Criteria for Quality Multicultural Literature

Using multicultural literature in the classroom is extremely beneficial for students, yet some multicultural literature can be more harmful than helpful. Therefore, having the ability to examine and choose quality multicultural literature to use in the classroom is vital. This is not always as easy as it sounds, which is why through collaboration with fellow teacher education students we have developed a criteria for examining multicultural literature:

1. Language and illustrations elevate rather than diminish the underrepresented population being portrayed.
2. Author/illustrator has earned the “right to write” based on life experiences and/or research.
3. Illustrations and storyline are free of bias and/or tokenism connected to the underrepresented population.
4. Social consciousness – or lack thereof – buried in the subtext has been examined.
5. The book represents underrepresented people and/or ideas in a socially conscious way. 
6. The book is an example of good writing. 
7. The set of books provides more than a single story.

Hopefully this list will help you when you are choosing multicultural literature to use in your classroom!