Danielle E. Forest

Critical Literacy Performances in Online Literature Discussions

In today’s media-laden environment, the ability to read text from a critical literacy perspective is imperative, particularly for librarians who influence children’s reading choices and behaviors. This study examines the critical literacy performances of students in an online, asynchronous, graduate-level children’s literature course using a qualitative approach to content analysis. The findings indicate that students performed critical literacy in four ways: (1) they unpacked the social identities and norms evident in the books, (2) considered characters and events from multiple viewpoints, (3) interrogated issues of power, authority, and agency and (4) analyzed the historical, cultural, and sociopolitical contexts of the books. While the findings reveal critical literacy can be enacted in the context of online courses, students’ critically literate thinking was sometimes limited and superficial, suggesting students’ understanding of critical literacy could be deepened with additional instruction and scaffolding.

From Rags to "Rich as Rockefeller": Portrayals of Class Mobility in Newbery Titles.

Abstract Several scholars have noted the prevalence of the discourse of upward class mobility in the United States, particularly within K–12 education settings. “Rags‐to‐riches” stories, an extreme form of upward mobility discourse, have been embedded in American culture for generations. However, the prevalence of upward mobility discourse in recently published books for children has not been widely studied. Children’s literature merits scholarly attention because it has the potential to influence the perceptions and worldviews of young people, and books for youth reflect the values that adults in a society want to pass on to young people. This qualitative content analysis, grounded in assumptions of the sociology of school knowledge and critical literacy, investigates representations of upward class mobility in 22 titles given the Newbery Medal or Honor between 2009 and 2013. The findings indicate 7 out of 22 books include poor and working‐class characters experiencing class ascendency. Characters became upwardly mobile by receiving a large sum of money unexpectedly, being adopted by a more affluent person, and gaining recognition from royalty or nobility. The presence of poor and working‐class characters in these titles is positive: American children, who belong to a range of class groups, can find characters like themselves in literature. Yet the portrayals of upward mobility in Newbery titles may reinforce dominant ideologies that value economic success and blame the poor for their circumstances.

Depictions of Social Class in Newbery-Winning Fantasies

Children’s literature is a reflection of what society values and what knowledge and beliefs should be passed along to future generations. Books are often considered means of socializing and educating children (Apol, 1998), and this is particularly true for works of fantasy. Gates, Steffel, and Molson (2003) contend “fantasy literature represents our personal need and the universal quest for deeper realities and universal truth” (p. 2), while Tunnell and Jacobs (2008) argue fantasy “clarifies the human condition and captures the essence of our deepest emotions, dreams, hopes, and fears” (p. 121).

“Immigrants of Us All”: Experiencing Migration and Movement through Batchelder Award-winning Translated Books

How do cultural identities such as religion, social class, and gender enable or restrict the freedom of characters in award-winning translated books for children? The movement of characters within a set of recent books recognized with the Batchelder award provides a global perspective on freedom and human rights and calls attention to contemporary and historical struggles of people around the world. This study suggests high quality titles that may help librarians and teachers develop children’s understanding of other cultures and the physical and metaphorical borders that constrain freedom of movement.