Diversity in Children’s Books
Select a children’s book that addresses a specific cultural/ethnic group, a specific social issue (gender, stereotype, alternative family lifestyle, physical or emotional challenge, disability, etc.) or a specific religion/religious group or culture.
Read the book, paying close attention to and noting how the culture, social issue or religion is portrayed.
Identify the author/illustrator’s attitude(s) and perspective(s) about the topic being written about.
Referring to the text/illustrations from the book, discuss in a formal 4-5 paragraph writing the author’s attitude(s) about the specific cultural group, social issue, or religion. Your writing should be written in third person.Links to an external site. Begin your writing with a strong thesis sentence placed at the end of your introduction. This sentence should serve as the focus of your essay. (Note: a strong thesis sentence includes the topic of your essay, your claim about that topic, and a list of main ideas you will use in the body of your essay to support and prove that claim.)
Begin each body section of your writing with a topic sentence that ties your reader back to your thesis claim and to one of the main ideas listed in your thesis sentence, but maintain consistency with the order of those main ideas.
In the body of your writing, discuss how the author/illustrator deals with the specific issue/topic you selected. Consider if the author/illustrator presents ideas fairly, accurately, and honestly or if the author/illustrator presents ideas unfairly, inaccurately and dishonestly. Consider why an author/illustrator might be objective or biased in their writing. (You may want to explore the background of the author/illustrator to better understand their perspective.) Use examples from the book to justify your reasoning.
Consider publication date and cultural, social and/or religious attitudes at the time of publication date. How does this date affect the accuracy of information, stereotyping, honesty, and tone of the book? How does the publication date affect the author/illustrator’s attitude about the subject?
Include in-text citationsLinks to an external site. and a work(s) citedLinks to an external site., and format your writing according to MLA 9 rules.Links to an external site. (Remember to proofread and edit your writing carefully before turning it in.)
