Where's the Multi-Culturalism

One of our student teachers came by my office this week, looking for help with a paper she’s writing.  Her thesis is that kids will be more engaged with reading if the protagonists in their books are of the same race.  She’s right.  Unfortunately, she was trying to prove that the books are out there, if we just look.  That’s where her argument falls apart.  I spent $13,000 on books for our book room last year, and one of my goals was to find books with minority protagonists.  It’s not as difficult in upper elementary books, or if you are looking for African American or Asian characters.  However, if you want easy texts or Hispanic or Middle Eastern characters, you’re almost out of luck.  In a school like mine, that’s 75% Hispanic, that’s a problem. 

There are a few bright lights on the horizon, and if it’s out there, it’s in my book room.  If you are reading about the Civil War or the Civil Rights Movement, you can find a number of texts about African Americans.  I love A Picture of Freedom, Martin’s Big Words, Goin’ Someplace Special, and Barefoot.  However, not all kids can relate to historical fiction or biography.  We need books with contemporary settings and real kids.  The Stories Julian Tells is a beautifully written book at about a 3^rd grade reading level, and it’s now a series.  Another, that I discovered last May, is Darnell Rock, Reporting.  It’s perfect for a reluctant 5^th or 6^th grade reader.  Darnell isn’t particularly into school, until he is heavily encouraged by the principal to join the school newspaper.  It turns out he’s quite passionate about homelessness in his community.  There’s also Amazing Grace, a picture book about a little girl determined to play Peter Pan, even though she’s black and a girl.  I’d also recommend almost anything by Jacqueline Woodson and Candy Dawson Boyd, but they are geared towards upper elementary students.  There are a few publishers that specialize in guided reading books, and have some African American characters at a first grade level.  Rigby offers Matthew and Emma, a set of twins, and the very athletic Jordan.  However, you’d probably have to buy them in sets of six.

Of the thirty or so kids I see a day, about 90% are Hispanic, and I frequently find myself looking for books like Salsa Stories. It features a Latino family gathering for the holidays, and the oldest daughter begins collecting family stories.  My students enjoyed the Spanish words sprinkled throughout the text.  Pam Munoz Ryan has two wonderful books with Latina protagonists, Becoming Naomi Leon and Esperanza Rising, about a girl who becomes a migrant worker after her rich father is killed in Mexico.  Both are difficult reads, though.  Gary Soto is a prolific Hispanic author who’s written some wonderful books, like Too Many Tamales and The Skirt.  Tomas and the Library Lady and I love Saturdays y Domingos are excellent picture books.  The latter is about a young girl who spends Saturdays with her English speaking grandparents and Domingos with her Spanish speaking abuelos.  Unfortunately, that’s about it, unless you want a biography of Pele or Cesar Chavez. 

When kids see themselves reflected in their books, they are more likely to read; and the more they read, the more invested they become in school.  I suspect that the lack of minority protagonists in the canon, contributes to the documented achievement gap between minority students and their white counterparts.  Until we can create a truly multi-cultural world view, our kids will continue to suffer the consequences. 

Books with Minority Protagonists

The Watson’s Go to Birmingham – 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King by Doreen Rappaport

A Picture of Freedom by Patricia McKissack

Goin’ Someplace Special by Patricia McKissack

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad by Pamela Duncan Edwards

The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron

The Circle of Gold by Candy Dawson Boyd

Darnell Rock Reporting by Walter Dean Myers

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman

The Skirt by Gary Soto

Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto

Salsa Stories by Lulu Delacre

Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora

I Love Saturdays y Domingos by Alma Flor Ada

Going Home by Eve Bunting

Pele, King of Soccer/El Rey de Futbol by Monica Brown