The main purpose of this article is to investigate the intersection of early-literacy curricula, multiliteracies, and bilingualism by analyzing young bilingual children's conversations about gender and socio-economic class representations in animated storybooks. As part of a longitudinal study, the study focused on six kindergarten-age children at…

This study aimed to describe home literacy (HL) activities of Spanish-/English-speaking children of low-socioeconomic status backgrounds and examine the relationship between HL and performance on standardized assessments. Parents of 65 dual-language learners (DLLs) in kindergarten completed an HL questionnaire. Parents reported an average of 17…

This study aimed to describe home literacy (HL) activities of Spanish-/English-speaking children of low-socioeconomic status backgrounds and examine the relationship between HL and performance on standardized assessments. Parents of 65 dual-language learners (DLLs) in kindergarten completed an HL questionnaire. Parents reported an average of 17…

This article documents an extended Mexican family's social practices surrounding literacy as they engage with bilingual children's literature in a unique context that draws from both home and school without the pressures of curriculum mandates. The research is situated within the southeastern United States where English-dominant practices permeate…

This illustrated children's book teaches the numbers 1-10 by counting familiar people and animals. It is one of a series written primarily to provide Chinese-American youngsters with reading materials of their own. Teachers and parents outside the Chinese community who are interested in giving children a healthy and positive outlook toward the…

This illustrated children's book concerns traditional Chinese family activities centered around the birth of a baby. It is one of a series written primarily to provide Chinese-American youngsters with reading materials of their own. Teachers and parents outside the Chinese community who are interested in giving children a healthy and positive…

Describes how two teachers in a fourth-grade classroom adapted the idea of literature study to a format that nurtured first- and second-language learning for all their students. Shows how choice of reading materials and choice of language to discuss what was read provided opportunities for students to raise their levels of both fluency and…

This Spanish language picture and rhyme book about animals in the zoo was designed for Spanish-speaking students in grades 1 through 5. It is intended to meet the early reading needs of these students and to establish a foundation for the acquisition of reading skills. It may be used in compensatory education classes for Spanish-speaking students,…

Evidence for transfer of prior knowledge across first and second language inputs was shown when 211 kindergarten through sixth grade students, both monolingual English and Spanish/English speakers, were presented Aesop's fables and were tested for retelling the fables, responding to questions about fable character's motives, and extracting lessons…

With a multicultural approach to education, picture books and story books which provide children with their first experience in art and literature must be selected with consideration of the needs of the individual child, and of the culture he or she belongs to. This paper provides a list of criteria that children's literature should adhere to,…