Ethnic Children's Literature in the Schools / Frances Smith Foster.

American educational institutions have used the literature of a few Anglo men to represent American literature. The problem of this one-sided presentation was alleviated somewhat during the 1960s when publishers began to offer some works of ethnic writers, especially for elementary school children. This was the result of influence by the civil rights movement and the feminist movement, which made people aware that white men were not the only people who contributed to American literature. In the 1980s the discussions moved to the psychological impact of literature on the individual. Not only do multicultural reading materials enhance reading skills, but they also sharpen sensitivity on the commonalities of human experience and improve the self-esteem of racial and ethnic minorities. Some retrenchment has been in evidence in the past few years as ethnic literature has become less available than it was in the 1970s. Further, many recent books perpetuate common stereotypes and misconceptions about minorities. Some educators try to find the one book that encompasses the ethnic experience without realizing that no single work can represent the totality of a point of view. Others make the assumption that all books with ethnic characters are ethnic literature. Bibliographies with ethnic categories and identifiers can help educators to find and understand ethnic literature. (VM)

Microfiche. [Washington D.C.]: ERIC Clearinghouse microfiches : positive.