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Books on Critical Literacy

Technology and Critical Literacy in Early Childhood

By Vivian Vasquez and Carol Felderman

Negotiating Critical Literacies with Teachers: Theoretical Foundations and Pedagogical Resources for Pre-Service and In-Service Contexts

By Vivian Vasquez, Stacie Tate, and Jerome C. Harste

Making Literacy Real: Theories and Practices for Learning and Teaching

By Joanne Larson and Jackie Marsh

Literacy Moves On: Popular Culture, New Technologies, and Critical Literacy in the Elementary Classroom

By Janet Evans

Critical Literacy: A Collection of Articles from the Australian Literacy Educators' Association

By Heather Fehring, Pam Green, and Australian Literacy Educators'

Children's Books that Help Address Some of the Key Tenets for Critical Literacy

Following are some books I have been using lately for creating spaces to talk about critical literacy and key tenets of critical literacy as described in the book.

Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt
ISBN 978-1554530236
I use Scaredy Squirrel with both adults and children to talk about the hesitations, apprehensions, and fears that sometimes accompany attempts at engaging in critical literacies. Scaredy’s attempts at slowly tackling the unknown creates a nice space for talking about the fact that spaces for critical literacy do not just unfold, but that they need to be created and then expanded.

Duck Rabbit by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

ISBN 978-0811868655
Duck Rabbit is a terrific book for introducing the idea of perspective. As noted in the tenets for critical literacy outlined in the book, naming and unpacking perspectives are important skills for critically analyzing texts. I use the book to create a space for conversations around where our perspectives come from, as well as who decides which perspectives are privileged or marginalized.  I also use the book to talk about why reading a text from different perspectives helps us to make more informed decisions about various issues, topics, or events.

Zoom by Istvan Banyai

ISBN-13: 978-0140557749
In Zoom, things are not quite as they seem. As such it is another great book for talking about the importance of perspective: understanding the perspectives put on offer through books and understanding the perspective from which we read the text.  When using the book, I show my students one image at a time and have them say something or comment on the image they see. Each new image brings another twist in point of view causing the reader to shift the perspective from which they read the text.

Willy and Hugh by Anthony Browne
ISBN-13: 978-0099407799
Willy and Hugh is primarily a book about an unlikely friendship between a scrawny chimpanzee (Willy) and a strong ape (Hugh Jape). From beginning to end, the author/illustrator provides powerful images that direct our reading of the text. In a way the images lead us to read the text in particular ways and to assign labels like weak and strong to particular characters. It is the signs used to construct our reading of the text that can be unpacked creating spaces for talking about positioning and being positioned. How are the characters in the book positioned through the use of various signs (i.e., types of clothing). How are readers led to read the book using the signs? 

Having students create new signs to insert into the text, and talking about the effects this produces, is one way of helping them understand how one might position or construct readers differently.