Description
Book SynopsisTeachers' selection of the literature they use in instruction frequently depends on how they interpret, in other words whether or not they accurately take in the authors' perspectives. This point presents a particular challenge in the selection of international literature. International literature reflects a country's and a region's unique cultural values and practices and is usually not written for people outside the country of origin. Therefore, it is possible that readers in other countries may not understand/be aware of those values and misinterpret the stories. Since Asian and the Western countries, including the U.S., hold maximum sociocultural differences and the perceived cultural distance has remained significantly wide, reading and interpreting literature from Asia can present tremendous challenges to Americans. The book addresses the challenges teachers face when interpreting and teaching with international children's literature from Asia. The book engages readers with c
Trade ReviewYukari and Daniel Amos have produced a crucial addition to the teaching of language arts with (Mis)Reading Different Cultures: Interpreting International Children’s Literature from Asia. This edited collection of essays invites and obliges teachers, parents, teacher educators, and specialists to broaden their scope of children’s literature by encompassing into the curriculum iconic titles written by Asian authors. Even the most veteran and experienced literacy educators will be find nugget after nugget of practical and theoretical gems to assimilate into their practice and classrooms. This book addresses a glaring void in teacher training, professional development, and overall pedagogical understanding – namely awareness and appropriate utilization of literature written by, and in the language of Asian writers of children’s books. I expect this text to show up on many syllabi of children’s literature courses in teacher education programs. -- Cory Gann, professor emeritus, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington
Educators from all walks of life need to nurture future generations to be globally successful citizens. Global awareness and cultural sensitivity are among the first steps necessary to achieve this. This book is way overdue for teacher candidates’ training so that the participants will be sensitive to all cultural differences in their students so that their students will learn to be sensitive to their future colleagues. Furthermore, this is an excellent guide book for public school teachers and teacher candidates to instill a love of reading in their students through awakening young readers’ curiosity by reading books and stories from different cultural and historical perspectives. It is well understood that current teacher education programs do not include enough cultural education and ethnic sensitivity. In order to meet the needs of k-12 students’ global future, this is a must read for current teachers and teacher candidates. -- Fumie Hashimoto, professor and associate dean, College of Education and Counseling Psychology, Saint Martin’s University, Lacey, Washington
Table of ContentsForeword: The Danger of Cultural De-contextualization in Studying Diversity through Literature Geneva Gay Preface Yukari Takimoto Amos Acknowledgements Introduction Daniel Miles Amos Part I: Issues and Concerns Chapter 1 – Preparing Our Students for the “Right” Future: Using Children’s Literature to Promote Cultural Understanding Kathy Brashears Chapter 2 – Authenticity: In the Eye of the Beholder? Sharryn Larsen Walker Chapter 3 – Cultural Differences, Interpretations, and Power Yukari Takimoto Amos Part II: (Mis)interpretations Chapter 4 – The Cultural Battle Between East and West: Chinese Mulan Meets Disney’s Mulan Annie Yen Ning Yang Chapter 5 – Remembering the Dark Past: Stories of the Korean War and Korean Immigration in American Children’s Literature Chong Eun Ahn Chapter 6 – Reading with Cultural Empathy: Why Is It Difficult? Yukari Takimoto Amos Chapter 7 – Reading Analytically and Feeling Connected: When Indonesian Preservice Teachers Read Foreign Stories from China, Iraq, and the U.S. Tati Lathipatud Durriyah About the Editors About the Contributors
