NCCRESt

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Fiction

• Add Salsa to Your Classroom with Young Adult Books about Latinos
  Discusses the use of young adult and children's books about Hispanic Americans as a part of multicultural education in middle school classrooms. Considers interdisciplinary learning activities to explore the history of Hispanic experience in the Americas, and recommends works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and anthologies for classroom use.
• Annotated Bibliography of 100 Quality Books of Multicultural Literature for Children in Grades K-6 (1990-1996)
  This annotated bibliography of contemporary multicultural books for children is divided into sections on: (1) non-fiction, biography (12 citations); (2) non-fiction, information (18 citations); (3) contemporary realistic fiction (14 citations); (4) folklore (11 citations); (5) historical fiction (11 citations); (6) modern fantasy (10 citations); (7) picture books (12 citations); and (8) poetry (12 citations). (NKA).
• Asking the Right Questions: Helping Mainstream Students Understand Other Cultures
  Two common tendencies that lead many mainstream students to misinterpret other cultures are the combative response and the exoticizing response. These misinterpretations, however, can be excellent learning moments for helping students understand the constructed nature of culture and the contextual nature of learning.
• Censoring by Omission: Has the United States Progressed in Promoting Diversity through Children's Books?
  Examines the promotion of cultural diversity in the United States through childrens books. Discusses the scarcity of multicultural literature for children, ethnic folklore, racial bias in older books for children, new stereotypes in children's literature, political correctness, and ways to enhance access to quality multicultural literature.
• 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.
• Many People, Many Places, Other Times: An Annotated Bibliography of Multicultural Books for 3- to 8-Year-Olds
  Cites 99 recently published fiction, folklore, and nonfiction books for 3- to 8-year olds that illustrate a broad interpretation of multiculturalism and include positive and accurate portrayals of various ethnic or religious groups. A brief synopsis is given for each book, along with publication information.
• 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.
• The Language of Disability Diagnosises: Writing and Talking Back in Multicultural Settings
  Fiction, journal, and creative writing can help highlight the positive qualities of diverse minority children. Educational psychology often diagnoses difference as disability.
• The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of: The Latino Detective Novel
  Explores the body of detective fiction written by Latino authors in English, a relatively new genre. These novels contribute to the understanding of cultural diversity and present Latino attitudes in the guise of entertainment (SLD).
• Tradition and Story: Intergenerational Ties of Past to Present
  This 32-item annotated bibliography details picture books, realistic fiction, poetry, and biographies (most of which were published in 1994) that deal with intergenerational relationships. Each entry in the bibliography indicates the literary genre and recommended age level of the book.
• 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.