More effectively meet the diverse literacy needs of the growing Latino population by learning how to evaluate and select quality Latino children's literature. Latinos are the fastest growing and largest ethnic minority in the United States. The number of Latino children is at a historic high. As a result, librarians and teachers in the United States must know how to meet the informational, cultural, and traditional literacy needs of this student demographic group. An ideal way to overcome this challenge is by providing culturally accurate and authentic children's literature that represents the diversity of the Latino cultures. Much more than simply a topical bibliography, this book details both historical and current practices in educating Latino children; explains why having quality Latino children's literature in classrooms and libraries is necessary for the ethnic identity development of Latino children; and offers a historical overview of Latino children's literature in America. Web resources of interest to educators working with Latino children are also included.

This edition of Multicultural and Ethnic Children’s Literature in the United States addresses both quantitative and more qualitative changes in this field over the last decade. Quantitative changes include more authors, books, and publishers; book review sources, booklists, and awards; organizations, institutions, and websites; and criticism and other scholarship. Qualitative changes include: More support for new and emerging writers and illustrators; Promotion of multicultural literature both in the U.S. and around the world, as well as developments in global literature; Developments in the literatures described throughout this book, as well as in research supporting this literature; The impact of technology; Characteristics and activities of four adult audiences that use and promote multicultural children’s literature, and Changes in leaders and their organizations. This is still a single reference source for busy and involved librarians, teachers, parents, scholars, publishers, distributors, and community leaders. Most books on multicultural children’s literature are written especially for teachers, librarians, and scholars. They may be introductions to the literature, selection tools, teaching guides, or very theoretical books on choosing, evaluating, and using these materials. Multicultural and Ethnic Children’s Literature in the United States focuses much more on the history of the development of this literature, from the nineteenth century to the present day. This book provides much more of a cultural and political context for the early development of this literature. It emphasizes the “self-determining” viewpoints and activities of diverse people as they produce materials for the young. Multicultural and Ethnic Children’s Literature… describes organizations, events, activities, and other contributions of diverse writers, illustrators, publishers, researchers, scholars, librarians, educators, and parents. It also describes trends in the research on the literature. It elaborates more on ways in which diversity is still an issue in publishing companies and an extended list of related industries. It describes related literature from outside of the U.S. and makes connections to traditional global literature. Last, Multicultural and Ethnic Children’s Literature, shows the impact of multiculturalism on education, libraries, and the mainstream culture, in general. While the other books on multiculturalism focus on how to find, evaluate, and use multicultural materials, especially in schools and libraries, this book is concerned over whether and how books are produced in the first place and how this material impact the broader society. In many ways, it supplements other books on multicultural children’s literature.

Combining information about outreach to diverse populations, selection of culturally diverse children's print and digital media, and library programming, this book is the tool librarians need to promote cultural understanding through engaging children's programs designed for today's culturally diverse youth. Today's children live in a culturally diverse and constantly changing digital world. New digital media is created every day but librarians and other educators need help in evaluating cultural content in digital apps, determining whether they send appropriate social messages to children, and learning how to use them in library programs that promote cultural competence. Diversity Programming for Digital Youth: Promoting Cultural Competence in the Children's Library provides just the help that is needed. This resource is the only one to examine the role of culturally diverse digital media and how it can be used with children's books to promote cultural competence in the library. It provides annotated lists of digital media paired with culturally diverse literature to offer librarians and educators a springboard for creating enriching, engaging, and culturally relevant programs for children from diverse backgrounds. The sample digital storytime programs celebrating diverse cultures will benefit busy librarians looking for ways to engage reluctant readers in library storytimes.

This book recognizes nonfiction text as a staple part of the literacy curriculum and advocates that educators include it in their daily practices. It offers innovative ideas on how these texts can be used to nurture literacy acquisition, growth, and fluency in and out of the classroom.

First awarded in 1993, the Américas Award is given in recognition of books that authentically and engagingly portray Latino/as in Latin America, the Caribbean or the United States. By combining both and linking the Americas, the award reaches beyond geographic borders, as well as multicultural-international boundaries, focusing instead upon cultural heritages within the hemisphere. The Award is unique in that selects Latino/a youth literature for classroom use and in that it focuses on the entire Western Hemisphere. Scholars from the fields of literature, education, lbrary science, and theater engage with Latino/a Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) in this ecollection of essays about the Américas Award, the Award-winning and honored books, and the contexts in which the books are used. This collection offers essays on the history of the award, close readings of Award-winning and honored books situated in the classroom, and discussions of how best to use the books in the classroom, library and theater.

The relationship between humans and animals has always been strong, symbiotic and complicated. Animals, real and fictional, have been a mainstay in the arts and entertainment, figuring prominently in literature, film, television, social media, and live performances. Increasingly, though, people are anthropomorphizing animals, assigning them humanoid roles, tasks and identities. At the same time, humans, such as members of the furry culture or college mascots, find pleasure in adopting animal identities and characteristics. This book is the first of its kind to explore these growing phenomena across media. The contributors to this collection represent various disciplines, to include the arts, humanities, social sciences, and healthcare. Their essays demonstrate the various ways that human and animal lives are intertwined and constantly evolving.

While there are volumes that fall into the category of children’s literature, there appears to be relatively few that explore the needs of bilingual learners and the linguistic and sociocultural context of Latino children’s literature. This volume makes a needed contribution by addressing the social, cultural, academic, and linguistic needs of Latino bilingual learners who are still underserved through current school practices. We aim to conceptualize different forms of social knowledge so that they can serve as cultural resources for learning, acquiring knowledge, and transforming self and identity. This volume presents a balance of theory, research, and practice that speak to authentic multicultural Latino literature and helps ensure its availability for all students. The intended outcome of this volume then is to create a heightened awareness of the cultural and linguistic capital held by the Latino community, to increase Latino students’ social capital through the design of critical pedagogical practices, and for the formulation of a new perspective, that of Latino multicultural literature for children.