The 2011 Children's Literature Assembly Workshop investigated cultural contexts and relevant issues in children's literature. Award-winning authors, illustrators, and an educator shared their thoughts about writing, illustrating, and teaching multiethnic literature. The panel included author Nikki Grimes, author and illustrator Eric Velasquez,…

Children's literature remains a primary vehicle for intellectual and imaginative maturation, and it is thus important to ask whether younger students have the opportunity to transact with books that represent and raise questions about shared experiences and cooperation across social, cultural, and linguistic boundaries. The authors examine three…

Research that centers on literature discussion is growing, particularly within the context of elementary classrooms. Recently, researchers have explored an array of features of engaging and productive discussions, including the importance of the learning community within which discussions occur; the kinds of responses children offer as they talk…

Presents an interview with Janet Hickman. Notes that she is a highly respected scholar in children's literature and a recognized and much lauded author of novels for children. Discusses disparate topics from her earliest encounters with print to mandates surrounding scientifically based reading research (SBRR). (SG)

Considers the blending of different cultures to produce a rich artistic environment. Notes that discussions about multicultural children's literature often become messy because the places where cultures meet always make those grating, scraping sounds of two unlike substances rubbing against each other. (SG)

Describes the various definitions, characteristics, and aims that educators and researchers have considered when promoting the use of multicultural literature in classrooms. Considers the kinds of knowledge and understanding that adolescent students attain when they read such literature. Proposes a different way of understanding the term…

Describes part of a project of correspondence between a group of eighth graders and pre-service teachers in an attempt to prepare all students to work with diverse people and ideas. Hopes to enlarge the worlds of the students by putting them in contact with literature from diverse groups and joining them with diverse people from whom they could…

Examines the genre of "Myth" in children's books. Discusses 38 titles focusing on mythology in children's books. Considers myths in Africa and Ancient Egypt, Asia and the Pacific, Canada and the United States, and Spanish-speaking America. Discusses story collections from around the world, original creation stories, and Genesis, the Biblical…

Notes that Kathy G. Short, winner of the International Reading Association's Arbuthnot Award for the year 2000, began her relationship with and love for books during childhood. Presents an interview in which she shares the sources of her passion for children's literature, insights into its place in the curriculum, and concerns for the present role…

Discusses the use of literature clusters (8 to 12 children's books on a particular topic) to enhance learning and instruction. Concludes that the process of developing a literature cluster on intergenerational relationships will result in a cluster that expresses both the participants' experiences and their understanding of the intended audience.…

Presents annotations of 30 children's books published in 2000, vivid in language and diverse in genre, content, and style, selected as notable for their potential to enhance language awareness for children in grades K-8. (SG)

Selects and annotates 10 "landmark" books in children's literature. Suggests there is danger in creating a group of "classic" tales that can be read or taught to the exclusion of others. Reminds that other books may well be better for many purposes. Encourages others to create, share and publish their own lists of influential books. (SG)

Presents one first-year teacher's experience with incorporating literature into her fifth grade class. Notes the lack of support from the administration and fellow teachers. Observes that when readers talk together about books, their "socially" constructed meanings can represent the range of their experiences, ideas, and backgrounds. Aims to…

Discusses the creation and popularity of Beatrix Potter's "Peter Rabbit." Concludes that today, Potter's quiet stories offer young children a glimpse into the naughtiness that innocence fosters within the security of a family's love, and show children an idyllic time when towns were small enough that friends knew each other well and understood…

Presents a tribute to Eileen Tway, one of the most admired and respected professors in the Department of Teacher Education at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Notes that Eileen believed strongly in the power of literature to promote sensitivity to human relations. (SG)