Multicultural and International Books -chapter 15: Children’s Literature, Briefly-

1. Multicultural and International Books-chapter 15: Children’s Literature, Briefly-

2. Multicultural Books: • Xenophobia-the mistrust or fear of people who are strangers. -parents and society may purposely or inadvertently program children to mistrust, fear, or even hate certain groups of people who are unlike them. -We, as teachers, need to teach about the differences & similarities between people. *Children of minority cultures need books that reflect pride in their heritage. *All children need books that sensitize them to people from cultural groups different than their own.

3. Judging Multicultural Literature • Cultural Authenticity: those from within the culture feel that a book has accurately and honestly reflected their experiences and viewpoints. • Types of multicultural books: folktales, biographies, historical novels… -general categories of books about people of color: neutral: characters from cultural minorites but about other topics generic: characters representing a cultural group but few developing details specific: specific cultural details that help define characters , themes evident, artwork expresses many of the cultural details, authentic

4. International Books • These books can help children gain an appreciation and understanding of gloabal societies. • Most common: English-language titles written and published in other English-speaking countries such as United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. • Others: translated books are less plentiful but growing. They are written in different countries and translated for publication in English. *consider the quality of the translation -must maintain the flavor of the country but be readable and fluent. Also, not too Americanized!