As you’re working to diversify your library, you might consider exploring the linguistic diversity of the students in your classroom and in American society at large. Linguistically diverse children’s books can help accomplish this! Read below to learn a bit more about dialects of English and speakers of English as a new language, then find a few examples of books that depict dialect and language diversity.
“Formal” English – the type of English that is taught in school – is actually only one of many variations, or dialects. Two of the most recognizable dialects used in the US include African American English (AAE) and Spanglish, and some less recognized (and rapidly declining in use) include Cajun English, Appalachian English, and Gullah Geechee. Dialect diversity in the English language is something that should be celebrated, and it is important to appreciate and support students’ dialect use.
Many other children in our classrooms are emergent bilinguals (often referred to as English Language Learners, or ELLs). These students are developing proficiency in English, but are native speakers of another first language. This, too, deserves celebration and appreciation. In an increasingly globalized American society, we can support all students to recognize being multilingual as an asset by incorporating students’ L1 (first language) during vocabulary teaching, on word walls, in labels, and in texts.
Diversify Your Library with Language-Rich Texts Like These
Chato’s Kitchen by Gary Soto and Susan Guevara – A colorful, fun text mixing Spanish and English to celebrate neighborhood friendship
Flossie & the Fox by Patricia McKissack and Rachel Isadora – Gorgeously illustrated, clever, and written in African American English
I Dream of Popo by Livia Blackburne and Julia Huo – A beautiful Taiwanese story of family love across the globe, infused with Mandarin words
Petite Rouge: A Cajun Twist to an Old Tale by Sheila Hebert-Collins and Alison Lyne – Silly, sweet, and unapologetically Cajun
The Adventures of Molly Whuppie and Other Appalachian Folktales by Anne Shelby – Eclectic, mountainous illustrations that capture Appalachia
Happy reading,
Lauren
Dr. Lauren Breckenridge Padesky is a research scientist at the Indiana Institute on Disability & Community’s Early Childhood Center. She holds a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction – Literacy Education, and has formerly taught preschool through high school students to read and write in a variety of settings. Email her at lpadesky@iu.edu.
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