app rates Leah, an Afro-Latina girl in a rapidly changing town, a "0% match" with the classmate who becomes her best friend, she has to decide whether to trust the score or trust herself. Built on Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop's "mirrors and windows" framework, the book teaches young readers to recognize algorithmic bias, question the labels technology assigns them, and understand that a person is never reducible to a number. Written by the Executive Director of a structured-literacy nonprofit and a doctoral candidate in education, Leah pairs a genuine story with a classroom-ready "Tech Lab" that breaks down how algorithms actually work. Since its June release it has earned a 4.7-star average across 20 reader ratings, with parents and teachers calling it "a great teaching tool" and praising how it reminds kids that "they have a choice." The message at the heart of the book is simple: no algorithm gets to decide your worth — or who belongs in your life. Get a copy for your children or for others at https://lnkd.in/efjzMRTy