Multicultural+Literature+for+Youth

=Introduction= toc Ever since Nancy Larrick indicted "the all-white world of children's books" more than 50 years ago, publishers, librarians, educators, and researchers have striven to produce, promote, circulate, and analyze quality literature for youth that reflects experiences from a wide variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds. In order to provide young people with both "mirrors" (which reflect their own experiences) and "windows" (which expose them to the experiences of those unlike themselves), it is necessary to develop, maintain, and provide access to a rich collection of literature that reflects many different cultures, races, and ethnicities. This page will identify best practices in selecting, organizing, critically viewing and promoting multicultural literature for youth and will direct to professional resources to help with these tasks.

Terms
**Multicultural Literature:** Books about people of color; literature that depicts nonwhite cultures, especially African and African-Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians, Asian/Pacific, and Asian Pacific Americans(Cai, 2002). For many scholars, the definition also encompasses other groups traditionally left out of the English canon. //For information about GLBTQQ literature and resources, see the GLBTQ Youth page.//

**Urban Lit:** Also urban fiction or street lit; genre primarily defined by dark, urban settings, harsh, explicit content, and ethnic minority characters.

**[|Enabling texts]:** Meaningful texts that promote a healthy psyche, reflect an awareness of the real world, focus on collective struggles of an ethnic group, and serve as a road map for being, doing, thinking, and acting (Tatum, 2009, p. 76; as cited in Hughes-Hassell, S., Rawson, C. H., McCracken, L., Leonard, M. G., Cunningham, H., Vance, K. J., & Boone, J., 2012).

**Disabling texts:** books featuring youth that reinforce stereotypes, for example, stereotypes of Black males as hoopsters, fatherless sons, and gang recruits (Tatum, 2009, p. 65; as cited in Hughes-Hassell et al., 2012).

Brief Overview
It has been widely concluded that multicultural literature—in this context, books about people of color—should be made available to youth in libraries and classrooms in support of multicultural education and youth interests. This type of literature contributes to positive attitudes toward diversity and to equality and equity in representations of cultures and historical experiences in support of pluralistic curriculums (Cai, 2002). It can also aid youth in developing positive self-concepts and has an integral role in educating children and youth about the cultures and experiences of others. Reading books about minority characters and the diversity of characters is very important for teenagers because this is the most important time in their lives to be able to define themselves, find out who they are, and figure out their roles in the world (Webb, 2012). It is also important to note that multicultural literature can help low-performing students to gain an interest in reading, leading to an improvement in reading proficiency (Taylor, 1997; as cited in Pirofski, 2002). As a “political, rather than a literary, movement,” the rise of multicultural literature has been a power struggle amongst racial and ethnic groups to “claim space in literature and in education” (Cai, 2002, p. xiii). In the 21st century, many achievements have allowed multicultural literature to gain more visibility and an increasing amount of summer reading programs are putting more focus on multicultural literature. In some cases, public and school librarians are working with teachers to compile summer reading lists that include more multicultural literature for students to choose from.

Key Issues
**The white world of children’s literature.** Many studies have shown that science fiction and fantasy are top genres for children and teens of many races (Scholastic, 2010). There is no question that these genres dominate on the shelf, however, books in these genres often do not portray diverse characters and those that do fall under the radar. It is also an issue that the traditional English canon consists primarily of “white classics.” Heidersbach (2004) noted an increase in student interest and relatability when multicultural literature was used along with classic literature in an eleventh grade English curriculum. Many scholars have developed various approaches, strategies, and activities to incorporate multicultural literature into the curriculum; however, the various methods “do not share the same theoretical guidelines and seem to go in different directions” (Cai, 2002, p.134).

**Lack of Diversity in Publishing and Bookstores.** When it comes to publishing, multicultural literature is hardly promoted and publishers are not keeping the texts in print. One may be surprised at how challenging it is to find multicultural literature on the websites of major book publishers. At the same time, there has been a rise in the amount of books published about biracial or multiracial characters. According to the Cooperative Children’s Books Center (2012), less than 10 percent of children’s books published annually are multicultural. This statistic is especially unacceptable as nearly 50 percent of the under-18 population is made up of minorities and as this population is projected to become majority minority by 2019 (Tavernise, 2011). According to Donna Gilton, a s of 2000, 10 percent of books for young people in the United States on people of color and 5 percent by people of color (2012). New ethnic writers have difficulty being published by mainstream presses and often start with multicultural and ethnic presses. Some multicultural materials are distributed by mainstream companies, but many people of color have formed their own publishing and distributing companies. Mainstream bookstores do not carry most of these titles. It is even more of a drawback that multicultural education, in which multicultural literature plays a major role, is not a year-round effort in schools where teachers tend to dust off the multicultural literature only during ethnic and religious holidays (Cai, 2002). In these circumstances, there needs to be initiatives to make curriculums and collections more inclusive.

**Authenticity.** Subtle racism and stereotypes in multicultural literature has led many to wonder who should write multicultural literature. It seems that most scholars agree that it is much more genuine and proper for a person of color to write about his own culture. However, another issue is that there is a need for more writers from diverse backgrounds. Authorship is an important factor to consider in choosing multicultural literature. Also, one should be wary of books that fall into the “melting pot” category, which means that they ignore cultural differences of characters--treating all as one in the same. Many argue that, for writers, the purpose of creating a character of color should in part be to highlight aspects of their culture. Especially when the main character of a story is a person of color, it would greatly defeat the purpose of multicultural literature if that character’s culture were not portrayed at all. In selecting texts, one should ask, “Does this book include one or more minority characters just for the sake of there being a person of color on the cover?”

**Inability of youth to engage and relate.** It seems that most children like to read literature that reflects their lives and cultures in present times. Some African-American children have expressed that they are tired of reading books about slavery. Also, some white children have expressed disinterest in multicultural literature. Various studies have shown the uses of multicultural literature in the classroom and its effects on the attitudes of children toward peers and society, in part by analyzing the responses of diverse groups of children to particular works of multicultural literature. Taylor’s (1997) study of African-American and Hispanic fifth graders has led to the idea that a child who has yet to strongly identify with their culture may not be able to fully embrace or understand books about their culture. Also, many students have expressed misunderstandings of other cultures and disliked texts if they were not about their own culture (Jordan & Purves, 1993; Kirkland, 2011; Samway & Whang, 1995). Grice and Vaughn (1992) concluded that children need lessons on cultures prior to exposure to culturally conscious books.

**Content.** The profanity, crime, violence, and other harsh realities of life present in a lot of multicultural literature, especially in urban or “street” literature, have caused many educators and librarians to be hesitant of seeking out such literature. At the same time, many of the characters and plots within these texts may strike a chord with readers and should be appreciated just as many have embraced banned books. Tatum (2009) argues that many of these texts are disabling rather than enabling and it may be challenging to determine which will benefit youth. Hughes-Hassel et al. (2012) has created a [|rubric] to aid in identifying enabling texts based on Tatum's research. Although created for African-American adolescent males, the rubric may be tailored toward other groups.

=**Selecting Multicultural Literature **= It is difficult to gauge how much multicultural literature is enough within a collection. Teachers and librarians must take into account the demographics and experiences of those they serve. Diverse magazines and other types of non-fiction should be included in collections and the need for acquiring books and other resources in various languages is just as important. More educators and librarians need to become aware of the importance of multicultural literature and not keep it on the backburner. As a youth services professional, continue to acknowledge cultures, keep track of trends, read book reviews, and even hire a diverse workforce for a more collaborative effort. Libraries should make acquiring multicultural literature an initiative that is included in collection development policies. The most important thing to consider in selecting texts for any child or teen is that research has shown that they are more interested to read about people like themselves. At the same time, one should not assume that a child would want to read a particular book just because the characters are of the same race or ethnicity.

"The [|Virginia Hamilton Conference] is the longest-running event in the United States to focus exclusively on multicultural literature for children and young adults" ("About the Conference"). The conference has been hosted every April since 1984 at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The conference aims to both promote cultural awareness while address present issues in multicultural literature for youth literature. It also grants two awards and a grant:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Conferences **
 * [|The Virginia Hamilton Award],which recognizes an American author or illustrator whose books make a significant contribution to multicultural literature for youth.
 * [|The Virginia Hamilton Essay Award], which recognizes a journal article which makes a significant contribution to the professional literature concerning multicultural literary experiences for youth.
 * The Virginia Hamilton and Arnold Adoff Creative Outreach Grants for Teachers and Librarians, which gives two grants (one for a teacher, one to a librarian) up to $1,000 to proposals for new classroom or library programs that raise awareness of multicultural literature to young people.

**Online Resources** [] || Well-renowned scholars aid Jonda McNair in compiling a list of great African-American literary classics ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">McNair, J. C. (2010) Classic African American Children’s Literature. //Reading Teacher//. 64 (2), 96-105. Found online at
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[] || Rubric aimed at identifying enabling texts for African-American adolescent males; can tailor toward other groups. Also includes a bibliography of some enabling texts ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[] || Statistics and resources compiled by University of Wisconsin-Madison's Cooperative Children's Books Center ||
 * http://www.library.uiuc.edu/edx/nativeamericanchildrens.htm || Resources that look critically at Native American children's literature ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[] || Children's and YA Lit resources ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[] || Activities and curriculum resources for multicultural education ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[] || “Activities that help young minds go global.” Programming ideas supporting multicultural education with some listings of international children's literature ||
 * [] || A blog that raises awareness about young people's literature written by and about African-Americans, particularly with their initiative 28 Days Later, which celebrates books for kids each day of Black History Month. ||
 * [] || News, reviews, and other notes about multicultural youth lit from a global perspective, with a particular slant towards Asian America and the Pacific Rim. ||
 * [] || Information about the Virginia Hamilton Conference ||
 * @http://archive.adl.org/bibliography/bfc_book_categorization.asp || A World of Difference Institute by Houghton Mifflin provides a list of recommended multi-cultural and anti-bias books for children in categories such as folktales, customs and traditions, and prejudice and discrimination. Books are added to the list and featured monthly. ||
 * @http://www.ipl.org/div/pf/entry/48493 || ipl2 provides a description of multicultural literature and resources in print and online for multicultural literature. ||

Booklists

 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[] || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Popular multicultural literature titles ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[] || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lists some sci-fi books appropriate for youth ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[] || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Booklists by race and ethnicity ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/books/detailListBooks.asp?idBookLists=143] || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">List of "50 Multicultural Books Every Child Should Know" ||
 * [] || List of "30 Multicultural Books Every Teen Should Know" ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hughes-Hassell et al. (2012). Librarians form a bridge of books to advance literacy. Phi Delta Kappan, 93 (5), 17-22. Copy found at: [] || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Great booklist for Black males in elementary school through high school located within the article ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[] || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Urban Lit for teens ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[] || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Comprehensive list of Latino children's book and YA authors; writers of English, Spanish, and bilingual literature ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[] || American Indian booklists by age group and other critical resources ||
 * [] || A list of...lists. ||


 * Print Resources **
 * Campbell, J.N. and Dahalen, S.P. (Eds.). (2013) //Diversity in Youth Literature:////Opening Doors Through Reading.// Chicago: American Library Association.** Analyzes the history of youth literature and demonstrates how books have increasingly portrayed a diverse society. The book begins by tracing the history of diversity themes in children and youth literature, then breaks into more specific topics such as African American children's literature and homelessness. It also provides guidelines for librarians who want to order the best materials for diversity literature. It also provides examples of programs to promote multicultural materials in libraries and classrooms.

Awards
The ALA and allied organizations have developed a number of awards that recognize outstanding achievement in literature for youth across a number of ethnic and racial identifications. These awards can serve as handy collection development tools by providing librarians with references to the very best multicultural literature for youth, as well as provide opportunities to celebrate the richness and depth of multicultural literature for youth being produced today. (For a discussion of literature awards based on identity categories and "strategic essentialism," see Thomas Crisp, "It's Not the Book, It's Not the Author, It's the Award.") These awards include:

[|Coretta Scott King Award]
This award is "designed to commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace" and recognizes outstanding African-American authors and illustrators who create works for young people that explore the Black experience in America. Administered by the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table of the ALA (EMIERT) and sponsored by the Black Caucus of the ALA, this award is given to one author and one illustrator each year, with Honor Awards given to excellent runners-up in each category. In addition, EMIERT has recently establish the [|Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent], which celebrates works by new authors and artists that might be missed by the general award.

[|Pura Belpré Award]
This award was established in 1996 to recognize Latino/a authors and illustrators and their books for young people which explore and celebrate Latino/a experiences. The award is given annually (before 2008, biennially) by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking (REFORMA) to both an author and an illustrators. It also grants Honor Awards in both categories.

[|Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature]
The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), an affiliate of the ALA, has granted the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature each year since 2005 to recognize excellence in literary portrayals of Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage. The awards include categories for picture books, children's literature, and young adult literature, with an honor book in each category as well.

[|American Indian Youth Literature Award]
The American Indian Library Association (AILA), another ALA affiliate, awards the American Indian Youth Literature Award--inaugurated in 2006--every year "to identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians" for young people. The award is given to top choices in three categories: picture books, middle grade, and young adult. Honor awards are given to other outstanding examples of Indigenous literature in each category.

Américas Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature
The Américas Award is given to a work of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction work for children or young adults written in English or Spanish language of the previous year. The work of literature must show people of Latin America, Caribbean, or Latino ethnicity in an authentic and engaging way. The award is sponsored by the national Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP).

Jane Addams Children's Book Award
The Jane Addams Peace Association (JAPA) has presented this award annually since 1953 to children's books that are published to promote the "cause of peace, social justice, world community, and the equality of the sexes and all races."

Ezra Jack Keats Award
The EJK award is given yearly, previously in association with the New York Public Library and now with the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection to authors and illustrators who show the "universal qualities of childhood, a strong and supportive family, and the multicultural nature of our world." The authors and illustrators must have no more than three books published previously in order to be eligible for the award.

The Virginia Hamilton Literary Award
Since 1998, the Kent State University's Advisory Board, which is responsible for the Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Youth, has given this award to an American author or illustrator who has made an excellent and significant contribution to multicultural literature for children and adolescents. Previous winners include Christopher Paul Curtis, Alma Flor Ada, and Jacqueline Woodson.

Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award
This award was created by Texas State University's College of Education to recognize authors and illustrators who have depicted Mexican American people and their experiences within their literature. This award has been given every year since 1995 to authors and illustrators of books such as Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall and Los Gatos Black on Halloween by Marisa Montes and illustrated by Yuyi Morales.

Lee and Low New Voices Award
Publisher Lee and Low has given the New Voices Award to a new author of color, who is given $1000 award and a publication contract. The literature must address the needs of children of color, provide stories and situations with which these children can identify and relate, and which also allow for an understanding of one another. This award has been given every year since 2000.

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Promoting Multicultural Literature = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once multicultural literature has been added to the library's collection, it must be promoted and incorporated into library displays and programming to ensure that it reaches patrons. Listed below are several possible tactics that could be helpful, and information about the specific challenges and implications of utilizing each.

**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Booktalks **
//For general booktalking guidelines, see the Booktalking wiki article.// Booktalking multicultural resources present special challenges. In the article " Culturally Speaking: Booktalking Authentic Multicultural Literature," former school librarian Sherry York outlines tactics for avoiding potential pitfalls. Guidelines include the following:
 * **Unfamiliarity of terms -** If the culture featured in the book is different from that of the librarian giving the talk, there may be unfamiliar terms and names in the book. Looking up pronunciations and meanings beforehand is important, but it is also important to acknowledge one's lack of knowledge about the language. Encouraging help and participation from the audience can be another way to build upon unfamiliar material.
 * **Focusing on specific audience members -** If members of the audience are of the same ethnic or cultural group as the characters in the book, be careful not to single them out when interacting with the audience. Not only do children and young people not like to be singled out and made to feel different, but creating divisions within the audience can cancel out or damage the inclusiveness that is the goal of including multicultural resources.
 * **Author Omniscience** - Just as members of the featured culture should not be expected to bear the burden of discussion or reaction during a booktalk, a single author should not be expected to cover all aspects of a culture, or be considered a sufficient representative of a culture. Make sure to emphasize that each author can write only from their experience, and that a variety of works and viewpoints must be consulted to appreciate the scope of diversity within cultures.

**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Storytime **
//For general storytime guidelines, see the Storytime wiki article.// Stories featuring diverse cultures can be incorporated into storytime programs to promote exposure to new cultures. Ideas and resources for multicultural storytime follow:
 * **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Multicultural Storytime Magic (print resource) - **This book is a storytime programming guide organized into 40 topics, with stories, fingerplays, songs, etc. from a variety of cultures. A more in-depth review of the book is available from School Library Journal, and cited in the references section below - see Christolson, B (2012).
 * **Bilingual storytime -** Bilingual storytime can be beneficial for both native English speakers and those who speak English as a second language. Even if there are no librarians or staff present at your library who are fluent in a given non-English language, bilingual storytimes can still be successful. Partnering with local community members and organizations can foster cultural awareness while improving community relationships with library, as evidenced by the Kenton County Public Library in Covington, Kentucky. Having Spanish-speaking community members collaborate with library staff on bilingual storytime and cultural celebrations helped increase use of the library by the local Latino population and provided them with positive cultural experiences (Howrey, 2003).
 * **Bilingual Books** - Bilingual books may seem a natural choice for bilingual storytime, but they should be assessed as carefully as any other multicultural literature for cultural sensitivity and accuracy, as well as other concerns unique to bilingual books. Bilingual books can raise awareness of different cultures through language, but may contain translation errors, differing presentation between languages that seems to favor one above the other, and directionality challenges when languages are printed/read in different directions (Ernst-Slavit, 2008).

**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Multicultural Awareness Months **
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The US federal government, as well as governments of other nations,recognizes several months as being dedicated to celebrating specific heritages and cultural backgrounds. These months can be useful frameworks for promoting multicultural literature within your collection, but it's important to remember that resources portraying diverse backgrounds should be incorporated year-round, and that exploration of resources during the relevant month be sensitive and thorough. Menkart (1999) outlines an approach to heritage months for schools that aims to debunk stereotypes rather than reinforce them; many of the guidelines can also apply to library heritage month events, and are explained here:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Recognize diversity within America** - avoid framing all non-white cultures as 'international' or 'foreign.' Many minority cultures, such as Hispanic-Americans and Native Americans, have existed on the American continent prior to white settlement, and families of any culture may have lived in America for many generations. Instead of describing events as 'international,' use phrases like 'cultural traditions' or 'heritage.'
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Address "history, values, current reality, and power relationships" that affect cultures** - Don't focus solely on cultural commodities such as food, crafts, and music to represent a culture. Make sure that the diversity within cultures and historical and current conflicts and struggles are highlighted as well. This is closely related to the next point:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Provide context for cultural artifacts** - Dances, songs, foods, and clothing are all important parts of culture, but if simply presented without explanation, can lead to solidify stereotypes (for example, 'Chinese people only eat rice'). Connecting these objects and performances to their origins and the humans that create them will deepen understanding of how they represent cultural values.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Don't stop with the US** - Minority cultures in the US don't exist in a vacuum; make sure to celebrate the history of people in Central American and Carribbean as well, and make connections between US history and international events.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Make sure displays and events recognize contemporary reality** - This is especially applicable to the presentation of Native American cultures. If cultures are portrayed only through a historical lens, it prevents your audience from understanding (or even realizing) the continued existence of those cultures, their evolution, and the pressing issues that still affect them.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Emphasize community efforts that surround leaders** - For example, rather than focusing solely on Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks for Black History Month, show how their actions occurred in the context of group movements. They can be inspirations, but they aren't isolated superheroes effecting change all on their own.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Resources for Heritage Months (mostly official US government sites): **

African-American History Month - http://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/

Haitian Heritage Month - http://www.haitianheritagemonth.net/

Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month - http://asianpacificheritage.gov/

Jewish Heritage Month - http://www.jewishheritagemonth.gov/

Hispanic Heritage Month -http://hispanicheritagemonth.gov/

Filipino-American History Month - http://fanhs-national.org/filam/resolution/ Native American Heritage Month: []

**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Holidays and Celebrations **
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As with heritage months, annual holidays and celebrations from various groups can be good ways to expose young people to diverse cultures. And as with heritage months (and all other multicultural resources and displays) care should be taken to avoid tokenism and mere lip-service to cultural sensitivity. The goal of having multicultural literature is not meet a quota of a certain amou nt of 'diverse' sources, but rather to "[plan] library media center programs and services and [include] reading encouragement and resource provision so that our multicultural society is represented accurately in the eyes of children" (Dickson, 2005).

[|University of Kansas Medical Center Diversity Calendar] [|University of Rochester Multicultural Calendar] [|Rochester Institute of Technology Multicultural Calendar]
 * Resources for Multicultural Holidays** (lists of holidays, with some links to further information - may need to research more for ideas):

**The Benefits of Reading Multicultural Literature**
According to Hughes-Hassell, reading multicultural literature has a variety of benefits.


 * 1) It gives voice to teens whose voices have gone unheard and whose lives are at best underrepresented, but more often misrepresented, in the mainstream discourse
 * 2) It challenges the single story, providing “a powerful space of affirmation” and validation.
 * 3) It presents the complexity of racial and ethnic identity formation.
 * 4) It challenges readers whose lives have been shaped by race and privilege to consider how the world looks to groups of people that have traditionally been marginalized and oppressed, raising awareness of the inequalities those individuals face on a daily basis.
 * 5) It helps the members of the majority culture overcome their “ethnocentrism and the unthinking conviction that [their] way of seeing the world is the only one—that the way things are is inevitable, natural, just, and best.” (Hughes-Hassell 2013)

= = =**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><range type="comment" id="472818482_1">Integrating Multicultural Literature into Curriculum/Teaching</range id="472818482_1"> **=

=References=

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cai, M. (2002). //Multicultural literature for children and young adults: Reflections on critical issues//. Westport: CT: Greenwood Press.

Christolon, B. (2012). Multicultural Storytime Magic. School Library Journal, 58(10), 161.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cooperative Children’s Book Center. (2012). Children’s books by and about people of color published in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/books/pcstats.asp

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Crisp, T. (2011). It's not the book, it's not the author, it's the award: The Lambda Literary Award and the case for strategic essentialism. //Children's Literature in Education//, 42 (2), 92-104.

Ernst-Slavit, G., & Mulhern, M. (2003, September/October). Bilingual books: Promoting literacy and biliteracy in the second-language and mainstream classroom. Reading Online, 7(2). Available: http://www.readingonline.org/articles/art_index.asp?HREF=ernst-slavit/index.html

Gilton, D. (2012). THE FUTURE OF MULTICULTURAL YOUTH LITERATURE. //Knowledge Quest//, //40//(3), 44-47.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Grice, M. O., & Vaughn, C. (1992). Third graders respond to literature for and about Afro-Americans. //Urban Review//, 24(2),149-164.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Heidersbach, A. M. (2004, April 7). The effect of multicultural young adult literature integration within the traditional honors English curriculum on student interest and relatability. Retrieved from http://www.smsd.org/custom/curriculum/actionresearch <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2004/Heidersbach.pdf

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hinton-Johnson, KaaVonia and Dickinson, Gail. (2005) Guiding Young Readers to Multicultural Literature. Library Media Connection 23/7, 42-45. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Segoe UI',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"> Howrey, S. P. (2003). DE COLORES: THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF BILINGUAL STORYTIME. American Libraries, 34(9), 38-43.

Hughes-Hassell, S. (2013). Multicultural young adult literature as a form of counter-storytelling. //Library Quarterly//, //83//(3), 212-228.

Hughes-Hassell, S., Rawson, C. H., McCracken, L., Leonard, M. G., Cunningham, H., Vance, K. J., & Boone, J. (2012). Librarians form a bridge of books to advance literacy. //Phi Delta Kappan//, 93(5), 17-22.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hughes-Hassell, S. & Rodge, P. (2007). The leisure reading habits of urban adolescents. //Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy//, 51(1): 22-33.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jordan, S. and Purves, A. C. (1993). Issues in the responses of students to culturally diverse texts: A preliminary study (Report Series No. 7.3). Albany, NY: National Research Center on Literature Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/cela/reports/jordanissues.pdf

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kiefer, B. Z. (2010). //Charlotte Huck’s children’s literature// (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kirkland, D. E. (2011). Books like clothes: Engaging young black men with reading. //Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy//, 55(3), 199-208.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Larrick, N. (1965). The all-white world of children's books. //The Saturday Review//, September 1965, 63-65, 84-85.

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