Multicultural Children's Literature

Selecting Multicultural Children's Literature

When it comes to selecting multicultural children's literature to read at home or in the classroom, remember that not all books are created equal! Be sure to avoid books that promote racial or cultural stereotypes. Below are a few guidelines for choosing appropriate multicultural books for your children.

 

What to Look for & What to Avoid

• Experts agree that authentic multicultural literature is written by an author from the culture depicted in the book, as they truly understand the language, traditions, and values of that culture. Avoid books about a cultural group that are written by an author from outside of that culture; they are more likely to present stereotypical portraits of that group.  

• Pay attention to the language and descriptions in the book. Avoid those with racist words or overtones.

• Pictures are also important; again, look out for stereotypes. Characters from one culture should not all look the same!

• Trust your gut! Do you feel uneasy about the way a culture or character is portrayed? If it feels offensive, it probably is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

image from bookriot.com

 

Here's a popular "classic" children's book that's an excellent example of what BAD multicultural children's literature looks like. I found this gem in my own school's libaray. The Five Chinese Brothers, written by Karen Huchet Bishop (not a Chinese author) and illustrated by Kurt Wiese, was originally published in 1938. The story is based on an old Chinese folktale The Ten Brothers. The cartoony illustrations are racist charactures, and the first page reads:

Once upon a time there once were Five Chinese Brothers, and they all looked exactly the same.

Red flag! Just because a book is popular or enduring does not mean that it is culturally appropriate, especially by today's standards.

 

Where to Start

• Each of the authors featured on this site all has a large body of work. I found it difficult to pick just a few titles, but there are many more wonderful books to choose from! Look for their names at your local library or bookstore.

 

• Look for award winners. They usually (but not always!) meet the criteria above. Caldecott winners and honorees are good, but look for books and authors that have won cultural awards. For instance:

  • The Coretta Scott King Award

  • Pura Belpre Award

  • Middle Eastern Outreach Council Award

  • Asian Pacific American Libraries Association Award

  • American Indian Youth Literature Award

 

• Your local library is an excellent resource! I visit the Oakland Public Library regularly to find books for the classroom, and it's easy to request titles online. Here in Oakland, many of the public library branches specialize in cultural literature collections:

  • The César E. Chávez Branch hosts the largest Spanish language collection, as well as Bilingual Story Time!

  • The Elmhurst Branch features a Black History collection.

  • The Golden Gate Branch (my local branch) features an East Indian collection as well as a large collection of African American children's books. Golden Gate and Rockridge libraries are home to some wonderful and knowledgeable children's librarians as well.

  • The West Oakland Branch is home to an African American collection as well as an LGBT collection.

  • The Asian Branch holds children's books in languages including Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Khmer, Lao, Tagalog, and Thai.