Who is in Your Classroom Library? An Exploration of Early Childhood Educators’ Usage of Multicultural Literature in the Classroom

• Main Author: Holts, Camille
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Virtual Commons - Bridgewater State University 2020
• Subjects: Pacific; First Nations
• Online Access: https://vc.bridgew.edu/undergrad_rev/vol15/iss1/14; https://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1467&context=undergrad_rev

In 2018 it was reported that 27% of children’s books published were about animals, trucks, and other objects and that 50% were based around white characters. This left room for only 1% of published books to be focused on American Indians/First Nations, 5% on Latinx, 7% on Asian Pacific Islanders/ Asian Pacific Americans, and 10% on African/ American characters (University of Wisconsin- Madison School of Education Cooperative Children’s Book Center, 2019). These statistics are alarming considering that books are the cornerstone of our children’s early education. Young children learn through what they see and what is read to them. Through the reading experience, children can learn about multiculturalism and people of color. The first step to ensuring that children are exposed to quality literature representing diverse characters is a teacher who is knowledgeable and trained to recognize culturally appropriate literature.