Abstract:
ABSTRACT
INTEGRATING MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE IN K-2
CLASSROOMS: A GUIDEBOOK FOR THE
EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF
EXEMPLARY MULTICULTURAL
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
by
Lauren S. Wilson
Master of Arts in Education
Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Learners Option
California State University, Chico
Summer 2009
This project discusses the value and importance of multicultural children’s
literature and the need for teachers to incorporate such literature in the classroom. The
purpose of this project was to create a resource for teachers that was comprised of a
checklist for evaluating literature and an annotated bibliography that provides examples
of exemplary literature. The first part of this project that this author created is a checklist
for evaluating and selecting exemplary multicultural children’s literature that can be
used in the kindergarten through second grade classroom. The checklist was designed to
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assist teachers in choosing culturally sensitive exemplary children’s books that will expand
young reader’s conceptions of the world which we live. It was this authors hope that
the checklist created would be user friendly and easily accessible. The purpose of the
checklist is to provide a tool that will aid in selecting exemplary literature for the classroom.
The second component of this project was the annotated bibliography. The annotated
bibliography that is provided is comprised of fifty books that are great examples of
exemplary children’s books. These books will serve to guide teachers in choosing such
selections and will be a resource for teachers in the classroom. The bibliography was designed
to provide teachers with a basis for developing their own list of great books. The
goal of this project is to help aid in the selection of children’s books to ensure that those
chosen represent the multicultural nature of the world and serve the needs of all our students.
This author believes that multicultural literature can serve as a tool in bringing cultures
together.
