Huntsman 1

Stephanie Huntsman
7 Oct. 2014
Childrens Literature
Annotated Bibliography
Bean, T. W., Moni, K. (2003). Developing students critical literacy: Exploring identity
construction in young adult literature. (pp. 638-648). International Reading
Association.
Although this article does not discuss divorce in great depth, it does talk about the
many influences on the lives of teens that form their identity construction. Issues
such as racism, pregnancy, divorce, substance abuse, family conflicts, and political
injustice all affect the identity of teens. Bean and Moni discuss how important young
adult novels that deal with these issues are to todays teens and how taking a critical
literacy approach with these students is crucial. They also did a study in which they
interviewed many English teachers and asked them their opinion on books and
critical literacy. Some believed that the purpose of these novels is to prepare them
for college, leaving the teacher at the center of instruction and interpretation,
arguable giving little room for improving and developing critical interpretive skills.
Others felt that it is more important for the students to make personal and intertextual connections. The authors then used a book Fighting Ruben Wolfe to give an
example as to how to go about using it in a critical literacy context, including
questions to ask students and everything. They also gave a list of young adult
literature in both Australia and the United States that can be used in a critical
literacy context. This article is helpful because all social issues shape identity and it
is important for teachers to guide students in a positive manner through the use of
literature.
Because they deal with issues that are relevant to teens, including racism,
pregnancy, divorce, substance abuse, family conflicts, and political injustice, young
adult novels provide a roadmap of sorts for adolescents coping with these issues in
real life. (p. 638).
At the center of all of these themes are questions of character identity and values.
These themes lend themselves to exploration through a critical literacy framework.
How high school teachers approach literature sends messages to their students not
only about what kinds of literature are valued but also who is valued (p. 306).
Children and Divorce. (2013, December 1). Retrieved October 8, 2014, from
http://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_
Families/Facts_for_Families_Pages/Children_and_Divorce_01.aspx.
This article discusses how children can be affected by divorce and ways to best help
them cope with the fact that their parents are splitting up. It is stated in the article

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that it is extremely important to let the children know that even though one parent
is moving out, both parents still love and care about the child and will always be
there for them no matter what. The article also talks about the importance of
making sure children know that the divorce is not their fault. Finally, it discusses
some negative behaviors, such as aggression that could be shown as a reaction to
the divorce.
One out of every two marriages today ends in divorce and many divorcing families
include children.
Children often believe they have caused the conflict between their parents. Many
children assume the responsibility for bringing their parents back together, causing
them additional stress.
Young children may react to divorce by becoming more aggressive and
uncooperative or by withdrawing. Older children may feel deep sadness and loss.
Their schoolwork may suffer and behavior problems are common.
Clark, L.W., & Whitney, E. (2009). Walking in their shoes: Using multiple-perspective
texts as a bridge to critical literacy, The Reading Teacher, 62, 530-534.
Clark and Whitney discuss in this article the disconnect between the insistence that
critical literacy is important and should be done in the classroom, and the lack of
guidance as to how to incorporate critical literacy in the classroom. Many states
even include critical literacy in their state standards, but little instructions as to how
to do it. This article talks about how critical literacy can be used in the classroom in
a beneficial manner. The authors talk about deconstruction, or taking the piece
apart, and reconstruction, or putting it back together, and how to do these types of
activities. Their examples include visual representation, making connections and
disconnections, readers theatre, and graphic organizers for deconstruction, and
diary entries, and rewriting familiar stories for reconstruction. This article also
discusses taking social action. The authors of this article reiterate the fact that the
idea of taking a critical literacy approach in the classroom is very hands-on. The
students have to participate in order for them to get anything out of it, which is
highly beneficial to their learning.
Although pure critical literacy defies a how, many teachers are desperate for their
literacy instruction to make an impact on their students' lives but need an entry
point to get them there. (p. 530).
Getting students to see beyond their own lives is one of the difficult but most
essential aspects of critical literacy. (p. 534).
Critical Literacy Article: Leland, C.H., Harste, J.C., & Huber, K.R. (2005). Out of the
box: Critical literacy in a first grade classroom, Language Arts, 82, 257-268.

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Kim Huber had been teaching first grade for five years and had not thought about
using critical literacy in her classroom because she did not know if her students
could relate. She took a masters course on critical literacy and, as her curiosity
grew, she began meeting with teachers who took a critical literacy approach during
story time in their own classrooms. They discussed issues such as homelessness and
racism with young children. Huber began to do the same with her first grade
students and was amazed by their reception. They began to make intertextual
connections and think about the stories they were reading more deeply. They began
to say things like thats not fair when reading books about racism, and how do
people live like that? when reading books about homelessness. Their drawings
were more in depth and actually illustrated their feelings as well. After reading a
story about homelessness, Hubers students began bringing in cans for a food drive,
and instead of worrying about winning, they just wanted to help people. And
collected over 205 cans. This article shows that even the youngest of children have
the capability to think critically and encourages teachers to not put their students in
a box just because they are young or do not experience racism or other issues.
Hubers students were all white and came from rural backgrounds, but nonetheless,
they began showing more kindness and tolerance to each other after she began
reading them books about homelessness and racism. Books have a much greater
impact on children than many would think. This article also gives examples of
questions to ask children and activities to follow up with when reading them books
about social issues. Every teacher should read this article because it gives a great
perspective on using critical literacy in the elementary classroom.
One thing, which may at first glance seem insignificant, is how well my students get
along with each other. This is my seventh year teaching and always by February,
they are griping at each other over trivial issues While other teachers complained
about the nitpicking behavior going on in their rooms, I had to sit in silence because
I was not experiencing this with my students. When I mentioned that we havent
had these kinds of problems, they looked at me like I was trying to cover something
up. (p. 261).
In my wildest dreams, I would never have thought my students would have come
so far in just one school year. At the beginning of the year, they simply saw a book as
being for their enjoyment, like a Disney experience. They now look critically at texts,
looking for clues into the meaning the author intended. They have examined books
for hidden assumptions and have looked at how the readers are being positioned
through these texts. (Journal, 0403). (p. 264).
These children do not all have tidy happy endings in their lives. Using critical texts
opens their eyes and my own to world issues. This helps to create understanding
and provides connections for kids whose lives do not fit what they think is normal
such as the family of four with both parents and a dog in the backyard. (Journal, 03
03). (p. 267).

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Gopalakrishnan, A. (2011). Prejudice, bullying, abuse, and other challenging
situations. In Multicultural childrens literature: A critical issues
approach. (pp. 175-192). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Pages 175-192 in Gopalakrishnans Multicultural Childrens Literature: A critical
issues approach discusses the effects of divorce and abandonment on children.
Unfortunately, the divorce rate in the United States is only increasing, while the
marriage rate is declining, meaning that more and more children are growing up in
single-parent households or are splitting time. This can lead to many averse
emotional effects on children and they can begin to feel isolated or responsible for
their parents split, therefore it is incredibly important for them to hear stories
about other children just like them so that they do not feel alone. It is also not
unusual for children with divorced parents to develop abandonment issues. They
often fear that because one parent moved out and left their other parent that they
would be left as well, which can lead to a whole host of psychological issues down
the line. Luckily, there are childrens books, such as Was It the Chocolate Pudding? A
Story for Little Kids About Divorce, by Sandra Levins, I Dont Want to Talk About It: A
Story About Divorce for Young Children, by Jeanie Franz and Kathryn Finney, Its Not
the End of the World, by Judy Blume, Here Today by Ann Martin, as well as many
others that discuss divorce and even abandonment in a developmentally
appropriate manner for even the youngest of children, and it is important that these
resources are given to families going through these tough times.
We cant ignore the fact that the United States has the lowest percentage among
Western nations of children who grow up with both biological parents, 63%, (Jason
2005), (p. 188).
There are too many children in our classrooms who experience this same thing.
Divorce is a part of every single childs life in one way or another, be it friends
whose parents are divorced, a family member, their own parents, or their parents
friends. This issue is not going away and it is one that children need to know they
can discuss, (p. 190).
In a divorce, the children are the ones who usually suffer most and experience
great confusion and hurt, (p. 190).
Whether children are a product of divorce, left to be raised by someone other than
a parent, or have had a parent walk out on the family for one reason or another, they
feel alone, not just because they have been abandoned by a parent, but because they
dont think anyone else is going through the same thing, (p. 191).
Kramer, P. A. (1996). Preparing Teachers To Help Children and Families of Divorce.
Pamela Kramer conducted a study in which she surveyed many teacher education
programs to find out if teacher educators were including the topic of divorce in their
curriculum as this is a reality for over half of the children in America. Through her

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research, she found that in many of the programs, divorce was discussed as part of
the families unit, others used it in social studies methods classes, some dealt with
divorce in the context of childrens literature, while others briefly discussed divorce
in sociology and psychology classes. Still, other programs dealt most heavily with
the subject of divorce during their time student teaching. Although many programs
do discuss divorce, it was found that it is not talked about as in depth as it perhaps
should be as it is a growing issue in society. The other of this study also included at
the end of her paper childrens literature that deals with divorce such as, Divorce
can Happen to the Nicest People, Shes Not My Real Mother, Always my Dad, and many
others, teachers guides including The Impact of School Policies on Noncustodial
Parents, Children of Divorce: How Teachers can Ease the Pain, and more, and even
audio-visual sources such as Children of Divorce, Fatherless in America, among others
to help train teachers. This would help teachers approach the issue of divorce
because it talks about the importance and gives many resources.
There have been a limited number of studies which have focused on preparing
teachers to help children and families of divorce. Numerous studies have identified
the possible effects of divorce on children. These effects include decreased academic
performance, chronic maladjustment problems, and difficulties in peer relations.
(Frieman,B.B.,193;Kurtz,194;&Fortes,1991).
With the lives of more than half of the children in our country being directly
affected by this trauma, it is critical that teachers be prepared to be supportive and
effective in helping these children and their families.
Leon, K. (2014, January 1). Helping children understand divorce. University of
Missouri Extension. Retrieved October
21, 2014, from
http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=GH6600.
Leons article, Helping Children Understand Divorce, discusses the importance of
talking to children about the decision their parents are making in an ageappropriate manner. It talks about how when the subject is discussed, both parents
need to be there. The parents must reassure their children that all of their needs are
going to be met, ie someone will be there to make them breakfast in the morning
and tuck them into bed at night, etc. Parents also must ask their children about their
fears and concerns, and really listen to them. It is imperative that the children
understand that divorce is final so that they do not have false hopes of the parents
reuniting. This article also gives bullet points of what children need from their
parents once they are divorced, including both staying involved in the childs life,
only speaking positively about the other parent in the presence of the child,
communicating messages directly to the other parent instead of having the child be
the messenger, and many more. Parents need to also understand that there could be
some sibling rivalry sparked by divorce as well as feelings of anger. Leons article
does a good job breaking down common reactions of children based on their age as
well. Finally, the article talks about using books, such as Its Not Your Fault, Koko

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Bear, Dinosaurs Divorce: a guide for changing families, How do I feel about: My
Parents. Divorce, and Pre-Teen Pressures: Divorce for children, and Making Divorce
Easier on Your Child: 50 Effective Ways to Help Children Adjust for adults to make
talking about divorce with children a bit easier. I think this article is good because it
gives instructions and guidelines from multiple angles and talks about using books
to further discuss this difficult topic.
I need both of you to stay involved in my life. Even if you don't live close by, please
write letters, make phone calls, and ask me lots of questions about who I spend time
with and what I like and don't like to do. When you don't stay involved in my life, I
feel like I'm not important and that you don't really love me.
Reading books can give children a way to express their emotions and discuss issues
that they may not otherwise be comfortable talking about.
How do I feel about: My parents' Divorce. Julia Cole (1997). Copper Beach Books.
This book is written for older school-aged children with some reading skills, but
should be read at least the first time with a parent so that the child may ask
questions. Topics covered in the book include: why divorce happens, difficult
feelings, and feeling okay. Photographs and cartoon illustrations show that everyone
lives in a unique situation. The book reassures children that they are not alone in
having their parents divorce and that there is more than one way that problems may
be solved.
Mankiw, S. and Strasser, J. (2013, March). Tender topics: Exploring sensitive issues
with pre-k through first grade children through read-alouds. Young Children.
Retrieved from: http://www.naeyc.org/yc/files/yc/file/201303/Tender_
Topics_Mankiw_0313.pdf
Children as young as preschool come from many different backgrounds and have
varying life experiences. Some have already dealt with loss and heartbreak, whereas
others still have their untarnished innocence. As an early childhood teacher, you are
likely to have both types in your classroom as well as children who have a different
type of family, for example two mommies or two daddies, a child who lives with
their grandparents, and so on. It is important that teachers know how to talk to
young children about sensitive topics such as divorce, death, family diversity,
disabilities, military deployment, incarceration, bullying, and many more, in an age
appropriate manner. Bibliotherapy is a great way to help children cope with these
issues. Mankiw and Stresser not only do a marvelous job talking about ways to
incorporate critical literacy in the classroom, but they also discuss the importance of
knowing the audience, whether the book is appropriate for the whole class, a small
group, or just a single child, whether it is the teachers place or the parents place to
introduce and discuss a particular topic, and the necessity of previewing the book
before showing it to children. They also give examples of books to read on different
topics, questions to ask, and ways to deal with misunderstandings that children are
likely to have when talking about mature topics. This article would serve as a great

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resource for early childhood teachers because it not only gives examples and
resources, it also hits on some issues and questions teachers deal with when trying
to incorporate critical literacy in the lower elementary classroom.
Books are mirrors in which children can see themselves. When they are represented in the literature we read, they can see themselves as valuable and worthy of
notice (A World of Difference Institute 2009).
Teachers can use bibliotherapy, the art of using literature to help individual or
small groups of children understand specific difficult experiences (Thibault 2004).
It is important to view tender topics not as problems, but as subjects that are part
of the everyday lives of children and families.
Remember, when teachers include all aspects of childrens lives and families in the
curriculum, children and families receive important messages about caring and
respect.
Meller, W.B., Richardson, D., and Hatch J.A. (2009). Using read alouds with
critical literacy literature in K-3 classrooms. Young Children, 64, 76-78.
This article discusses the importance of using critical literacy in the classroom in
general and gives examples of how to do this with the youngest of students. Meller,
Richardson, and Hatch do a good job of talking and explaining how reading
childrens books aloud to children is a great way to create a critical literacy lesson.
Included in this article are six steps to doing critical literacy read-alouds, and they
are selecting the book, previewing the book, developing critical questions to use
during the read-aloud and posting them in the book, conducting a mini-lesson to
activate childrens prior knowledge, doing a picture walk, and reading the story,
stopping to discuss the questions. The authors also give a list of criteria that books
with a potential critical literacy lesson should have, as well as ideas as to how to
introduce the book to the children in a way they will understand, and some
activities that can be done with the book to increase the meaning of the book. This
article would be beneficial for a teacher to read about critical literacy in general
because its importance is broken down in a way that is easy to understand and it
gives the teacher guidance as to how to approach critical literacy in their classroom.
In fact, texts are not critical in and of themselves; it is the conversations that take
place around the texts that qualify as critical. Teachers initiate critical conversations
through the questions they pose, (p. 77).
Every read-aloud does not have to be about a social concern that impacts the lives
of primary-age children, but every child should have the opportunity to think
critically about textual representations of the world, (p. 78).

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Roberts, S. K. & Crawford, P. A. (2008). Literature to help children cope with family
stressors. Young Children, 16, 1-8.
This article discusses the fact that children face many stressors in their everyday
lives, some minor ones such as a classmate not sharing or a toy breaking, and other
life-altering/changing ones such as divorce, death, deployment, separation, birth of
a sibling, and so on. Children need to know that they are not alone and that someone
else can relate to them, and sometimes, the best way for this to happen is through
literature. Well-written, high-quality childrens books are capable of great things.
They can be used to inform children of social issues and what is going on in the
world around them, they can act as comfort for children who are going through
something frightening or emotional, and they can even offer up ways in which
children can cope with different situations. The article also gives suggestions of
books for many different topics, such as My Family is Forever for adoption, I
Remember Miss Perry for death, The Days of Summer for divorce, To Everything There
is a Season for loss and separation, Red, White, and Blue Good-bye for military
deployment, to name a few.
First, literature serves as a point of reference so children can better understand
their life experiences. Second, literature offers insights into universal human
behaviors, emotions, and moral dilemmas. Finally, literature stimulates childrens
curiosity and encourages them to develop problem-solving skills to address
challenging situations. (p. 2).
Sometimes a child may imagine horrors that are just not possible, and books can
open the childs eyes to the real circumstances related to a problem. (p. 3).
Real life does indeed call for real books: books that provide information, comfort,
and models for coping with lifes difficult times. (p. 8).