Annotated Bibliography: A Look At Culture And Children's Literature

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A Look at Culture and Children’s Literature Erick Juarez General Sociology 204 Dr. Ockerman 09 November 2014 Erick Juarez Dr. Ockerman General Sociology 204 09 November 2014 A Look at Culture and Children’s Literature Children’s books are often associated with pretty bright and vibrant pictures, simplified language structure, and stories that resonate with the hearts of 5 year-olds. The main purpose for children’s books is of course to provide enjoyment for children. However, though the words of children’s books one can see the time and culture from when these books were written. This observation has led to some theories as to whether these children’s books have left a subconscious effect on the way that children view culture. For my project, I chose two children's books to read, compare, and analyze the theme of ethnic culture found in children’s literature from the white view of the late 19th and 20th centuries. Yoko, is the first children’s book that I chose to read and analyze for this project. It was written by Rosemary Wells and published in 1998. It’s about a small Japanese school girl who has some bullying issues. On one occasion Yoko’s mom packed Yoko, her favorite lunch-time food, …show more content…

Multiculturalism is defined in our text as the coexistence of several cultures in the same geographic area, without one culture dominating another. This is shown when the teacher holds the international food fair and the students bring numerous dishes such as Nigerian nut soup, Caribbean coconut, enchiladas, and Yoko's sushi. This reflects the different nations that are present in the classroom and it really shows what a common American classroom would look like today. By definition the American culture is a mixture of a variety of cultures. This is best exemplified when Timothy and Yoko open a restaurant that has equal numbers of the dishes they both love from their individual