List of articles/books for teachers to read...

I've compiled this list of resources teachers may want to work through when trying to incorporate cultural awareness in their literacy instruction (a quick synopsis or abstract of most resources is included):

Kiefer's The Potential of Picture books: From Visual LIteracy to Aesthetic understanding
This unique new look at children's picturebooks combines material from art education, research into how children learn, and the author's background as a practicing artist. It offers a thorough, thoughtful examination of applicable theories that draw together research from the fields of verbal and visual literacy and literacy and artistic response. Numerous practical suggestions are provided for increasing future teachers' understanding of the value of picturebooks in a literacy curriculum, as well as dozens of ideas for promoting literacy and language arts proficiency by involving youngsters and older children in picturebooks.

Kohl's Should we burn Babar?
In "provocative and entertaining essays [that] will appeal to reflective readers, parents, and educators" (Library Journal), one of the country's foremost education writers looks at the stories we tell our children. Available now in a revised edition, including a new essay on the importance of "stoop-sitting" and storytelling, Should We Burn Babar? challenges some of the chestnuts of children's literature. Highlighting instances of racism, sexism, and condescension that detract from the tales being told, Kohl provides strategies for detecting bias in stories written for young people and suggests ways to teach kids to think critically about what they read.

Lamme's Sheltering children from the whole truth: A critical analysis of an informational picture book
This article illustrates not only how students with special needs grew as writers in an inclusive writing community, but also how a fourth-grade teacher systematically structured the learning environment and tailored her instruction to guide her students to develop as writers as well as to improve their language skills.

Lewison's Dangerous discourses: Using controversial books to support engagement, diversity, and democracy
To extend children's understandings about economic disadvantage, some early primary teachers choose a critical literacy curriculum. In such a curriculum, teachers often introduce realistic children's literature to foster sustained and meaningful conversations with children about issues affecting the society. This article looks at four first-person accounts that show the powerful nature of critical literacy in shaping teaching practice, as teachers and children explore socially significant issues, examine available textual materials and resources, and work toward developing understandings that go beyond commonly held assumptions. The four stories provide powerful documentation of young children's ability to engage with these topics. The authors share the following accounts to inspire readers' interest in employing critical literacy with young children and reflection about ways to incorporate it into the classroom. Furthermore, the authors present suggestions for developing a critical literacy curriculum and a list of children's books about poverty.

Pantaleo's Young children and Radical Change characteristics in picture books
The Radical Change conceptual framework provides theory for understanding, appreciating, and evaluating three types of significant change in contemporary literature for children and youth: changing forms and formats, changing perspectives, and changing boundaries. A paucity of research has explored primary students' literary understandings of and responses to books with Radical Change characteristics. This article uses transcript excerpts from small-group interactive read-aloud sessions with grade 1 children to illustrate their understandings of and responses to the Radical Change characteristics in two picture books. The characteristics of Type One Radical Change (graphics in new forms and formats, words and pictures reaching new levels of synergy, nonlinear organization and format, nonsequential organization and format, multiple layers of meaning, and interactive formats), and one characteristics of Type Two Radical Change (multiple perspectives, visual and verbal), are used as a framework to discuss the grade 1 students' oral responses to and interpretations of the two books. The article also discusses the possibilities for language, literacy, and literary development afforded by picture books with Radical Change characteristics.

Sipe's The idea of a classic
"All literate people probably have a mental list of literary texts they consider classics; iclusion in this mental list is apt to be largely determined by the importance of these books to a person's own life. Most of us, however, would likely be hard-pressed to actually define our criteria for inclusion Justifying these criteria might be even more difficult." The article asks : What shall we look for and locate literary worth, significance, or aesthetic value? and What constitutes that literary worth, significance, and value?

Sutherland's Hidden persuaders: Political ideologies in literature for children

Woodson's Who can tell my story? from Fox & Short's Stories Matter: The Complexity of Cultural Authenticity in Children's Literature
The controversial issue of cultural authenticity in children's literature resurfaces continually, always eliciting strong emotions and a wide range of perspectives. This collection explores the complexity of this issue by highlighting important historical events, current debates, and new questions and critiques. Articles in the collection are grouped under five different parts (Woodson's tale is included in one of these five groupings.)