Abstract
Children’s literature is an important pedagogical tool in early childhood classrooms as it provides opportunities for young readers to engage with texts and to see the world from multiple perspectives. Central to cultivating equitable early childhood learning experiences is utilizing children’s literature with multiple representations of historically underrepresented individuals and communities. In this article, we report on our analysis of episodes of care (Noddings, Journal of Educational Change 2:35–43, 2001) across select Pura Belpré awarded texts for early childhood grades. Additionally, we share findings from across our critical multicultural analysis of these select texts to highlight depictions of age, sex, race, ethnicities, socio-economic status, and geographic regions. Discussion focuses on exploring an ethic of care across the voices and representations of Latinx youth and families in these awarded texts and how such conversations are vital with young children in today’s early childhood classrooms.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the authors and illustrators of these awarded texts as well as the careful review of the ALA Pura Belpré Award Selection Committee.
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Vaughn, M., Massey, D., Vitullo, A. et al. Narratives of Care: Portrayals of Care in Pura Belpré Awarded Texts for Young Readers. Early Childhood Educ J 52, 909–920 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-023-01483-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-023-01483-x