Responses to Articles

Observations on Publishing in 2011
The thing that stood out most to me about this article was the amount out of 3,400 picture books that were about or written by authors outside of white people.  I really had no idea, until we started talking about it in class, that other cultures were so left out of picture books and literature in general in today's world.  I think it's important to focus on the books that are out there and make sure we're incorporating those into the classroom.

Children's Books by and about People of Color Published in the United States
I think this article shows some shocking statistics as well regarding how culture is represented in literature.  I do think the statistics show that we are making progress year after year with the amount of multi-cultural literature published.  Society needs to keep pushing for more and more to be put into circulation. 

Cover Matters: On Whitewashing
I found this article very interesting. I am the world's worst to judge books by their covers, but I've never found myself thinking about the color of the person on the cover or if that person's ethnicity matches the color of the actual character.  It's such a subtle gesture that I would at first think that it's just coincidence, but after reading this article, I would think it's not the case.  I also thought the whole argument that covers with white people sell better is a crazy argument.  I do think this is something that needs to be looked into in the world of publishing.  It's definitely a subtle gesture that I think is possibly holding society back slightly.

For Young Latino Readers, an Image Is Missing
This article proves that even young kids notice subtle differences in how white children are represented in literature and mainstream media versus how other cultures are.  It's something that I think teachers can and should address in the classroom, especially if a student brings it up.