The ability to see and respect other cultures and life experience is a major part of childhood development. Being exposed to this diversity helps establish a child’s perspective, insight, and principles as they become citizens of the world. Diversity comes in many forms; it can be culture, language, religion, social class, age, exceptionality , or family structure. A great way to address or introduce these many forms of diversity is through children’s literature.
The best way I can describe this benefit is through an example from Rudine Sims Bishop, a well know African-American professor in children’s literature. She explained that multicultural literature is both a mirror and a window for the reader. When reading a book that addresses diversity, children can see themselves in the story like looking in a mirror. They are also able to see how other people unlike them think, feel, and act, like looking through a window (Johnson, 2010, p. 309). These books help children relate to diverse populations while learning about them.
While this genre of literature can be very beneficial for your students or children it can also be harmful to their nature if the right books are not selected. So many different children’s books have been written while our country was still developing and learning to respect all types of people. It is imperative that we analyze children’s books for racism and sexism. Before reading a book or recommending a book to any child look at the illustration, examine the story line, look at character lives, analyze relationships, the roles of the models and heroes, author’s and illustrator’s back ground, and language used. A great place to start in the copyright date. It’s an unfortunate truth but books are a media like any other and need to be inspected first.
Top 5 Multicultural Read Aloud Books
\ El Barrio by Debbie Chocolate illustrated by
David Diaz
Faith by Maya Ajmera, Magda Nakassis,
& Cynthia Pon
I Lost My Tooth In Africa by Penda
Diakite, Illustrated by Baba Wague Diakite
Jazzy Miz Mozetta by Brenda C. Roberts, Illustrated
by Frank Morrison
Only
one year by Andrea Cheng, Illustrated by Nicole Wong
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