The CATESOL Journal

The American educational curriculum has historically lacked images of diversity and differing worldviews. Although progress has been slow in changing this fact, multicultural books for K-8 students are more widely available than in the past several decades. Authors, illustrators, publishers, and educators are more committed to providing a large collection of culturally responsive resources. Nevertheless, teachers are responsible for choosing high-quality books to share with their students. This process requires carefully evaluating each work. Just because a book is approved by the district, a gift from a publisher, or the result of funding from a large corporation, it isn’t necessarily an appropriate choice for students. In this article two teachers model the process of choosing high-quality culturally responsive books for students, using a comprehensive list of guidelines to critically examine both text and illustrations.