Children's literature has been taught in undergraduate classrooms since the mid-1960s and has grown to become a staple of English literature, library science, and education programs. Children's literature classes are typically among the most popular course offerings at any institution. It is easy to understand why; children's literature classes promise students the opportunity to revisit familiar works with fresh eyes. With the growth of the children’s publishing industry and the celebration of recent scholarly interventions in the field, the popularity of the discipline is unlikely to abate. A central question of current children’s literature scholarship and practice is how to effectively address contemporary questions of social justice. This collection offers a series of interventions for the practice of teaching equity through children's literature in undergraduate classrooms. It is intended for individuals who teach, or who are interested in teaching, children’s literature to undergraduates. It includes contributions from practitioners from a range of institutional affiliations, disciplinary backgrounds, nationalities, and career stages. Furthermore, this volume includes contributions from scholars who belong to groups which are often underrepresented within academia, due to race, nationality, ethnicity, gender identity, disability, or other protected characteristics.

Teaching Equity through Children's Literature in Undergraduate Classrooms offers answers to the central question of current children's literature scholarship and practice is how to effectively address contemporary questions of social justice.

Teaching Tough Topics shows teachers how to lead students to become caring citizens as they read and respond to quality children’s literature. It focuses on topics that can be challenging or sensitive, yet are significant in order to build understanding of social justice, diversity, and equity. Racism, Homophobia, Bullying, Religious Intolerance, Poverty, and Physical and Mental Challenges are just some of the themes explored. The book is rooted in the belief that by using picture books, novels, poetry, and nonfiction, teachers can enrich learning with compassion and empathy as students make connections to texts, to others, and to the world.

This textbook is a comprehensive resource for teaching multicultural children’s literature. Providing foundational information on how and why to integrate diverse children’s literature into the classroom, this book presents a necessary historical perspective on cultural groups in the United States and context for how to teach children’s literature in a way that reflects and sustains students’ rich cultural backgrounds. The historical insights and context on diverse cultural groups at the heart of the book allow readers to deepen their understanding of why teaching about cultural diversity is necessary for effective and inclusive education. Part I offers foundational information on how to teach children’s literature in a diverse society, and Part II overviews pedagogy, resources, and guidance for teaching specific culturally and linguistically marginalized groups. Each chapter contains book recommendations, discussion questions, and additional resources for teachers. With authentic strategies and crucial background knowledge embedded in each chapter, this text is essential reading for pre-service and in-service teachers and is ideal for courses in children’s literature, literacy methods instruction, and multicultural education.

How can diverse literature be woven throughout the early childhood curriculum? What kind of learning opportunities do high quality diverse books offer young children? Diverse books in the early childhood classroom can facilitate dialogue and understanding about differences, diversity, and respect. Books as Partners incorporates research from literacy, early childhood education, and multicultural education to support educators in their daily work with K-3 students. This professional resource provides research-based evidence for incorporating diverse literature in the early childhood classroom and features annotated bibliographies with a critical analysis based on knowledge of child development and best practices in literacy education.With the increased instructional demands within the early childhood setting, teachers can incorporate diverse text sets to meet national standards, ensure that selections are authentic and developmentally appropriate, and provide engaging literature responses across the curriculum. Teachers will be able to transform their classroom practices based on suggestions from the supporting research, classroom vignettes, multimodal text sets, and author/illustrator spotlights embedded throughout the book.

More Mirrors in the Classroom: Using Urban Children’s Literature to Increase Literacy is the first book in the Kids Like Us series. It includes research summaries, guidelines for text selection, and a step-by-step guide to increasing the cultural relevance of literacy instruction with urban children’s literature.

This handbook is written to provide guidance for educators, teachers, parents, grandparents, and caregivers as they navigate through a child’s educational experiences. After more than four decades of attempting to close the Achievement Gap, this book generates support for teaching diverse learners and children of color by constructing a teaching and learning environment that ensures equity in the classroom for every child.