Multicultural children's literature and values education

Abstract

This paper brings to the forefront the notion of values education and the pressing need for teachers and educators to enforce democratic values in our This paper brings to the forefront the notion of values education and the pressing need for teachers and educators to enforce democratic values in our[Archivio: /home/kike/Descargas/ailij/2009.pdf] increasingly diverse contemporary societies. I intend to emphasize the opportunities that children's multicultural literature offers for promoting such cross-curricular topics as education for diversity, tolerance or peace. After addressing the issues of values education, the civic potential of literature and the development of multicultural literature for children, four multicultural texts published in the United States will be presented as case studies. These include three picture books, Pat Moras Tomás and the Library Lady (1997), Naomi Nye's Sittis Secrets (1994), Toshi Marukis Hiroshima No Pika (1980), and Toni Morrison's photo-essay Remember: The Journey to School Integration (2004). I will show how these texts promote positive images of minority children, cross-cultural understanding and habits of empathy.