Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Children’s Literature
7/2/2018
Final Reflection
In an increasingly global world, it is important to give students an entry way into the lives
of others. Students need to have cultural understanding alongside increased empathy regarding
the types of peoples, habits, and cultures they might encounter. Children’s literature can give
students these opportunities and present them with stories about individuals to whom they are
similar and different. An effective way of showing this material is through text sets, since no
single text represents multicultural literature. In presenting this literature to students, we must
Kathy G. Short states that Global literature can be defined as “any book set in a global
context outside of the reader’s own location” (47). International literature is a subset of this genre
which includes books “written and published in another country for the children of that country”
(47). This portion of multicultural literature looks at geographic and physical borders between
sets of people. However, Mingshui Cai states that there are two additional types of borders: a
“difference border” marked by differences such as “beliefs, values, experiences, history, and
tradition” and a “mental border” which includes “fear, bias, or prejudice” (118). When
presents globally and culturally diverse literature, giving students the ability to better understand
Including multicultural literature within a school’s library media center is imperative for
all students. Many educators look at texts as windows and mirrors that let students see
themselves in literature or to see the experiences of others. Author Grace Lin takes this a step
Howse 2
further, explaining that books are not either “mirrors or windows,” but rather glass that shows
you other worlds and reflects your image simultaneously. Some students may live in families and
communities in which they see minimal diversity but may have many universal experiences to
which others could relate. When selecting literature for school libraries, we should be looking for
texts which gives students an opportunity to understand individual and shared experiences across
cultures.
One major consideration for multiculturalism in texts lies in the question of authenticity.
It is important to analyze who wrote the text and whether or not it is their story to tell. Cultural
competency and understanding is imperative, and details matter for multicultural literature.
Leland, Lewison, and Hanste state the importance of details in texts such as “authentic dialogue
and relationships” (64). This is crucial for showing students how this specific culture functions,
multicultural texts give ownership to individuals within the culture and present deeper context of
a society.
Furthering authenticity, I intend to teach my students the importance of telling their own
story. As educators, we must empower kids to tell their own story and teach them empathy for
listening to other people’s stories. They should not be speaking for others. If we give them texts
of majority cultures attempting to tell minority culture stories, we are giving them permission to
speak for others. Instead, I want my future students to realize the importance of telling their
individual story while also allowing for others to contribute to the conversation.
multicultural text sets. Within communities and cultures, there are deep-rooted norms that
motivate interaction between individuals. These can often be influenced by a person’s age,
Howse 3
gender, or social status. Choosing multiple authentic books written from the exact same
viewpoint still limits a reader’s understanding of a culture. I would also look at texts which give
insight into multiple viewpoints, such as When My Name was Keoko and The Breadwinner. The
first was narrated by both a young girl and a young boy, showing their involvement in society
and responsibilities. In The Breadwinner, the main character had to dress up as a boy and
therefore was able to express further understanding of the lives of young men within her culture.
Utilizing these books gives students the ability to see cultural norms immediately.
Another necessity for selecting multicultural literature is the inclusion of violence. This
can be defined as the physical, verbal, psychological violence students see or experience, be it in
their lives or through the media (Persiani-Becker, 128). This does not mean including texts with
violence for violence’s sake, but rather that students need to understand the realities in our world.
An example of this is Ntozake Shange’s picture book Whitewash. This shows how we can
discuss stressful topics such as gang violence and hate crimes within a classroom. Although it
could be tempting to reduce students’ interaction with violence, it is impossible to shield students
from these realities. It would be a disservice to students who do not experience violence;
understanding the realities of the world promotes empathy towards others. It would also make
those experiencing these realities feel left out of our larger narrative. In my school library, I will
work to give students a safe space for learning about other individuals or to work through their
The main concept I will use for implementing multicultural literature will be text sets
focused on authentic material from a variety of viewpoints. This authenticity would highlight the
authorship and realities of our communities, as mentioned above. I will also use innovative
techniques that allow students to begin analyzing multicultural literature, including activities for
Howse 4
analyzing individuals. These techniques will let them see what makes authentic multicultural
If students can analyze characters within a particular setting, they will have increased
opportunity to connect with that character through similarities and differences. The color and
shape activity we did in class gave us a chance to decide what one color and shape represents an
individual. Although we were looking at a person within their culture and society, this promotes
evaluating how that person acts and reacts. Extracting them, momentarily, from their large
setting and giving us a chance to see them as people. In that instance, we are able to identify with
the basic foundations of the person: brave, heroic, naive, etc. Similarly, the mirror and windows
activity had us write the things we can and cannot directly relate to within the story. Through
these two, we picked apart a story for a deeper understanding and connection. Having students
do this shows that there is no story “about” one thing. They will be able to look at multicultural
On a more personal level, I feel invigorated by the selection of children’s literature and
picture books we have read. I explained in class that often, as a child, I felt every book ended
with a happily ever after: the impoverished child’s family bought him a bike, the young girl
encountered a miracle, someone got to rectify all their mistakes. However, these books have a
richer presentation of reality. Although they could seem “sadder,” I think they give students to
think critically about their world and what occurs for other students, communities, and cultures.
The empathy we can teach with such books outweighs the possibility of difficult conversations.
I also personally feel that the library media center is a wonderful place to start having
these conversations. I want students to feel that they can come to this center for researching and
seeking truth. In that regard, I feel that topics related to their global world are equally important
Howse 5
topics related to their studies. We cannot extract education from the broader world, especially if
References
Cai, M. (2002). Multicultural literature for children and young adults. Westpoint, CT:
Greenwood Press.
Leland, Lewison, and Hanste (2013). Teaching children’s literature: It’s critical. New York,
NY: Routledge.
Short, K. G. (2017). Reading outside our comfort zone: The dangers and possibilities of reading
https://blackboard.towson.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-4621124-dt-content-rid-
30398087_2/courses/1183-01203-01210-020/Short_RdgOutsideComfort.pdf
TEDx Talks (2016). The windows and mirrors of your child’s bookshelf: Grace Lin. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wQ8wiV3FVo