Welcome!
This Companion Website for Teaching Children’s Literature: It’s Critical! provides additional materials to extend inquiry and support you in using children’s literature critically in your current or future classroom. Designed with both students and instructors in mind, the Companion Website features:
- Annotations. Children’s and adolescent literature discussed in the book—including author, year of publication, title, publisher, type of book, and a summary of what each book is about.
- Text Sets. Collections of books that provide many different perspectives on tough social issues such as war, homelessness, bullying, and racism.
- Resources by Chapter. This section contains handy links to URLs and other resources mentioned in the book. It also serves as a repository for suggestions for further reading from the first edition of the book.
- Invitations. These learning activities can be done with a whole class or by small groups. Specific invitations are provided to support the content in Chapters 2–9.
- Professional Development Suggestions. Groups of teachers may want to work together to expand their understanding of critical literacy. We see participation in a study group as one of the best forms of professional development because it entails active participation and lots of discussion with colleagues. Specific professional development activities are provided to support the content in Chapters 2–9.
Our wish for this website is that it will serve as a quick reference for experienced practitioners and a helping hand for those who are newer to the ideas shared in the book. Figuratively speaking, it is here to help you get your arms around a critical approach to teaching children’s literature.
—Chris Leland, Mitzi Lewison, Jerry Harste
