Last week, I presented a talk on cultural competence at the Ontario Library Association's Superconference in Toronto. The premise behind the talk was the need for schools, libraries and all institutions to go beyond tolerance and acceptance and become culturally competent. To that end, I shared lists of some books (but only a fraction of a fraction of the books that could be included!) of youngCanLit that could be used to support that endeavour, and thought that perhaps others might benefit from them as well.
If diversity is a window into other cultures, races, ethnicities, sexualities, families and individuals, then cultural competence is a mirror or a sliding glass door into those same identities. It is based on three main premises:
• recognizing the differences among students and families from different cultural groups;
• responding to those differences positively; and
• interacting effectively in a range of cultural environments.
(Lindsey, R.B., Robins, K.N. and Terrell, R.D. 2003.
Cultural proficiency: A manual for school leaders.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press)
I based my presentation on seven foci that need to be understood and honoured in order to become more culturally competent. There were:
• languages
• races and ethnicities
• gender identities and sexualities
• capacities and abilities
• family life
• Aboriginal ways of knowing and being
Becoming culturally competent is a tall order but one which must be addressed in order to become a considerate and full-functioning member of society. Everyone should be culturally competent, and awareness through youngCanLit is a great first step.
I hope these booklists, which I will present in a series of 7 posts, will help readers to come closer to achieving that end.
Let's begin with today's post focusing on...
by Ningeokuluk Teevee
Groundwood Books
24 pp.
Ages 3-7
2009
Inuit life
by Ian Wallace
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
1994/1998
Chinese, dance, celebration
by Tololwa Mollel
Illus. by Darrell McCalla
Red Deer Press
32 pp.
Ages 7+
2014
Tanzania, illness, ancestors, celebration
Reviewed here
by Johnny Issaluk
Inhabit Media
60 pp.
Ages 7+
2012
Inuit, Arctic, games, skills, survival
Reviewed here
by Itah Sadu
Illus. by Alix Delinois
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2017
Immigration, Jamaica
Haitian schoolchildren
Illus. by Rogé
Fifth House Publishers
44 pp.
Ages 7-11
2014
Haiti, nature, poetry
by Alma Fullerton
Illus. Renné Benoit
Second Story Press
24 pp.
Ages 5-8
2017
Philippines, fishing
by Karen Bass
Pajama Press
256 pp.
Ages 12+
2016
Cree, survival, legends, supernatural beliefs, tolerance
Reviewed here
by Rachna Gilmore
Illus. by Alice Priestley
Second Story Press
24 pp.
1994
Hinduism, Diwali
by Nadia L. Hohn
Illus. by Irene Luxbacher
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2016
Trinidad & Tobago, Carnival, absentee mother
Reviewed here
by Mahtab Narsimhan
Scholastic Canada
272 pp.,
Ages 9-12
2016
India, Hinduism, Mumbai
Reviewed here
by Bud Davidge
Illus. by Ian Wallace
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages
2009
Newfoundland, mummering, song
by Diane Carmel Léger
Illus. by Jean-Luc Trudel
Nimbus Publishing
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2016
French Acadian, Scottish, grandmothers
Reviewed here
by Scott Ritchie
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2015
Sts’ailes, salmon, ceremony
by Danielle Daniel
Groundwood Books
36 pp.
Ages 4-7
2015
Anishinaabe, totem animals
Reviewed here
by Mahtab Narsimhan
Dancing Cat Books
190 pp.
Ages 8-13
2011
India, abandonment, working children
Reviewed here
by Shenaaz Nanji
Illus. by Yvonne Cathcart
Second Story Press
28 pp.
Ages 4-8
2000
Indian food, shame, immigration
by Rachna Gilmore
HarperCollins Canada
162 pp.
Ages 7-10
2009
Immigration, cultural conflict, hockey, India, Hungary
by Alma Fullerton
Illus. by Kim La Fave
Pajama Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2016
Sri Lanka, monsoons, rice-planting, oxen, floods
Reviewed here
Downloadable book list available here
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