Many Books, Many Stories

Kathleen Olmstead, Ed.D., is Assistant Professor of Literacy at SUNY Brockport where she teaches courses in elementary literacy education. Kathleen was a longtime classroom teacher and reading specialist. She earned her Ed.D. at Hofstra University.Serena Troiani, Ph.D., is an elementary classroom teacher in Port Washington, New York, and Adjunct Assistant Professor and Practicum Coordinator at Queens College, CUNY where she teaches courses in elementary literacy education. She earned her Ph.D. in literacy studies from Hofstra University.

• Bobbie Kabuto: Foreword – Preface – Kathleen Olmstead/Kathleen Colantonio-Yurko/Meredith Hutchings: "They are not the common stories that we were told, or that we have been asked to teach": Re-envisioning Classroom Libraries Through Inclusion of Global Children’s Literature – Patricia Paugh/Maria Acevedo-Aquino: Shifting the Discourse of Expertise Through Engagement With Quality Multicultural and Multilingual Children’s Literature – Gina Kelly/Pamela Tirrito/Serena Troiani: Embracing Our Students’ Stories Through a School-Wide Book Club – Jennifer Ashton/Grace Kelly/Amanda Flugel: Disability and Ableism in Literature – Amy Shema: Who is in Your Family?: Moving Toward a More Inclusive Representation of Diverse Families in Children’s Literature – Dori Harrison/Holly Spinelli: Reflections on Disrupting Historic Understandings and White Lenses on Teacher Pedagogy & Practice – Shelby Boehm/Mario Worlds: Anti-racist Teaching Using Young Adult Literature – Janeen M. Pizzo/Logan Rath: Empowering Students to Engage in Global Children’s and Young Adult Literature Through Multimodal Practices Using Instructional Technology – Contributors.

“This thoughtfully edited collection brings together a powerful collection of educators to discuss a crucially important topic in classrooms today. The authors push the reader to question and critically reflect on how they can use literature to facilitate important conversations about diversity. The chapters challenge thinking but also provide multiple examples and the resources that will enable educators to provide spaces in the classroom for children to see their lives reflected in literature.”—Sinead Harmey, Associate Professor in Literacy Education, IOE, University College London’s Faculty of Education and Society