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The World Around Us: Embrace and Affirm Diversity with Literature

This article is designed to help educators identify quality diverse literature to incorporate into the curriculum and reading
experiences of children.
  • Topics
    • By Subject Area: Literature
    • For Educators: Teaching Strategies
  • Author
    Richards, S.
  • Publications
    Teaching for High Potential
  • Publisher
    NAGC
  • Year
    Spring 2016

As teachers, we need to constantly review our teaching practice to optimize and diversify the learning environment. Recent news events have indicated that we are still a society divided with misconceptions and misunderstandings about people who are different. How do educators help students to become knowledgeable, and affirm people who may not share the same history, culture, religion, political beliefs, or values?

More than 60 years after Brown vs. Board of Education, school systems in the U.S. continue to be separate and unequal. It is estimated that by 2022, the number of Hispanic students in public elementary and secondary schools is projected to grow 33 percent from the 2011 numbers. The number of multi-racial students is expected to grow 44 percent. Therefore, in 2016, the likelihood that you are or will at some time teach a group of students who may be the first generation to grow up in America, or who speak Japanese, Spanish, Cantonese, or another language is more likely than not.

Our society is becoming increasingly diverse. It is more important now than ever before that we learn to create a welcoming, culturally respectful and responsive classroom environment that affirms diverse cultures, lifestyle, and perspectives. Literature is an accessible and appropriate way to bring diversity into the classroom.

Multicultural and diverse literature plays an important role in the lives of young people and in the classroom. It can be used as a tool to open students’ minds. It helps to stimulate an understanding of diversity in the classroom and helps to build an understanding of and respect for people from other cultures and lifestyles. Students from the mainstream culture learn that there are other perspectives and ways of doing things that are just as valuable as their own. Also, multicultural literature can be used to examine prejudices. The use of Literature circles can be a powerful tool to weaken and dissolve prejudices.

Multicultural and diverse literature can also play a very important role for teachers. It opens up the conversation, affirms that they care about the individual differences of students and provides a current world view.

Factors in Selecting Multicultural Books
In order for a multicultural book to do the culture justice, the characters should be authentic, not stereotyped. The characters must reflect the distinct cultural experiences and views of the specific group that is being portrayed where character representations must be portrayed in a true-to-life and balanced manner.

The settings should be consistent with the environment of the culture that is being portrayed. Also, the themes that are developed within the story must be consistent with the values, beliefs, customs, traditions, needs, and conflicts of the specific culture. In addition, the pictures, gender roles, and language characteristics of the cultural group should be accurate. One way to do this is to create places in the curriculum for students to explore all kinds of diversities. The Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) has been collecting data on books for children about and by people of color since 1985 (www.ccbc.education.wisc.edu/books/ pcstats.asp). Also, We Need Diverse Books (www.weneed diversebooks.org) is a grass roots initiative that cultivated a significant interest and recognition of the lack of diverse books being published for youth. If you want to focus on increasing images of American Indians, check out American Indians in Children’s Literature. AICCL is an insightful and thoughtful blog that analyzes books by and about American Indians at www.americanindiansinchildrenslit erature.blogspot.com and maintained by Professor Debbie Reese.

As you choose multicultural and diverse books, consider the criteria originally published in 1980 by the Council on Interracial Books for Children as the Ten Quick Ways to Analyze Children’s Books for Racism and Sexism and updated on the Teaching for Change Books website (www.tfcbooks.org/2013- guide-anti-bias-childrens-books).

To help you identify quality diverse literature to incorporate into the curriculum and reading experiences of children, here are some sources for award-winning titles:

Coretta Scott King Award
Focus: Since 1970 this award recognizes outstanding authors and illustrators of books for youth that appreciate African American culture and universal human values
URL: www.ala.org/emiert/cskbookawards

Pura Belpré Award
Focus: Since 1996 this award is given to the author and/or illustrator whose work best portrays the Latino experience.
URL: www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/bel premedal

Schneider Family Book Award
Focus: Since 2004 this award recognizes the artistic expression of disability experiences for child and adolescent audiences.
URL: www.ala.org/awardsgrants/schneider-familybook-award

Jane Addams Peace Association Award
Focus: Given to the children’s books that effectively promote the cause of peace, social justice, world community, and the equality of the sexes and all races as well as meeting conventional standards for excellence.
URL: www.janeaddamspeace.org/jacba

Stonewall Book Award
Focus: Since 1971, this award recognizes high quality books that reflect the gay/lesbian/bi/transgender experience.
URL: www.ala.org/glbtrt/award

Sydney Taylor Award
Focus: Since 1968 this award encourages the publication and widespread use of quality Judaic literature. Gold medals are presented in three categories: Younger Readers, Older Readers, and Teen Readers.
URL: www.jewishlibraries.org/content.php?page=Sydney_Taylor_Book_Award

Here is a small sample of diverse authors whose writing and illustrating reflects diversity: 

Author/illustrator: Julia Alvarez
Diversity: Hispanic American
TITLES: Return to Sender; How Tia Lola Learned to Teach

Author/illustrator: Cece Bell
Diversity: Deaf Culture
TITLES: El Deafo

Author/illustrator: Grace Lin
Diversity: Chinese American
TITLES: Dim Sum for Everyone; Ugly Vegetables

Author/illustrator: Yuyi Morales
Diversity: Hispanic American
TITLES: Nino Wrestles the World; Just a Minute

Author/illustrator:
Pat Mora, Rafael López, John Parra, Libby Martinez, Patrice Barton
Diversity: Hispanic American
TITLES: Tomás and the Library Lady; Book Fiesta! Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day Celebremos El dia de los niños/El dia de los libros; I Pledge Allegiance; Gracias! Thanks!

Author/illustrator: Lesléa Newman
Diversity: Gay/Lesbian; Jewish American
TITLES: Heather Has Two Mommies; October Morning

Author/illustrator: Andrea Davis Pinkney, Brian Pinkney
Diversity: African American
TITLES: Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America; Martin & Mahalia: His

Permission Statement

Copyright 2016 NAGC. Reprinted with permission of the National Association for Gifted Children http://www.nagc.org. No further reprints are permitted without the consent of NAGC.

This article is provided as a service of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted young people 18 and under. To learn more about the Davidson Institute’s programs, please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org.

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