Transformative, anti-oppressive curricula, as theorized by Banks (1989, 2014) and Kumashiro (2001, 2009), directly address present-day realities of racism, discrimination, and oppression. According to Banks (1989), a transformative curriculum includes "the infusion of various perspectives, frames of reference, and content from various groups,…

This article examines the pedagogical potential of art-based, early critical literacy as a space in which young bilingual children can explore the issues of human diversity and uniqueness. Adopting a qualitative case study approach, this study focused on 12 five-year-old children of Mexican origin at a charter school located in Texas.

The rise in hate crimes toward immigrants across communities (Potok, 2017) has led to a focus on children's literature with immigration themes for opening up conversations in classrooms (Rodriguez & Braden, 2018). Because children's knowledge about people and the communities they live in is informed by the media, portrayals of immigrants'…

Integrating children's literature that represents diverse populations into the classroom is a key part of a culturally relevant pedagogy. Several benefits emerge when children read culturally relevant books. This research focused on the representation of Black males as characters and creators of Caldecott books through a critical multicultural…

Historically, early lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer-inclusive (LGBTQ+) picturebooks deployed representations of (in)human characters (i.e., birds, bunnies, shapeshifters, and more) to open readers to queer subjects (Young, 2019). While useful for expanding conceptions of queer life, such a move has had unintended consequences. The…

For the author's final Master Teacher article, she wishes to pay tribute to a scholar whose work in the field of children's literature has inspired her for years. Throughout her long and distinguished career, Rudine Sims Bishop, professor emerita from The Ohio State University, has shared extensive knowledge and numerous insights on issues related…

The purpose of this article is to investigate representations of diversity in books included in early childhood classroom libraries. The authors hope to contribute to ongoing, critical conversations in the field by providing preliminary baseline data that verify and underscore the need for increased critical attention toward the books selected for…