Many Books, Many Stories : Using Children’s and Young Adult Literature to Open Classroom Conversations

Many Books, Many Stories aims to provide both the rationale for engaging in work with inclusive children’s and young adult literature and the resources necessary for teachers, counselors, librarians and school administration to incorporate diverse literature into the classroom or into school-wide contexts. The authors provide multiple perspectives and examples of texts that open conversations about powerful topics and ideas that arise in many children’s and young adult books. Indeed, it is not enough to just have access to many stories; teachers must consider the ways in which they can engage in discussions around books and their importance. This volume serves to prepare both teacher candidates and in-service teachers to become reflective practitioners who embrace responsive literacy instruction and who work to ensure equity in literacy education. Therefore, this book serves as a resource to guide educators with both pedagogy and curricular content—embracing stories and amplifying voices with children’s and young adult literature.

"The collection of chapters in this volume is inspiring. Striking a perfect balance between theory and classroom practice, this volume provides a convincing reason as to why the use of children’s literature is critical and necessary in today’s universities, schools, and classrooms. The editors have done an excellent job in collecting a diverse set of engaging and insightful chapters to discuss matters of race, identity, inequality, and diversity."

—Bobbie Kabuto, Professor of Literacy Education, Queens College, CUNY

"This thoughtfully edited collection brings together a powerful collection of educators to discuss a crucially important topic in classrooms today. The authors push the reader to question and critically reflect on how they can use literature to facilitate important conversations about diversity. The chapters challenge thinking but also provide multiple examples and the resources that will enable educators to provide spaces in the classroom for children to see their lives reflected in literature."

—Sinead Harmey, Associate Professor in Literacy Education, IOE, University College London’s Faculty of Education and Society