CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL ANALYSIS OF CHILDRENS LITERATURE

'CHILDREN'S LITERATURE IS A CONTESTED TERRAIN, AS IS MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION. TAKEN TOGETHER, THEY POSE A FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE TO BOTH CLASSROOM TEACHERS AND ACADEMICS. RATHER THAN DENY THE INHERENT CONFLICTS AND TENSIONS IN THE FIELD, IN "CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL ANALYSIS OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE MIRRORS, WINDOWS, AND DOORS", MARIA JOSE BOTELHO AND MASHA KABAKOW RUDMAN CONFRONT, DECONSTRUCT, AND RECONSTRUCT THESE TERRAINS BY PROPOSING A REFRAMING OF THE FIELD. SURELY ALL OF US - CHILDREN, TEACHERS, AND ACADEMICS - CAN BENEFIT FROM THIS MORE EXPANSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT MEANS TO READ BOOKS' - SONIA NIETO, FROM THE FOREWORD.CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL ANALYSIS PROVIDES A PHILOSOPHICAL SHIFT FOR TEACHING LITERATURE, CONSTRUCTING CURRICULUM, AND TAKING UP ISSUES OF DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE. IT PROBLEMATIZES CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, OFFERS A WAY OF READING POWER, EXPLORES THE COMPLEX WEB OF SOCIOPOLITICAL RELATIONS, AND DECONSTRUCTS TAKEN-FOR-GRANTED ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT LANGUAGE, MEANING,