Equally ever After?: Selecting and Promoting Multicultural Children’s Picture Books

A RESOURCE GUIDELaurie Charnigo (charnigo@jsu.edu & Charlcie Pettway Vann

(cvann@jsu.edu)

Specialized Bibliographies & Selection Guides“Multicultural Literature: Lasting Connections of 2009.” (2010)

Special supplement in Book Links: Literature-Based Resources for the Curriculum, 19(2).

Ada, Alma Flor. (2003). A Magical Encounter: Latino Children’s Literature in the Classroom. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

and Young Adults. New York: Routledge. Beaty, J.J. (1997). Building Bridges with Multicultural Picture

Books: for Children 3-5. New Jersey: Merrill.Blakemore, C. (2001). Faraway Places: Your Source for Picture Books

that Fly Children to 82 Countries. Albany, WI: Adams-Pomeroy Press.

Elswit, S.B. (2009). The East Asian Story Finder: a Guide to 468 Tales from China, Japan, and Korea, Listing Subjects and Sources. McFarland.

Gebel, D. (2006). Crossing Boundaries with Children’s Books. Lanham, Md. Scarecrow Press.

International Board on Books for Young People (IBYY). (2009). Outstanding Books for Young People With Disabilities. IBBY Documentation Center for Disabled Young People. http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=268

Kuharets, O.R. (2001). Venture into Cultures: a Resource Book of Multicultural Materials and Programs. Chicago: American Library Association.

Marantz, S. & Marantz, K. (1998) “Multicultural.” [Judaica bibliography]. Library Talk, 11(1): 39-.

Marantz, S.S. & K.A. Marantz. (2005). Multicultural Picture Books: Art for Illuminating Our World. Lanham, Md. Scarecrow Press.

Marantz, S.S. & Marantz K. A. (1994). Multicultural Picture Books : Art for Understanding Others. Ohio: Linworth Publishing.

Mathew, K. I. & Lowe, J.L. (2004). The Neal-Schuman Guide to Celebrations and Holidays around the World: the Best Books, Media, and Multicultural Learning Activities. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.

Murphy, B.T. & D. Murphy. (2007). Black Authors and Illustrators of Books for Children . New York: Routledge.

Notable Social Studies Trade Book Lists selected by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). Categories include “World History & Culture,” “Geography, People & Places,” “Folktales,” “Contemporary Concerns,” and “Civic Ideas and Practices.” http://www.socialstudies.org/resources/notable

Rand, D.; Parker, T.T. & S. Foster. (1998). Black Books Galore!: Guide to Great African American Children’s Books. New York: Wiley.

Schon, I. (2003). The Best of Latino Heritage: a Guide to the Best Juvenile books about Latino People and Cultures: 1996-2002. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press.

Schon, I. (2004). Recommended Books in Spanish for Children and Young Adults: 2000 through 2004. Lanham, Md. Scarecrow Press.

Seale, D. & B. Slapin. (2005). A Broken Flute: the Native Experience in Books for Children. Berkely, CA: Oyate.

Stan, S. (2002). The World through Children’s Books. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press.

Steiner, Stanley F. (2001). Promoting a Global Community through Multicultural Children’s Literature. Colorado: Libraries Unlimited.

Thomas, R. L. (1996). Connecting Cultures: a Guide to Multicultural Literature for Children. New Jersey: R.R. Bowker.

Wysocki, B. (April, 2008). “East Meets West.” School Library Journal, 60-64.

Yokta, J. (2001). Kaleidoscope: a Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8. Urbana, Ill: National Council of Teachers of English.

York, S. (2002). Picture Books by Latino Writers: a Guide for Librarians, Teachers, Parents, and Students. Ohio: Linworth Publishing.

York, S. (2003). Children’s and Young Adult Literature by Native Americans: a Guide for Librarians, Teachers, Parents, and Students. Ohio: Linworth Publishing.

Articles & Books about Multicultural Children’s Literature I. ARTICLESArticles on the portrayal (or absence) of minorities in picture books:

Ackroyd-Kelly, E. (2006). Spice it up in the library: Integrating multicultural children’s literature into the collection. Learning and Media, 34(4), 8-13.

Cai, Mingshui. (1994). Images of Chinese and Chinese Americans mirrored in picture books. Children’s Literature in Education, 25(3) 169-191.

Esposito, J. (2009). We’re here, we’re queer, but we’re just like heterosexuals: A cultural studies analysis of lesbian themed children’s books. Educational Foundations, 23(3/4), 61-78.

Harris, V.J. (1990). African American children’s literature: The first one hundred years. The Journal of Negro Education, 59(4), 540-555.

Holland, M.M. (2005). Using quilts and quilt picture books to celebrate diversity with young children. Early Childhood Education, 32(4), 243-247.

Horning, K.T. (2009). Behind the statistics: Keeping track of multicultural literature. Teacher Librarian, 36(3), 13-14.

Joshua, M.B. (2002). Inside picture books: Where are the children of Color? Educational Horizons, 80(3), 125-132.

Kelley, J.E. (March/ April 2008). Harmony, empathy, loyalty, and patience in Japanese children’s literature. The Social Studies, 61-70.

Larrick, Nancy. (September 11, 1965). The all-white world if children’s books. The Saturday Review, 63-65, 84-85. [LANDMARK STUDY]

Lohfink, G.S. (2009). Culturally-Relevant picture books for Mexican-American Children. Journal of Children’s Literature, 35(2), 34-41.

Mathew, N. & S. Clow. (2007). Putting Disabled children in the picture: Promoting inclusive children’s books and media. International Journal of Early Childhood, 39(2), 65-78.

Mouttet, J. (December 2002/ January 2003). We are still here: Books about contemporary Native Americans. Book Links, 58-62.

Naidoo, J. C. (2008). Open doors: Visual and textual analyses of diverse Latino subcultures in Amèricas Picture Books. Children & Libraries, 6(2), 27-35.

Nelson, S. (November 3, 2008). Book abuse. Publisher’s Weekly, 4. [blurb about censorship of the children’s book Linda de Haan & Stern Nijland’s King & King, “a fairy tale in which a prince falls in love with a prince.”

Norquist, H. (Winter 2008). From potty training to parents: Childhood issues in Swedish picture books. Children and Literature, 18-22.

Prater, M.A. & T. Dyches. (2008). Books that portray characters with disabilities: A top 25 list for children and young adults. Teaching Exceptional Children, 40(4), 32-38.

Rowell, E. H. (May 2007). Missing! Picture books reflecting gay and lesbian families. Young Children, 24-30.

Schwartz, J. (2009). Michael Kusugak: Reviving tradition, bridging cultures. Horn Book, 85(1), 65-70.

Sims, J. L. (2006). Ebony Jr.! The rise and demise of an African American children’s magazine. The Journal of Negro Education, 75(4), 649-660.

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. (2002). A different drum: Native American writing. Horn Book, 78(4), 409-412.

Suzuki, T. (2009). Analyzing cultural accuracy and authenticity of Japanese and Japanese American children’s books, Journal of Children’s Literature, 35(2), 50-58.

Vaughn-Roberson, C. & B. Hill. (1989). The Brownies Book and Ebony Jr.!: Literature as a mirror of the Afro-American experience. The Journal of Negro Education, 58(4), 494-510.

Worland, J. (Spring 2008). Girls will be girls…and so on: Treatment of gender in preschool books from 1960 through 1990. Children’s Literature, 42-46.

Articles on language acquisition and language issues explored in picture booksHadaway, N. L. & T. A. Young. Dispelling or reinforcing myths”

Learning a new language as portrayed in children’s picture books. Language Arts, 86(3), 165-177.

Johnson, D. (2009). iLéanos en español, por favor! Bilingual Children's Literature as a Bridge to Another Language and Culture, Journal of Children’s Literature, 35(2), 42-9.

Fan, H. (2009). The role of children’s literature in developing English Language learners’ Culturalinguistic Schemas: A Case Study. Journal of Children’s Literature, 35(2), 28-33.

DNDL Tool Kit [El día de los niños/El día de los libros] . Celebrating Binlingualism. Web site developed by the Texas Library Association: http://www.texasdia.org/Toolkit/Bilingualism.pdf

Articles on “global education,” “civic engagement,” “teaching democracy,” and “teaching tolerance” in picture booksHelterbran, V.R. (2009). Linking character education and global

understanding through children’s picture books. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 45(2), 69-73.

Lickteig, M. J. & K. E. Danielson. (1995). Use children’s books to link the cultures of the world. Social Studies, 86(2), 69-73.

Moses, L.S. & Marshall, J. (2009). Denied access: Using African American children’s literature to examine the anatomy of social justice. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 22(1), 27-30.

Morgan, H. (2009). Picture book biographies for young children: A way to teach multiple perspectives. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37, 219-227.

White, J. (March/ April 2008). Teachers prepare to integrate social justice into the social studies curriculum. The Social Studies, 83-84.

Smith, J. & P. Wiese, (2006). Authenticating children’s literature: Raising cultural awareness with an inquiry-based project in a teacher education course. Teacher Education Quarterly, 33(2), 69-87.

Articles on the impact of racial conflict on publishing trends & book awardsPescosolido, B. A., Grauerholz, E. & Milkie, M. A. (1997). Culture and conflict: The portrayal of Blacks in U.S. children’s picture books through the mid- and late- Twentieth Century. American Sociological Review, 62, 443-464.

Articles on “Reader Response” studies concerning children’s picture booksTrousdale, A.M. & Everett, J. S. “Me and bad Harry: Three African

American children’s response to fiction. Children’s Literature in Education, 25(1), 115.

Mohr, K.A. (2003). Children’s choices: a comparison of book preferences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic first-graders. Reading Psychology, 24, 163-176.

Articles on problems concerning the selection of multicultural picture booksMendoza, J. & D. Reese. (2001). Examining multicultural picture

books for the early childhood classroom: Possibilities and pitfalls. Early Childhood Research & Practice Clearinghouse (ERIC Document). ED 458 040. Click on “View comments” for the discussion and feedback following publication of this report.

Slapin, B. (Spring 2008). How to turn a traditional Indian story into a children’s picture book (for fun and profit). Multicultural Review, 40. [ a one-page satire].

Lindsay, N. (November 2003). “I” still isn’t for Indian: A look at recent publishing about Native Americans. School Library Journal, 49(11), 42-43.

Heller, C., Cunningham, B, Lee, G. & H.H. Heller. (December 2000). Selecting children’s picture books with positive Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian and Asian-American fathers and father figures. Multicultural Review, 22- 33.

Articles on multiculturalism and issues concerning fairy tales and “Cinderella” storiesNorthrup, M. (May, 2000). Multicultural Cinderella stories. Book

Links, 41-49.Hurley, D. L. (2005). Seeing white: Children of Color and the Disney

fairy tale princess. The Journal of Negro Education, 74(3), 221-231.

Leeper, A. (September 2002). Beyond fairy godmothers and glass slippers: a look at multicultural variants of Cinderella. Multicultural Review, 24-31.

Articles on the “uniqueness” of children’s picture booksSipe, L.R. (1998). How picture books work: A semiotically framed

theory of text-picture relationships. Children’s Literature in Education, 29(2), 97-108.

Articles on the development of multicultural education & using multicultural children’s picture books as part of pedagogy.Asante, M.K. (1991). The Afrocentric idea in education. The Journal of Negro Education, 60 (2), 170-180.

Souto-Manning, M. (2009). Negotiation culturally responsive pedagogy through multicultural children’s literature: Towards critical democratic literacy practices in a first grade classroom. Journal of Early Childhood Education, 9(1), 50-74.

Grant, C. A. The evolution of multicultural education in the United States: a journey for human rights and social justice. Paper presentation from The International Conference “Cooperative Learning in Multicultural Societies: Critical Reflection.” January 19-22, Turin, Italy. http://www.iaie.org/download/turin_paper_grant.pdf

Articles on multicultural read-aloudsMorgan, H. (March 2009). Using read-alouds with culturally sensitive

children’s books: A strategy that can lead to tolerance and improved reading skills. Reading Improvement, 3-8.

Articles on building a special collection of children’s books in academic libraries

Bingham, A. (2004). Building a collection of American Indian children’s literature at the University of Washington Libraries. Technical Services Quarterly, 22(1), 33-40.

Rude, R. (March 2000). Academic librarians as a model for active force for social responsibility on campus. Multicultural Review [Parting Words], 120-119.

BOOKSAustin, M.C., Jenkins, E.C. (1983). Promoting World Understanding

though Literature, K-8. Colorado: Libraries Unlimited. Benes, Rebecca C. (2004). Native American Picture Books of Change: the Art of Historic

Children’s Editions. New Mexico: Museum of New Mexico Press. Casement, R. (2008). Black History in the Pages of Children’s Literature. Lanham Md.

Scarecrow Press.

Entin, J. B., Rosen, R.C., & Vogt, L. (2008). Controversies in the Classroom: a Radical Teacher Reader. New York: Teachers College Press.

Gilton, D. L. (2007). Multicultural and Ethnic Children’s Literature in the United States. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press.

Hughes, Langston & Milton Meltzer. (1956). A Pictorial History of the Negro in America. New York: Crown Publishers.

MacCann, Donnarae. (2001). White supremacy in children’s literature characterizations of African Americans, 1830-1900. London: Routledge.

MacCann, Donnarae & Gloria Woodard. (1985). Black Americans in Books for Children: Readings for Racism. New Jersey: Scarecrow Press.

Mallan, K. (2009). Gender Dilemmas in Children’s Fiction. Pallgrave Macmillan.

Osterweil, W., Minkler, L. & Ginny Kruse Moore. (1985). Alternative Press Publishers of Children’s Books: a Directory. Madison: Cooperative Childen’s Book Center.

Quintero, E.P. (2004). Problem-posing with Multicultural Children’s Literature: Developing Critical Early Childhood Curricula. New York: P. Lang.

Sadler, N. (2002). Multicultural Connections: Creative Writing, Literature, and Assessment in the Elementary School. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Presss.

Bishop, Rudine Sims. (2007). Free within Ourselves: the Development of African American Children’s Literature. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.

Sims, Rudine. (1982). Shadow and Substance: Afro-American Experience in Contemporary Children’s Fiction. Urbana, Ill. National Council of Teachers of English.

Smith, K.C. (2004). Children’s Literature of the Harlem Renaissance. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Smith, M. & L. Knowles. (2007). Understanding Diversity through Novels and Picture Books. Westport Ct.: Libraries Unlimited.

Totten, H. L., Garner. C., & Brown, R. W. (1996). Culturally Diverse Library Collections for Youth. New York: Neil-Schuman Publishers.

Woodson, Carter. Godwin. (1990). Mis-education of the Negro. Trenton New Jersey: Africa World Press.

Publishers of Multicultural Children’s Books Small Presses of Color [Excellent list of publishers]http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/books/pclist.asp#af-am

Children’s Book Presshttp://www.childrensbookpress.org/

Oyate (Publisher of Native American Books)http://www.oyate.org/

Pinata Books (Publisher of Latino/ Latinas Books)http://www.latinoteca.com/arte-publico-press/pinata-books

Cinco Puntos Press http://www.cincopuntos.com/

Lee & Low Press (Co-founded by Chinese Americans, Tom Low & Phillip Lee, publishes children’s books which celebrate diversity):

http://www.leeandlow.com/

Barefoot Books http://www.barefootbooks.com/story/

Just Us Books: “…the company’s most lasting legacy is perhaps its role in helping establish a viable market for Black-interest children’s books. As the company celebrates its twentieth anniversary, Just Us Books remains one of the nation’s few Black-owned book publishers and the only one exclusively dedicated to producing Black children's books.”http://www.justusbooks.com/modules/content/index.php?id=2

Multicultural Book Reviews & CriticismMultiCultural Review (official publication of EMIERT, the Ethnic and

MultiCultural Information Exchange Round Table of the AmericanLibrary Association):

http://www.mcreview.com/index.html

Bookbird: a Journal of International Children’s Literature (Publication of the International Board on Books for Young People)

http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=276

Multicultural Children’s Book Awards York, S. (2005). Ethnic Book Awards: a Directory of Multicultural

Literature for Young Readers. Ohio: Linworth Publishing.

The Coretta Scott King Award (1970): African American http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/cskbookawards/index.cfm

John Steptoe New Talent Award (1995): African Americanhttp://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/corettascottkingbookawards/winnersa/newtalentawarda/newtalentaward.cfm

Carter G. Woodson Book Award (1974). Established by the National Council for the Social Studies for the “most distinguished social science books appropriate for young

readers that depict ethnicity in the United States.” All minorities/ ethnicities in the United States.

http://www.socialstudies.org/awards/woodson/winners

Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Literature Award (1995):

http://www.riverabookaward.info/

Hans Christian Andersen Award (1956) Selected by the International Board on Books for Young People as the “highest international recognition” for a “living author and illustrator whose complete works have made a lasting contribution to children's literature.”

http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=273Pura Belpré Award (1993): “Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work

best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.”

ttp://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/belpremedal/index.cfm

American Indian Youth Literature Award (sponsored by the American Indian Library Association –AILA):

http://www.ailanet.org/Asian Pacific American Award for Literature (2001) (sponsored by

the Asian Pacific American Library Association (APALA):http://www.apalaweb.org/awards/awards.htm

The Sydney Taylor Award (1968) Positive Jewish content. http://www.jewishlibraries.org/ajlweb/awards/stba/

STBA_Winners.htm

Mora Award: for library celebrations and outstanding programming of El día de los niños/El día de los libros/ Children’s Day/ Book Day (established by Pat Mora in association with REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking and the American Library Association (ALA):

http://www.patmora.com/dia/mora_award.htm

The Middle East Book Award (sponsored by the Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC)). (1999).

http://socialscience.tjc.edu/mkho/MEOC/middle_east_book_award.htm

The Schneider Family Book Award (2004)“The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for

a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.” http://www.ala.org/ala/awardsgrants/awardsrecords/schneideraward/schneiderfamily.cfm

The Dolly Gray Award for Children's Literature in Developmental Disabilities “The award is a collaborative work by members of the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and Special Needs Project (a distributor of books related to disability issues). “http://www.dddcec.org/secondarypages/dollygray/Dolly_Gray_Children's_Literature_Award.html

The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Notable Trade Books for Young Children. Annual Lists: http://www.socialstudies.org/resources/notable

Selection Criteria for Multicultural Awards Always look at the criteria an association uses when awarding a book. Compare the differences between what each group considers important in the representation of its culture.

The Coretta Scott King Award Criteria:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/cskbookawards/slction.cfmThe Carter G. Woodson Book Award

Criteria:http://www.socialstudies.org/awards/woodson

Pura Belpré Award Criteria:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/belpremedal/belpresubmission/belprmedaltrms.cfm

American Indian Youth Literature Award Criteria: http://www.ailanet.org/activities/AIYLA_Criteria_5_09.pdf

Useful Web Sites

Database of Award-Winning Children’s Literature (DAWCL). Bartle, L. R. (2008, May 03). The Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature. Search for books by ethnicity or title of award: http://www.dawcl.com/search.asp

Barahona Center for the Study of Books in Spanish and for Children and Adolescents. California State University at San Marcos. Kellogg Library: http://www2.csusm.edu/csb/

“ Multicultural Children’s Authors.” List maintained by the Bailey Library at Slippery Rock University. The list is described as “not complete, but representative.” : http://academics.sru.edu/library/learnmore/depts/imc/mcauthors.htm

Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC). “Links to useful multicultural rResources: http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/links/links.asp?idLinksCategory=4

Ten Quick Ways to Analyze Children's Books for Racism and Sexism Reprinted from Rethinking Our Classrooms, published by Rethinking Schools  (www.rethinkingschools.org), 1994. Adapted from a longer article that appeared in the Bulletin of the Council on Interracial Books for Children, which is no longer published. http://www.osi.hu/iep/Workshops/anti_bias/ten_ways.htm

How to Tell the Difference: A Guide for Evaluating Children’s Books for Anti-Indian Bias by Doris Seale, Beverly Slapin and Rosemary Gonzales. From Oyate’s Web site: http://www.oyate.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=135&Itemid=107

Oyate Criteria for Evaluating Books: http://www.oyate.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=136&Itemid=107

The Miller Early Childhood Initiative of a World of Difference Institute (sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League established in 1913 to fight anti-Semitism. The scope of this Association now extends to fight bigotry, racism, and prejudice for all cultures, lifestyles, and minorities. http://www.adl.org/education/miller/

Children's Books by and about People of Color Published in the United States“Annual Statistics Gathered by the Cooperative Children's Book CenterSchool of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison” [EXCELLENT STATISTICAL SOURCE]