NCCRESt

part of the Education Reform Networks

You are in: Subject —>

Childrens Literature

• "Life Took Me Elsewhere." The Roma Tutoring Project in Romania
  Describes the plight of the Roma (the preferred word for "Gypsy") in Romania, and the Roma Tutoring Project, intended to help Roma children succeed in school. Discusses the project's activities to sponsor the writing of children's books in Romania based on Roma children and culture, and with a tutor training project based on the language experience approach.
• 1996 Notable Books for a Global Society (Books Published in 1995)
  Provides brief descriptions of 24 children's books identified as outstanding in that they are culturally authentic, rich in cultural details, and celebrate both diversity in the common bonds of humanity. Groups the books in five categories: Stories from around the World; Heritage and Childhood Memories; the Immigrant Experience; the Struggle for Equal Opportunity and Cultural Identity; and Contemporary Issues.
• 1996 Notable Books for a Global Society (Books Published in 1995)
  Provides brief descriptions of 24 children's books identified as outstanding in that they are culturally authentic, rich in cultural details, and celebrates diversity in the common bonds of humanity. Groups the books in five categories: Stories from around the World; Heritage and Childhood Memories; the Immigrant Experience; the Struggle for Equal Opportunity and Cultural Identity; and Contemporary Issues.
• 1998 Notable Books for a Global Society: A K-12 List
  Presents brief annotations of 25 outstanding books for children and young adults, published in 1997, that are culturally authentic, rich in cultural details, and that celebrate both diversity and the common bonds of humanity. (SR).
• 1999 Notable Books for a Global Society: A K-12 list
  Offers brief descriptions of 25 recent outstanding books (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry written for children in grades K-12 and published in 1998) chosen for the 1999 list of Notable Books for a Global Society. Notes that these books celebrate the diversity and common bonds of humanity.
• A Critical Review of Ann Rinaldi's "My Heart Is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, A Sioux Girl, Carlisle Indian School, Pennsylvania, 1880."
  This paper critically reviews the book, "My Heart Is On the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl, Carlisle Indian School, 1800." The review begins with a profile of Captain Richard Henry Pratt who founded the Carlisle (Pennsylvania) Indian Industrial School in 1879.
• A Demand for Excellence in Books for Children
  Children's books selected for schools and libraries are judged by criteria of literary and artistic excellence, and books featuring minority-group characters must be held to additional criteria. Such scrupulous selectivity is not censorship.
• A Lingering Miseducation: Confronting the Legacy of "Little Tree."
  The popular book, "The Education of Little Tree," written by a Ku Klux Klansman, perpetuates popular stereotypes about American Indians and advances the author's ideology about segregation and staunch individualism. This type of fraud is especially damaging to children, both White and Indian, who internalize such stereotypes as more authentic than the realities of living American Indians.
• A Never Ending...Never Done...Bibliography of Multicultural Literature for Younger & Older Children. Second Edition
  This bibliography of multicultural children's literature emphasizes a range of authentic voices, with respect for some realistic voices for African Americans, Asian Americans, Latina/o Americans, and Native Americans. The over 1,400 titles for younger and older children more than double the number of selections in the first edition.
• Already Reading Texts and Contexts: Multicultural Literature in a Predominantly White Rural Community
  Examines how the inclusion of multicultural texts played out in one predominantly white rural community, focusing on repercussions of a key event that set off conflict in the community and describing how various interpretations of this event haped teachers' and community members' beliefs about the selection, interpretation, and teaching of multicultural literature. (SM).
• Amish Literature for Children
  Presents an overview of children's literature about the Amish. Describes often-overlooked complexities within the Amish culture and discusses 11 books for children (and lists 14 others).
• An Exploration of the Uses of Children's Books as an Approach for Enhancing Cultural Diversity
  Offers strategies for using children's books as tools for teaching able-bodied children about the unique needs of children with disabilities and how disabilities are an important aspect of cultural diversity. Notes five genres for conducting bibliotherapy: fiction, nonfiction, self-help books, fairy tales, and picture books.
• Art or Propaganda? Pedagogy and Politics in Illustrated African-American Children's Literature since the Harlem Renaissance
  This paper explores assumptions about children's political thinking as reflected in African American children's literature, with particular attention to picture books and illustrated magazine stories. Framed in terms of the "art or propaganda" distinction that the Harlem Renaissance philosopher.
• Beautiful Me! Celebrating Diversity through Literature and Art
  Describes the "Beautiful Me!" kindergarten unit, which uses children's literature to help children develop a rich vocabulary to describe themselves, their friends, and family, and to avoid words placing people into categories and stereotypes. Activities include providing various skin-tone crayons for drawing and using craft materials to depict hair with different textures, colors, and thickness.
• Beyond Mulan: Rediscovering the Heroines of Chinese Folklore
  Notes how sadly the Disney treatment of the story of Mulan reduced both the character Mulan and the story's broad appeal. Presents and critiques four picture book versions of the Mulan legend.
• Bibliography of Race Equity/Multicultural Library Materials. 1996 Spring/Summer Edition.
  This annotated bibliography includes all of the race equity and multicultural materials available from the Nebraska Department of Education's Equal Educational Opportunity Project. A table listing works by author's last name provides quick access to the topic and grade level.
• Books That Invite Talk, Wonder, and Play
  Focusing on children's books identified as "notable" for their rich use of language, this book presents essays that discuss literary genres and literary language, responding to the language of Notable Books, and developing an appreciation for language diversity. The book also presents brief essays by well-known children's authors regarding their writing processes.
• Booktalking Across the Curriculum: The Middle Years
  This book contains booktalks for 170 titles that appeal to middle school readers and relate to middle school curriculum. Approximately 90% of the books are fiction.
• Bridging Differences of Time, Place, and Culture Using Children's and Young Adult Literature
  Focuses on the use of children's and young adult literature in the social studies classroom, addressing the New York state standards at the third- to sixth-grade levels. Provides an annotated bibliography of books that can be utilized in areas, such as U.S.
• Bridging the Cultural Divide: Reflective Dialogue about Multicultural Children's Books
  Reflects candidly upon the author's commitment to multicultural education and the resistance she initially encountered from white, female preservice teachers. Relates how the author and her undergraduate students found ways to break the silence and bridge their cultural divide through the use of multicultural children's and adolescent literature, reader response journals, and dialogue.
• Carter G. Woodson Book Awards
  Presents the recipients of the 1999 Carter G. Woodson book awards that honor books focusing on ethnic minorities and race relations in a manner appropriate for young readers; the books cover topics that include the lives of Langston Hughes, Rosa Parks, and Ida B.
• Children's Books on India and the Indian-American Experience
  Lists recommended books that focus on Indians and the Indian-American experience in the United States. Includes folktales, myths, legends, nonfiction, fiction and titles published in India.
• Children's Literature in Adult Education
  Investigates the possible role of children's literature in the education of adult learners of English. Shows that children's literature can be effective in teaching linguistic skills such as pronunciation practice and improving language acquisition.
• Children's Literature Web Sites
  Presents annotations of approximately 80 web sites that range in coverage from idiosyncratic and focused to diverse and comprehensive metasites. Notes categories of sites include: children's literature web guides; trade book publisher web sites; author/illustrator sites (metasites and individual); book review sources and teaching ideas; web sites with a multicultural focus; and children's literature discussion groups on the web.
• Commitment to Change: The Council on Interracial Books for Children and the World of Children's Books
  The Council on Interracial Books for Children (CIBC), founded in 1965, was formed to promote and develop children's literature that adequately reflects a multiracial society and to effect change in media portrayal of minorities. Past critiques by CIBC of "The Cay" (Theodore Taylor) and "To Kill a Mockingbird" (Harper Lee) are highlighted.
• Contemporary American Success Stories: Famous People of Hispanic Heritage. Volume I. A Mitchell Lane Multicultural Biography Series
  This series presents biographical sketches of famous Americans of Hispanic descent. The biographies in the projected eight volume series for elementary school children represent the diversity of Hispanic heritage in the United States.
• Cultural Diversity + Supportive Text = Perfect Books for Beginning Readers
  Offers brief annotations of 21 picture books that address cultural diversity while offering language that supports beginning readers. Includes a chart noting which language features that support beginning readers are part of each book.
• Deriving Multicultural Themes from Bibliotherapeutic Literature: A Neglected Resource
  Analyzes the content of 24 fictional bibliotherapeutic children's books (12 German and 12 U.S.) for divorce themes. G.
• Dissolving Borders and Broadening Perspectives through Latino Traditional Literature
  Offers a brief historical perspective on Latino folk literature. Discusses 26 recently published books for children and adolescents in both English and Spanish, organized into origin tales, tales based on historical facts, trickster tales, and cumulative tales.
• Electronic Resources for Selecting and Using Children's Literature
  This annotated list of electronic resources suggests materials for selecting and using children's literature. Highlights include children's classics, beginning reader lists, lists by genre and/or grade level, multicultural booklists, annual lists of noted children's literature, children's book awards, extending children's literature, book publishers, and additional sites.
• Examining Children's Historical and Multicultural Understandings: The Dialectical Nature of Collaborative Research
  Describes the research process engaged in by a group of teacher researchers as they examined students' historical and multicultural understanding. Explores the complex and messy nature of the relationship of teaching and researching.
• Finding the Literature We Need: A Look at Current Bibliographies
  Discusses six specialized bibliographies that can help teachers and librarians find literature that supports on-going inquiries or that feeds children's interest in the newest hot topic. Includes specialized bibliographies on Native American Literature; math books; children's literature in social studies (teaching to the standards); children's books from other countries; literature of diversity; and best books for children.
• Flossie Ebonics: Subtle Sociolinguistic Messages in "Flossie and the Fox."
  Considers the recent Ebonics debate, and examines Patricia McKissack's use of dialects in her book "Flossie and the Fox." Points out its subtle yet meaningful lessons about the intersection of language and culture, and suggests a pedagogy that honors students' home language while accepting responsibility for offering them ways to switch language codes. (SR).
• From "Teo" to "Harry Potter": Books in Spanish for Children and Adolescents
  Presents a listing of Spanish-language books for children and adolescents recently published in Mexico, Venezuela, Spain, Colombia, and Argentina. The books are categorized as biography, history, historical fiction, folklore, poetry, religion, fiction, and literature for the very young.
• Gender Stereotypes in Children's Picture Books
  Research has examined how gender stereotypes and sexism in picture books affect the development of gender identity in young children, how children's books in the last decade have portrayed gender, and how researchers evaluate picture books for misrepresentations of gender. A review of the research indicated that gender development is a critical part of the earliest and most important learning experiences of a young child.
• Global Perspectives for Young Readers: Easy Readers and Picture Book Read-Alouds from around the World
  Discusses how early childhood educators can use reading lessons as part of a global curriculum and help children develop an understanding of other peoples and their customs. Includes criteria for choosing international books as early reader selections, and annotated lists of picture books for beginning readers, chapter books for young readers, and translated books for read-aloud sessions.
• Harriet Rohmer on New Voices and Visions in Multicultural Literature
  Presents an interview with Harriet Rohmer, founder of Children's Book Press, an independent publishing house founded in 1975 dedicated to publishing bilingual children's books authored and illustrated by writers and artists of American minority communities. Discusses how she selects books for publication, books to be published soon, and the importance of all children seeing reflections of themselves in books.
• Historical Facts and Fictions: Representing and Reading Diverse Perspectives on the Past
  Presents brief descriptions of 22 recently published books for children and adolescents that present untold stories that begin to fill in the gaps of mainstream versions of the past. Includes categories of historical fiction, historical nonfiction, biography/memoir, and poetry and verse.
• Images of Black Females in Children's/Adolescent Contemporary Realistic Fiction
  Examines the messages transmitted to black girls through books for children and adolescents commonly introduced in school. Concludes that children's and adolescents' books do reflect a trickle-down effect of images of black females and poor white females that appear in adult books and films.
• Integrating Irish Children's Literature into a Multicultural Curriculum
  Examines ways in which children's literature reflecting the Irish can be effectively integrated into a multicultural curriculum. Uses J.
• Kaleidoscope: A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8. Fourth Edition. NCTE Bibliography Series
  The fourth edition of this annotated bibliography collection offers students, teachers, and librarians a helpful guide to the best multicultural literature (published from 1999 to 2001) for elementary and middle school readers. The book continues a tradition of promoting unity through diversity by highlighting fiction and nonfiction published by and about people of color.
• Linguistic Diversity
  Discusses 14 books for young readers, chosen for the diversity of their languages, cultures, and uniqueness. (SR).
• Literary Collections (Children's Books)
  Presents brief annotations of 43 children's books first published in countries other the United States and Canada or in languages other than English. Presents them in three groups: British children's books; books first published in countries other the United States and translated into English; and books that are completely or partially bilingual.
• Literature-based Reading in Action: Views from the Classroom
  Discusses 7 books for educators that report successful practices in the teaching of reading within a literature-based curriculum. Notes that these professional resources show what teachers are doing in their classrooms to make literature a vital part of children's lives, based on the power of literature as an artistic form and its potential to influence perspectives, actions, and lives.
• Los Ninos y el Mundo: Children's Books in Spanish from around the World
  Offers brief descriptions of 32 children's books (or book series) in Spanish that introduce children to numerous countries around the world. Notes a web site address listing high-quality books in Spanish for children and adolescents.
• Many Peoples, One Land: A Guide to New Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults
  This book covers works of fiction, oral tradition, and poetry published from 1994 through 1999, and is deemed suitable for young people from preschool through high school. The book deals with four major ethnic groups within the United States: African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native-American Indians.
• Multicultural Literature and Gifted Black Students: Promoting Self-Understanding, Awareness, and Pride
  This article focuses on recommended literature for gifted black and other minority students. The use of bibliotherapy with gifted students is described and recommendations are presented for using multicultural literature, along with guidelines for selecting high quality multicultural literature.
• Multicultural Materials in the Learning Resources Lab
  This bibliography presents annotations of 50 books; 6 kits, games, and software; and 8 videos that deal with multiculturalism. Many of the items in the annotated bibliography present class activities, offer selections of multicultural literature, or discuss other cultures.
• Multicultural Matters: An Interview with Philip Lee of Lee and Low Books
  Presents an interview with Philip Lee of Lee and Low Books about his experience in the specialized field committed solely to publishing books about Asian Americans and other diverse cultures in the United States. Discusses how the future of multicultural literature depends upon the concern and advocacy of interested individuals.
• Native American Stories Enhancing Multicultural Education in Elementary Schools
  This paper describes the use of unbiased Native American stories as part of a multicultural perspective in elementary schools. The inclusion of a multicultural perspective will help teach social acceptance rather than separation.
• Noteworthy Books in Spanish for Children and Adolescents
  Lists Spanish language books for children ranging from wordless picture books to adolescent love stories and translated popular novels. This year's list includes publishers from Latin America, in particular Mexico's Fondo de Cultura Economica.
• Presenting the Wounded Knee Massacre in Books for Children: A Review Essay on Neil Waldman's "Wounded Knee."
  Reviews a book on the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee, suggesting that the author puts a white, European bias on the actual events, which encourages non-Indian young readers to think in limited ways about Indian people and keeps them from identifying with Indian people. (SM).
• Promoting a Global Community through Multicultural Children's Literature
  Children's literature reflecting authentic multiethnic cultures can help young minds recognize the diversity of their families and communities. Books that allow children to see themselves in a positive role give them an opportunity to affirm their identities.
• Promoting Reading among Mexican American Children. ERIC Digest
  Good books can help children develop pride in their ethnic identity, knowledge about cultural history and positive role models, and improved self-esteem. However, Mexican American students often do not experience literature in this way.
• Published Sources for Identifying Notable Materials
  Lists 100 sources useful to school library media specialists to help identify important materials for children, including books, multicultural materials, nonprint materials, and special features; and for young adults in the areas of books, multicultural materials, nonprint materials, periodicals, reference books and electronic sources, and special features. (LRW).
• Representing the Inuit in Contemporary British and Canadian Juvenile Non-Fiction
  Examines text and pictorial representations of the Inuit in juvenile reference books and in geographical and historical juvenile non-fiction works. Finds continuing prevalence of a wide range of stereotypes.
• Rethinking the Role of Multicultural Literature in Literacy Instruction: Problems, Paradox, and Possibilities
  Uses a cultural studies framework to demonstrate how multicultural literature is often trivialized and misused in literature-based classrooms. Critiques actual literature discussions and examines the content of several Asian American children's books to move toward a more complete understanding of critical literacy pedagogy and what it means to "read" in a pluralistic society.
• Reviews
  Contains 130 reviews of works of interest to the multi-cultural educator or anyone interested in cultural awareness arranged under broad subject categories of humanities, biography, history, social sciences, reference, juvenile works, and nonprint materials. Includes fiction and nonfiction.
• Selecting Children's Picture Books with Strong Black Fathers and Father Figures
  Presents the image of black fathers as portrayed in children's picture books. Explores themes, trends, and significant works, showing black fathers and father figures.
• Singing the Long Song: Arab Culture in Books for Young Readers
  Shares the author's perspective as an Arab-American who often encounters negative portrayals of her ethnic and cultural identity in the media. Argues that writing for children and telling stories is one important way to begin to counter injustice and inequity.
• Supporting and Questioning Representation
  Takes up issues of representation, identity, and authenticity while sharing a list of Asian, Asian American, and Polynesian children's books. Encourages readers to use this list in constructing their multicultural classrooms while simultaneously reflecting on the issues complicating their own review processes.
• Teaching Young Children about Native Americans. ERIC Digest
  Noting that the terms "Native American" and "American Indian" are both legitimately used to refer to the indigenous people of North America, this digest identifies stereotypes about Native Americans that children gain from media portrayals and classroom role playing, and suggests strategies for teachers to use to counter stereotyped portrayals and to reflect cultural diversity among Native Americans.
• Tensions: Ten Great Books about Cultural Encounters
  Offers brief descriptions of 10 books for children and adolescents in which characters attempt to sort out the cultural conflicts that result when cultures meet. (SR).
• The Dynamic Nature of Response: Children Reading and Responding to "Maniac Magee" and "The Friendship."
  Analyzes the conversations and writings of 2 ethnically diverse populations of fifth-grade children (ages 10 and 11) in response to the powerful and difficult themes contained in two award-winning children's books. Discusses the child's voice; the teacher's role as cultural mediator; responses at the literal level; reading between the lines; responding to moral dilemmas; and personal responses to the books.
• The World She Dreamed, Generations She Shared, Visions She Wrote: A Tribute to Virginia Hamilton 1936-2002
  Presents a tribute to Virginia Hamilton. Notes that at a time when Black people, especially girls, were seriously beginning to struggle with self-acceptance and self-worth, Hamilton's "bold and imaginative writing was nothing short of revolutionary." (SG).
• Using Stories To Introduce and Teach Multicultural Literature
  Discusses the importance of stories in introducing migrants to the new societies they enter. Stories allow people to reach out to past generations and provide examples of successful coping in new lives.
• Who Owns History? (Teaching and Learning about Cultural Diversity)
  Notes that history is always based on someone's vision of truth, expressed through a process of distillation, selection, inclusion, exclusion, reorganization, and prioritizing. Argues that the shorthand, watered-down, or warped history of mainstream textbooks regarding cultural diversity should be supplemented with original documents, fiction, and the voices of real people telling their own stories.