Full Description
Building on and inspired by the work of Paulo Freire, this book offers an accessible introduction to how children's literature can be used in classrooms to explore cultural diversity and nurture collective qualities of shared joy, love and agency. The authors show how critical pedagogy and culturally responsive instruction can create meaningful ways for parents, teachers, and community leaders to engage with children's and young adult literature. The chapters include discussions of polyvocality, student voice, critical parent engagement, hip hop and digital popular culture. The authors demonstrate how readings of children's literature, particularly multicultural literature, increase student joy, and engagement, reduce prejudice, and help students develop critical consciousness. Unique and theoretically grounded, the book presents many opportunities to weave the ideas of Freire into the fabric of K-12 schooling.
Contents
Series Editors' Foreword
Introduction: Freirian Approaches to Teaching Children's Literature: Joy, Voice, Agency, Responsiveness and Love
1. Becoming Powerful Readers of the Word and the World: Multicultural Readings of Children's and YA Literature
2. Multicultural Literature and the Promotion of Social Awareness in ELA Classrooms
3. Linking the Word to the World: Connecting Multicultural Children's Literature to the Lives of 21st Century Youth
4. Student Voice and Agency in the Polyvocal Literature Classroom
5. Critical Family Engagement in Reading Multicultural Literature
6. Conclusion: The Future of Children's Literature is Already Here
References
Index
