To discover the educational and social implications of identity formation and reader response when using multicultural literature with children in the primary grades, a study analyzed the responses of 110 primary-aged children in central California to eight books that portrayed male and female children from four ethnic groups in America: Asian Americans, African Americans, European Americans, and Hispanic Americans. Overall, no evidence was found to indicate that children in the primary grades respond differently to children's books based on the ethnicity of the main characters. Findings suggest that a good story may transcend ethnicity in the minds of young children. (Contains 11 references and an eight-item annotated bibliography of the children's books used in the study.) (Author/NKA)