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Childhood Education
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Supporting Immigrant Students' Understanding of U.S.

Culture through Children's Literature
a b c d e
Amma K. Akrofi , Jeanne Swafford , Carole Janisch , Xiaoming Liu & Vance Durrington
a
Department of Curriculum & Instruction , Texas Tech University , Lubbock , USA
b
Department of Elementary, Middle Level, & Literacy Education , University of North Carolina-
Wilmington , USA
c
Department of Curriculum & Instruction , Texas Tech University , USA
d
School of Behavioral Sciences and Education , The Pennsylvania State University-Harrisburg , USA
e
Department of Instructional Technology, Foundations, and Secondary Education , University of
North Carolina-Wilmington , USA
Published online: 25 Jul 2012.

To cite this article: Amma K. Akrofi , Jeanne Swafford , Carole Janisch , Xiaoming Liu & Vance Durrington (2008) Supporting
Immigrant Students' Understanding of U.S. Culture through Children's Literature, Childhood Education, 84:4, 209-218, DOI:
10.1080/00094056.2008.10523009

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2008.10523009

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 Supporting Immigrant Students’
Understanding o f U S Culture Through
Children’s Literature

H o w could 1, as me, meet these new people?
H o w would 1 have t o change? W h a t of me w a s
superficial and might be sacrificed,
and w h a t need 1 keep t o remain m y self?
-T. E. Lawrence (Cited in Clayton, 2003, p. 134)
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We particularly note Clayton’s (2003) discussion of
the importance of immigrant students’ cultural ad-
justment and describe her delineation of the culture’s
implicit categories needed by immigrant students in
order to enhance their school and academic success.

W
These became the basis for our selection and analysis
of children’s literature books. Second, we briefly dis-
cuss our own understandings and stances regarding
e begin this article with what we believe isClayton’scultural categories. Anexplanationofhow we
an implicit endorsement of an integration orientation identified books that include indicators of the cultural
toward acculturation. This orientation would suggest categories follows. We continue with summaries of
that students in our classrooms who are immigrants sample books and identify the aspects of culture they
hold on to aspects of their ethnic culture while, at the entail. Finally, we conclude with recommendations
same time, beginning to associate themselves with for classroom instruction.
the dominant culture. The ability to make these as-
sociations presumes practices on the part of classroom Theoretical Framework
teachers that will enablestudents tounderstand multiple The project was guided by two areas of inquiry: 1)
aspects of the dominant culture. These aspects move cross-cultural adaptation as proposed by Berry (1980)
beyond explicit culture and on to the less immediately and Kim (2001), and 2) literature in the teaching of
discernible forms of culture. culture to ELLs (Pugh, 1989). Berry, Kim, and Boski’s
Literature may be used to help students understand (1988) acculturation model identified four psycho-
the implicit nature of culture. Inspired by such scholars logical orientations that focus on how an individual
as Clayton (1996,2003)and based on a content analysis sees himself in relation to his ethnic culture and the
of 134 books, we identify and describe a sample of dominant culture: a separation, marginalization, as-
children’s literature that can serve to portray aspects similation, or integration orientation. According to
of American culture for immigrant students’ integra- Berry and his colleagues (1988), separation is when
tion into their new schools. Literature can help them the individual attempts to preserve his ethnic culture
”meet these new people” in their classrooms, learn the and maintain only minimal or no contact with the
expectations of their classmates and their teacher, and dominant culture. Marginalization occurs when the
generally learn toadapt to their new culture. Although individual sees hisownethniccultureas inferior while
we may have opted to consider the many dimensions
of culture, the culture of schooling is our focus. Amma K. Akrofi, Jeanne Swafford,
The term ”immigrant students” in this article refers to Carole Janisch, Xiaoming Liu, and
students from all parts of the world who have recently
immigrated to the United States (Lowery, 2000) and are
Vance Durrington
in 1st through4th grade. Such immigrant studentsalso Amma K. Akrofi is Assistant Professor, Department
tend to be English language learners (ELLs). Although of Curriculum & instruction, Texas Tech University,
Lubbock. Jeanne Swafford is Associate Professor,
cultural diversity exists among this group, one factor Departmentof Elementary, Middle Level, & Literacy
that unites them is their lack of socialization or accul- Education, University of North Carolina-Wilmington.
turation into US. society (Clayton, 2003). While we Carole Janisch is Associate Professor, Department
concur that they should be provided with children’s of Curriculum & instruction, Texas Tech University.
literature that is ”immigrant-sensitive” (Lowery,2000, p. Xiaoming Liu is Assistant Professor, School of Behav-
3) to their diverse cultures, we also believe they would ioral Sciences and Education, The Pennsylvania
benefit from reading literature that will promote their State University-Harrisburg. Vance Durrington is As-
understanding of their new culture. sociate Professor and Chair, Department of Instruc-
In the following sections, we first present the theo- tional Technology, Foundations, and Secondary
Education, University of North Carolina-Wilmington,
retical ideas underlying the notion of acculturation.

Summer 2008 209

 at the same time lacking the ability to participate in the
dominant culture, thus losing his identity and feeling
alienated. Assimilation is when the individual rejects
his own ethnic culture and detaches himself from other
members of that culture in order to become part of
the dominant culture. Finally, integration takes place
when an individual holds on to his own ethnic culture
while at the same time associating himself with the
dominant culture. The acculturation model of Berry
and his colleagues (1988) was used in Kim, Lujan, and
Dixon’s (1998) study on the identity experiences of
American Indians in Oklahoma. They found that none
of the participants had marginalization or assimila-
tion orientations and only a few had a separation; the
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majority had an integration orientation.
Even more germane to our study was Kim’s (2001)
communication theory of cross-cultural adaptation,
which explained the psychological and social processes
and activities that provide an enabling environment
for an individual’s integration. Kim proposed that
one factor, m i n i n u r i i c ~ t i 7 1 [iritcmctiorz
~ between that indi-
vidual and the dominant group, determines a minority
individual‘s or immigrant’s successful cross-cultural
adaptation and integration into the dominant culture.
That interaction, i n turn, is reciprocally influenced by
environmental factors in the dominant culture (e.g.,
that culture’s receptivity) and the individual’s predis-
position (e.g., his preparedness for change). Kim et
al. (1998) explain that when a n individual engages in
”prolonged and extensive intercultural com munication
activities” (p. 257) in the dominant culture, he is then
able to undergo “a gradual internal transformation i n
his functional fitnessand psychological health, vis-a-vis
the dominant milieu, as well as his identity experi-
ence” (p. 257). The variables identified in Kim’s (2001)
integration orientation support earlier studies (e.g.,
Dasgupta, 1983; Szapocznik & Kurtines, 1980), which
found that Asian Indians and Cuban immigrants in
the United States who favored that type of orientation
experienced much less stress than those who favored
separation.
Clayton (1996, 2003) also added credence to Berry’s
(1980) cross-cultural theory. As a n American born to
expatriate parents i n Turkey, she found herself an ”im-
migrant” in the United States during part of her high
school and all of her college years. She experienced
firsthand what it was like to ”meet these new people”
and yet retain her own identity; that is, she maintained
an integration orientation. Later, her experiences as
an ESL teacher and her subsequent research made
her even more aware of difficulties faced by newly
arrived immigrant students when they are suddenly
thrust into US. schools (Clayton, 1996). Based on those
experiences, Clayton asserted that immigrant students
not only often experience linguistic difficulties, they
210 Childhtrod Education
also experience difficulties with ”cultural adjustment”
(Clayton, 1996, p. 2) or acculturation.
Our contention is that for immigrant students, com-
municative interaction (as described by Kim, 2001)
takes place during classroom interactions among all
the individuals therein. As pointed out by Clayton
(2003) and Sung (1987), school is a secondary social-
izer, because compulsory education laws in the United
States ensure school attendance by the immigrant stu-
dent ”within a few days of his arrival” (Sung, 1987, p.
96). Unfortunately, and as pointed out by Sung (1987),
most initial school experiences for such students are
geared towards sharpening their linguistic skills (i.e.,
providing them with ”survival English”) rather than
addressing their cross-cultural skills, which areequally
as important.
As previously mentioned, some aspects of implicit
culture are less discernible. The literature reveals that
integration goes beyond learning the language and
adapting to food, clothing, folk dances, songs, and
pastimes-what researchers like Clayton refer to as
explicit or overt culture, the easiest aspects of culture
to learn. More important for immigrant students,
integration relates to such implicit aspects of culture
a s values, assumptions, and attitudes. These can
encompass more covert characteristics of classroom
culture, such as how teachers and students bond and
act towards one another; the communication that takes
place, including the rhythm and tone of the language
rather than the language itself; classroom settings and
organization; and the value and belief systems under-
pinning those characteristics. Value orientations, such
as respect, sexuality, aggressiveness, demonstrations
OF affection, and dependency (Sung, 1987), as well as
learning preferences and verbal and nonverbal com-
munication (Clayton, 2003), are aspects of the implicit
culture that immigrant students can learn about to aid
their integration into the new environment.
O u r second theoretical perspective relates to the
use of literature in the teaching of culture to English
language learners (ELLs). That viewpoint is supported
by several claims and research, including the following:
1) Sandra McKay’s depiction of literature as an ”ideal
vehicle for.. . introducing cultural assumptions” (cited
in Pugh, 1989),2) Beverly McLeod’s assertion that exam-
ining literary text with ELLs is a n exercise in cultural
relativity (cited in Gajdusek, 1988),and 3) Pughs (1989)
stance that literature provides comprehensible input
for ELLS at any stage of their second language acquisi-
tion. Particularly illuminating to us was Wan’s (2000)
work, which illustrated how children’s literature can
enhance integration. She explored the kinds of books
one Chinese family read aloud to their American-born
toddler. Intent on ensuring that the toddler also retain
her Chinese values, the family read to her what Wan
 (2000) referred to as Chinese storybooks with "heav-
ily didactic themes" (p. 401), which provided good
examples "of the didacticism valued within Chinese
culture" (p. 401). Wan explained that the intent was
to help the toddler emulate the "good kid" values in
the books, such as respecting the elderly, being polite,
having a sense of shame, working hard at school, and
being self-disciplined. Thus, the family would often
end their read-alouds with such moralistic questions
as, "Would you like to respect your teacher the way
the boy did in the story?" (p. 402). In this way, they
tried to guide the toddler to gain Chinese values to
complement the American values in which she would
be socialized at her U.S. school. We believe that using
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literature in a similar fashion has the potential to help
immigrant students assume an integrative orientation
and gain access to cultural understandings in their
new classrooms by exposing them to portrayals of
dominant U S . cultural content.
Clayton's Cultural Categories
In her book Oize Classroom, M a y Worlds, Clayton (2003)
identified four main implicit cultural categories-Val-
ues, learning preferences, verbal communication, and
nonverbal communication-that might help immigrant
students achieve integration. The categories were not
originated by Clayton herself but rather are based on
her insights from seminal studies on dominant and mi-
nority American cultures by such anthropologists and
psychologists as Althens (1988),Hall (1973,1984,1990),
Gardner (1989),Heath (1986),Hsu (1975),Kluckhohn and
Strodtbeck (1961), and Ramirez and CastaAeda (1974).
We briefly explain each category and, subsequently,
clarify the extent to which mainstream Americans,
as typified by three of the five authors, are bound by
the categories.
Values. Clayton (2003)asserted that individuals are
brought up according to values that have been handed
down from generation to generation. Different cultures
reflect different values-and/or hold some in higher
esteem than others-which results in different beliefs,
attitudes, and behaviors. Many times, individuals are
not aware of their own values and how they differ
from those held by others. Clayton cautioned that not
all classroom cultures are the same, nor is a dominant
culture considered better than others. Teachers can
create a classroom culture that supports immigrant
students-first, by understanding their own values and,
subsequently, by comprehending those of their students.
We agree with Clayton that the value orientations that
typically characterize U.S. classrooms include a belief
in the following: 1) the goodness of human nature
(e.g., one is presumed innocent until proven guilty);
2) a dominance of humans over nature (e.g., humans
have the ability to "overcome" nature by doing such
things as building bridges to span large bodies of water,
exploring outer space, and forecasting tornadoes and
hurricanes; while some immigrant students' cultures
of origin might hold a strong belief that supernatural
forces have some control over human activity); 3) an
emphasis on the future rather than the past or present
(e.g.,people prepare for college and save for retirement,
whilesome immigrant studentsmightbefrom cultures
that venerate the past); 4) a preference for doing over
briizg ( e g , Clayton explains that Americans like to keep
busy, in contrast to cultures in which people tend to
be defined by who they are rather than what they do);
and 5) individualism and competitiveness, rather than
collectivism, prevail (i.e., personal goals and competi-
tion seem to motivate the mainstream US. culture
and give such school expectations as students doing
assignments "on their own" precedence over group
work; conversely, some immigrant students might be
from predominantly collectivist home cultures that
are oriented toward group goals and thus experience
conflicts when expected to work on their own).
Learning Preferences. Clayton (2003)described two
learning preferences-field independence and field
sensitivity-that appear to be influenced by culture.
Characteristics of field independence include a prefer-
ence for working alone, attending to details, and focus-
ing on tasks. In addition, field independent learners
tend to emphasize analytical tasks. Characteristics of
field sensitivity include a preference for working with
others, caring about the feelings of others, and focus-
ing on the whole rather than on details. Students with
field sensitivity preferences value relationships with
teachers and excel when teachers use demonstrations
to teach. According to Clayton and based on our own
experiences, field independence learning preferences
are often stressed in U.S. classrooms. Therefore,teachers
need to become aware of immigrant students' learn-
ing preferences and attempt to teach in ways that are
inclusive of those learning preferences.
Verbal Communication. Verbal communication is
characterized either by high context, low context, or
a combination. As Clayton pointed out, low-context
situations generally dominate U.S. classrooms. That is,
teachers give, and students expect, very detailed and
explicit directions: "What is said is more important
than who said it" (Clayton, 2003, p. 97). Contextual
information plays almost no role. On the other hand,
in high-context classrooms (which may be most fa-
miliar to immigrant students), students do not expect
teachers to provide explicit directions or details. The
expectation is that "the context carries much of the
shared meaning" (Clayton, 2003, p. 96). Teachers do
not need to state what they consider obvious, because
talking a lot lowers the value of what one says.
Summer 2008 ' 211
 Noiiuerbal Coinmuiiicatioir. An estimated “60-90
percent of communication is nonverbal” (Clayton,
2003, p. 113). Nonverbal communication contains
both universal and culture-specific patterns, often
related to eye contact, facial expressions, gestures,
gaze behavior, touching (e.g., handshakes, personal
space, showing atfection in public), and posture (e.g.,
relaxed, sitting straight). Even the way furniture is
arranged and the way space is used (e.g., large-group
area, learning centers) affects communication. Cross-
cu 1t ural differences in such communication cont rib-
ute to miscommunication, misunderstanding, and
embarrassment. We agree with Clayton that when
mainstream teachers and immigrant students alike
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know that differences exist, they can take actions to
in i n i m i ze m i sconi mu n ica t ion.
How We Constructed Our Understandings
of the Cultural Categories
Three of the fi1.e authors are originally from the United
States. As we reflected on the categories identified by
Clayton, we wondered whether, in fact, they are what
all Americans subscribe to and if there is, indeed, an
American cultural commonality. This reflection was
particularly important, since culture is sometimes
considered elusive and contextually bound. We were
initially inclined towards the position that it is dif-
ficult to pinpoint tlw American culture, due to the
cultural multiplicity of the United States. After iurther
discussion and reading some of the more prominent
and decisive works on American culture, like Hsu’s
(1975) Tlrc N17ic~rirri17,Althens’ (1988) Ainericaii Ways,
and Ha 11’s (1990) 111i r f c r s t[7r i d ii i s Cu 1t LI ml Diffcr.tvice's,
however, we recognized that there are, indeed, cul-
tural similarities between the many different groups
making u p American society. For example, anecdotal
episodes from our individual lifeexperiences as well as
OLI r vast experiences as classroom teachers and college
professors indicated that we are, by and large, a nation
that favors individualism over collectivism. Therefore,
in considering the cultural categories vis-2-vis what it
means to he an American, the three of us responded
with an unequivocal ”yes” to the question: “Are there
characteristics that distinguish an American from a
Canadian, Mexican, French, South African, Chinese, or
Russian person, whether that American is from rural
or urban America, the midwest, northwest, northeast,
southwest, or the deep south?”
We decided that, perhaps, we as Americans are
prone to finding ”our culture” (i.e., the characteristics
that unite us) elusive because our differences-regard-
less of our class or origin or current locale-tend to
dominate or become reference points of our everyday
conversations. Because of that, ”our own culture is
unknown tous” (Clayton, 2003, p. 17).Therefore, unlike
Bruce Feiler (1991)in his eye-opening book Learriirzg To
Bo7c7, we perhaps d o not know how to access the root
of our American identity and claim for the world to
hear: “I am an American. I look, think, and act like
an American” (p. 209). We concluded that although
not everyone might hold fast to them, some cultural
norms and characteristics are dominant in U.S. public
schools; teaching immigrant students those norms may
help make their transition less burdensome and enable
them to move toward cultural integration.
Two of us are immigrants ourselves who studied
in American universities. This provided us a unique
insider’s perspective or lens through which t o view
the books and their content. Like so many immigrants
who enter the education system in the United States,
we have experienced the difficulties of understand-
ing the implicit culture associated with college. Yet,
we have come to ”meet these new people” through
books and, at same time, have remained mindful about
maintaining our personal identities, which are bound
in our cultures of origin.
Selecting Culturally Conscious Picture
Storybooks for Young Immigrant Students
For data collection and analysis, we used content
analysis (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2003, 2007) guided by
the four cultural categories, as well as the analyti-
cal observation of fiction method (Schur, 1997). The
content analysis was done between January and
December by reading picture storybook descriptions
and annotated bibliographies in four children’s lit-
erature textbooks (Hall, 2000; Huck, Kiefer, Hepler,
& Hickman, 2004; Kiefer, Hepler, & Hickman, 2007;
Rudman, 1995) to determine their cultural fit to the
Clayton categories described above. A total of 417
descriptions and annotated bibliographies of picture
storybooks were read. Using those descriptions and
annotated bibliographies, we narrowed our focus to
books appropriate for K-4 students, and then identi-
fied 134 descriptions that specifically portrayed the
four cultural categories.
Next, we adopted Schur’s (1997) procedure for using
fiction to collect field notes on a community’s culture.
Maintaining that great literature provides the reader
with an insider’s perspective on culture, just like ob-
serving and interviewing people firsthand, Schur
taught her 7th-grade American students how to ”enter
the setting” of 17th-century Iboland and observe the
people’s culture in TIiirigs F d l Apart, a novel by Chi-
nua Achebe, a Nigerian novelist/poet and winner of
the prestigious 2002 Peace Prize of the German Book
Trade. Based on that methodology, we each obtained
copies of the 734 books from public libraries, our uni-
versity libraries, and/or our departmental children’s
books collections, and read and reread them. At every
 reading, we focused on one of the cultural categories
and, subsequently, we did what Schur (1997) referred
to as analytical observation of fiction. That is, we
”entered the setting of the story,” played the role of
participant observers of the characters, and took field
notes to ”develop a broad picture of the natural and
social settings in which (the book) events (occurred)”
(Schur, 1997, p. 380). For example, after we classified a
picture storybook as having a high cultural content on
values, we first noted the kind of value and then how
characters conveyed that value. We ”listened in“ on
what characters said by selectively jotting down direct
quotations. Further, we considered point of view. If
the narration was first person, we paid more attention
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to what protagonists did rather thansaid. In books with
an omniscient point of view, we noted what characters
said to each other and/or said about each other, and
what they did, thought, and felt. Finally, we each wrote
content summaries of the 134 picture books.
We held bi-weekly meetings and/or exchanged
e-mails to discuss our field notes, summaries, and
the cultural contents each of us had identified. Inter-
estingly, more often than not, some of us attributed
different cultural contents to the same books. For
example, although one person placed David Shannon’s
No, D a z d ! in the nonverbal communication category
and commented that it would be great to discuss fa-
cial expressions and the emotions that go with them,
another placed the book under values, explaining that
it might help an immigrant student to understand
what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior in an
American classroom. Whenever that happened, we
selected and classified the books under the cultural
category we all agreed was the most prominent.
Moreover, we agree and emphasize that most of
the books on our list might additionally address
other values not considered in this study. We were
especially mindful of the fact that none of the authors
specifically set out to write their books with culture in
mind. Indeed, as Christopher Curtis, the 2002 Newbery
Medalist, once noted, no author sets out to write with
a genre in mind. They just write stories that speak to
them and hope they might appeal to children; they
leave the job of classifying books into genre (or, in this
case, cultural categories) to critics and reviewers. With
that in mind as we read the 134 books, we found each
to be culturally and thematically complex, containing
some of the Clayton cultural categories as well as other
general and abstract values.
Lastly, the books on our list span different genres
and themes/issues. We realized during our discus-
sions that Clayton’s cultural categories are not and,
indeed, do not have to be specific to any genre. Al-
though traditional literature is regarded as an ideal
genre for teaching about different cultures (eg, Kiefer,
Hepler, & Hickman, 2007), the values portrayed in
those books tend to be universal ones, such as cour-
age, love, kindness, truth, honesty, and good versus
evil. They are not about the more complex aspects of
culture specific to the acculturation and adaptation
of immigrant children to school life in the United
States. The book list we generated includes traditional
literature as well as biography, but mostly includes
books on contemporary issues concerning schooling.
We believe it is essential for literature being used for
culture instruction to include multiple genres.
Following our discussions and consensus building,
we developed a spreadsheet database that has book
titles, authors, story summaries, and cultural content.
In Figure 1,we provide summaries and cultural content
of four of the 134 books we analyzed. These books
were chosen because each portrays classroom- and
home-related activities of students in mainstream
schools. Each book typifies more than one of the
Clayton (2003) categories described above and thus
provides a strong example of appropriate picture books
for integrating primary-age immigrant students into
mainstream classrooms. In Figure 2, we provide titles
of 50 additional books and the predominant cultural
categories they represent.
Recommendations for Instruction
Cultural Awareness and Instruction. It is generally
accepted that immigrant students struggle in school
when they do not understand English. However, what
Clayton (2003) found was a beginning realization by
teachers that ”learning a language involves more than
just linguistics; it involves culture” (p. 3). Furthermore,
other researchers, such as Kasten, Kristo, and McClure
(2005), suggest that although many teachers assume it
is the student’s responsibility “to make the cultural
shift and to adjust to school” (p. 25), many immigrant
students drop out of school because of their inability
to make that cultural shift on their own. Therefore,
Clayton maintained that the essential ingredient for
students’ academic success is teachers‘ keen awareness
of U.S. classroom culture and immigrant students’
culture, and the corollary to that awareness is the
teachers’ necessary accommodation and promotion
of both cultures to foster what Kim (2001) refers to as
communicative interaction.
Cultural Awareness and Reading Instruction Us-
ing Children‘s Literature. We submit that children’s
literature can serve as the platform for considering
the necessary communicative interactions. The cul-
ture portrayed in children’s picture storybooks may
help immigrant students begin to feel empowered to
fit into the mainstream American classroom. It has
been suggested elsewhere that the language of liter-
ary texts is an “invaluable resource for ELLS strug-
Summer 2008 / 213
 gling to find a sense of self in their second language
culture” (McCafferty, 2002, p. 279) and that literary
texts provide a particularly valuable ”source of au-
thentic linguistic and cultural information for second
language students” (Godev, 1997, p. 634). We agree
with McCafferty and Godev. To that end, making
our list of books available as classroom resources for
both instructional time and independent reading time
seems imperative.
More specific to instructional time, 1st- through 4th-
grade teachers could focus on the cultural contents of
the books on our list as stepping-stones for prereading
questions on culture that immigrant students might
have, as well as for postreading activities that enable
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exploring, and applying.
The prereading stage of interactive read-aloud, shared
reading, or reading workshop minilessons occurs
when teachers activate or build students’ schema for
the books’ themes. One of the more popular schema-
building techniques is the K (What We Know) W
(What We Want to Know) L (What We Learned) chart
(Tompkins, 2007). Although originally devised by
Ogle (1986, 1989) for use with informational books,
we believe the strategy will be ideal for activating
the schema of mainstream students about pertinent
cultural contents in the picture books we have listed,
while also providing essential background knowledge
about those contents to immigrant students in the

such students to express their views about ongoing
cultural encounters and issues. The teachers may use
the books as resources in literature focus units for
interactive read-alouds, shared reading, and reading
workshop. Since those three reading instructional
contexts are typically organized into five stages to
maximize discussion and meaning-making (Serafini,
2001; Tompkins, 2007), they will enable teachers and
both mainstream and immigrant students in the same
~lassro(mito have whole-class, small-group, or buddy
cross-cultural conversations. The five stages of the
reading process are: prereading, reading, responding,
same classroom. For example, using a KWL chart
with Jon Scieszka’s Math Curse (1995) could result in
a fascinating brainstormed listing of things/events in
mainstream students’ homes that they could construe
in mathematical terms.
The responding stage of interactive read-aloud, shared
reading, or reading workshop mini-lessons occurs when
students sort out their thoughts and disclose personal
responses to the reading. One important strategy
that mainstream and immigrant students could use
to respond to some of the cultural issues raised in the
books on our list is grand conversations (Eeds & Wells,

Picture Storybooks for Young Immigrant Students

Learning Preferences (Field Independence) and Values (Doing Over Being)
Scieszka, J. (1995). Math curse. New York Penguin.
Summary. Mrs. Fibonacci, the math teacher, tells her students on Monday, “You can think of almost everything as
a math problem.” On Tuesday, the problems start for one student (the story‘s unnamed narrator). From the moment
her alarm clock rings, everyday situations turn into math problems. Obviously, her math teacher has put a ”math
curse” on her. At lunch, fractions surround her. In English, words are added together to make compound words.
All day long, she uses mathematical problem-solving skills to deal with real-world problems. The “curse“ continues
until the next morning, when she realized that she is no longer overwhelmed by math problems. But then she ar-
rives at school and, much to her chagrin, her science teacher says, “You can think of almost everything as a science
experiment. . . .“
Cultural Content. The bookembodies two important cultural categories: 1)the value of doing over being and 2) field
independent learning (i.e., analytical thinking). Concerning both categories, Clayton states that in American culture,
”We have the need to ’get things done,‘ or to ‘do something about it.’ This attitude infers that decision-making and
problem-solving rank high in the dominant culture” (Clayton, 2003, p. 57). One of the primary goals of instruction in
American schools is to teach children to problem solve, quantify, and focus on facts. Clayton states that many people
from the United States are preoccupied with numbers because quantification is viewed as a validation of facts. This
aspect of American culture, according to her, may not be as emphasized in some other cultures. Hence, Scieszka’s
book can be used to exemplify these values for children from different cultures.

Learning Preferences (Field Independence) and Values (Individualism)

Martin, J. B., & Azarian, M. (1998). Snowflake Bentley. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Summary. This is a biography about William “Snowflake” Bentley, who spent his life studying snowflakes. As a
child, he was intrigued by each snowstorm. Wanting to see what snowflakes looked like, he tried to view them under
a microscope. He was awestruck at what he saw and wanted to share it with everyone. Bentley tried to draw each
flake, but could never finish drawing one before it melted. When he heard about a camera that would take magnified
photographs, he went to his parents and requested that they purchase one for him. After he received his camera, it
Fi<yirw1

)I4 Ctrililhood Education

 took him two winters to finally get his first photqraph of a snowflake. He was eager to share his findings with the
world. Although some people found his work intriguing, many did not understand his fascination with snowflakes.
However, a university requested his photographs every year. During the other seasons, William Bentley took pho-
togf+hs of other thingsin nature, but his love for snmflakes surpassed everything; he even wrote a book about
ice crystals. Bentley died from pneumonia after walking home in a snowstorm.
Cultzmzl Content. Bentley exemplifies individualism and a preference for field independent learning. He followed
his passions, working alone, even when other people did not understand. He did not pursue his dreams for notoriety,
but rather to satisfy his own curiosity.
Clayton explains that the U.S.curriculum is designed to foster independent learning and that many mainstream
teachera tend to support and encourage that type of learning (althoughcollaborativework is emphasized as well).
Teachen, tell children to "never give up/ and to follow their passions and dreams. William Bentley worked alone,
made decisions on his own, and was eager to investigate new ideas. Snowflake Bentley could help children from
collectivist societies to see that it is acceptable to take risks and pursue their own dreams without always seeking
others' approval.
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Verbal Communication (Low Context) and Values (individualism)

Falconer, I. (2003).O M .. .and the missing toy. New York Atheneum.
Summary. OliOia. ..mt8 the Missing Toy begins as Olivia the pig is awakened from a dream in which she is riding
a camel in Egypt. It is time for Olivia to go to soccer practice. She tells her mother emphatically that she hates her
green uniform and requests that a red soccer shirt be made for her. (Olivia likes the idea that she will look differ-
ent than everyone else.) After soccer practice, Olivia comes home to find her mother still working on her red shirt.
While waiting for her mother to finish, Olivia takes her "best" toy outside to play and then returns with her toy to
her foom to read. When her mother brings her finished shirt to her room, Olivia discovers that her "best" toy is
missing. Having searched everywhere to no avail, Olivia settles down to practice the piano; then, she hears a mys-
terious sound. What she finds is distressing: Her dog, Perry, has torn her favorite toy to pieces! Olivia is incensed
and reports the dog's misbehavior to her parents. To appease Olivia, her father offers to buy her a new "very best"
toy; although she loves that idea, she goes ahead and fixes her "best" toy. As the book concludes, the illustration
shows Olivia sleeping with her "best" toy on one side and her dog (obviously forgiven)on the other side.
Cultural Content. This book is an excellent example of verbal communicationbetween a child and the people around
her in the mainstream culture. Additionally, it shows the value of individualism. Olivia's communication is low-
context, detailed, and persuasive. Shepresents herself through a direct, elaborate, personal style-the characteristics
of verbal communicationin many mainstream classrooms. From reading this book, immigrant children may come
to understand that Americans tend to be assertive in their communicationand that students speak freely. Students
may see that their ideas and thoughts are valued and might feel more comfortable contributing in class. Second,
Olivia demonstrates individualism when she wants to wear a different color soccer shirt than everyone else. She
also demonstratesthis characteristic when she does not expect anyone else to help find her toy. And when her father
offers to buy her a new one, Olivia decides to put her "best" toy back together all by herself. This is an appropriate
book for generating discussion on mainstream individualism with immigrant students from collectivist cultures.

Nonverbal Communication(Gestures, Facial Expressions, Posture) and Values (DoinglBeing)

Lovell, P. (2001). Stand tall, W l y Lou Melon. New York G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.
Summary. This is a story about a 1st-gradegirl who would be considered anything but cute. She is shorter than
everyone in her class. Her teeth stick out so far she can balance pennies on them. When she talks, her voice comes
out like a croak! As if that is not bad enough, she often drops and breaks things. Her grandmother always en-
courages her to walk tall, keep a big smile on her face, sing loudly and clearly, and believe in herself. If she does
those things, the world will believe in her, too. So she does. Then, Molly Lou Melon has to move away from her
grandmother and start a new school. In the illustration of her first day at school, she looks very small and forlorn.
Ronald Durki~the school bully, teases her about her height, teeth, voice, and clumsiness, but Molly, remembering
her grandmother's advice, stays confident. She makes the best of each situation, which makes Ronald feel foolish.
Molly pins his and her new classmates' respect. At the end of the story, Molly writes to her grandmother, thanking
her for her advice. She overcomes what seem like insurmountable obstacles.
Cultural Content. First, this book exemplifies how powerful nonverbal communication can be. Molly Lou Melon
overcomes various obstacles by communicating with her peers through her actions. When Ronald makes fun of
her, she redoubles he^ efforts to run €aster, smile broader, and balance a higher stack of pennies on her teeth. Her
d o n s speak volumes-she does not have to say a word. Second, the book exemplifies the value that doing is
by what she does. The book may help
t English to communicate their feelings
expressions, gestures, and attitudes. Through this
ents may uiukr&nd school when they feel out of place.
Figure 1 (continued)

Summer 2008 215

 1989). Teachers could use open-
ended prompts as triggers for those
conversations. For example, after
reading Snouflake Benfley (Martin &
Azarian, 1998),students might have
grand conversations about what they
are passionate about in life (i.e., as
this relates to field sensitive or field
independent learning), and about
how they might go about achieving
their passions.
The exploring stage of interac-
tive read-aloud, shared reading,
or reading workshop mini-lessons
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entails, among other things, getting
students to think more about the
literary aspects and text structure
of the story, extend the personal
connections made in the previous
stage, a n d identify memorable
quotes (Tompkins, 2007). When us-
ing the books we have identified, the
exploring stage will beanimportant
one, in which immigrant students
share what they are reminded of
by the specific cultural episodes.
For example, after reading Oliz7ia
. . . arid the Missiiig Toy (Falconer,
2003), a n immigrant student could
tell the class whether she has ever
refused an offer from a parent of a
new toy or present. If the student
is from a culture where authority is
predominantly lineal (i.e., ”authority
travelsdown theline; people’srights
depend on their place in that line”;
Clayton, 2003, p. 57), she will more
likely explain that it is not respectful
to refuse an adult’s offer of generos-
ity, whether the adult is a teacher or
parent. The teacher and mainstream
students might then explain to the
student their American individual-
istic relationships.
Finally, the applying stage oc-
curs when ”readers extend their
comprehension, reflect on their
understanding, a n d value the
reading experience” (Tompkins,
2007, p. 45) through the creation of
art, writing, independent reading,
drama a n d talk, literary analysis,
and research projects. Immigrant
students could use reading logs
to write reflections on the stories’
216 Childhood Education
A Sample of the Books Analyzed for Cultural Categories
Values
Barton, B. (1998). Iwunt to beanastronaut.
New York HarperCollins.
Bunting, E. (1991). Night tree. SanDiego,
CA Harcourt Brace.
Carle, E. (1975). The mixed-up chameleon.
New York Scholastic.
Carle, E. (19%). The very busy spider.
New York Scholastic.
Christelow,E. (2003). VOTE! New York
Clarion Books.
Kraus, R. (1987). Spidi‘sfirst dayofschool.
New York Scholastic.
Krull, K. (1996). Wilma unlimited. San
Diego, CA Harcourt, Brace.
Lionni, L. (1975). A color ofhis own. New
York Scholastic.
Martin, Jr., B. (2000). Chicken Chuck.
New York Winslow Press.
Park, B. (2001). Junie B. Jones is Captain
Field Day. New York: Scholastic.
Pfister, M. (1992). The rainbowfish. New
York North-South Books.
Polacco, I? (1998). Thank you, Mr. Falker.
New York Philomel.
Rylant, C. (1985). The relativescame. New
York Bradbury Press.
Shannon, D. (1998). A bad case of stripes.
New York The Blue Sky Press.
St. George, J. (2004). So you want to be
president? New York Philomel.
Viorst, J. (1995). Alexander, who’s not (do
you hear me? I mean it!) going to moue.
New York Aladdin.
Viorst J. (1m. Almndw, who used tobench
last Sumhy. New York: Aladdin.
Winters, K. (2004).M y teacherforpresident.
New York Scholastic.
Wong, J. (2002). Apple pie 4th of July.
New York: Harcourt.
Learning Preferences
Brown, M. (1996). Arthur’s reading race.
New York Random House.
Burns, M. (1994). The greedy triangle.
New York Scholastic.
Cannon, J. (1993). Stellaluna. New York
Scholastic.
Cole, J. (1989). The magic school bus:
Inside the human body. New York
Scholastic.
Falconer, I. (2000). Olfuia. New Yoxk Ath-
eneum Books for Young Readers.
Isadora, R. (1999). Sophie skates. New
York Scholastic.
McMillan,B. (1996).Jellybeansfbrsale. New
York Scholastic.
Numeroff, L. J. (1985). I f you give a
mouse a cookie. New York Harp-
erCollins.
Numeroff, L. J. (1998). Ifyou give a pig a
pancake. New York Scholastic.
Rathman, I? (1991). Ruby the copycat.
New York Scholastic.
Young, E. (1992). Seuen blind mice. New
York Philomel.
Vibal Communication
Brown, M. (1996). Arthur writes a story.
New York Scholastic.
Falconer, I. (2001). Oliuiasaves the circus.
New York Atheneum Books for
Young Readers.
Henkes, K. (1996). Lily’s purple plastic
purse. New York: Greenwillow.
Most, B. (1990). The cow that went oink.
New York: Harcourt Brace.
Park, B. (1993). JunieB. Jonesand lzer bigfit
mouth. New York Random House.
Rockwell, A. (1997). Show and tell day.
New York HarperCollins.
Nonverbal Communication
Ackerman, K. (1988). Song and dance
man. New York Alfred A. Knopf.
Anno, M. (1977). Anno’sjourney. New
York Philomel.
Bang,M. (1999). When Sophie gets atzpj:
Really, d l y , angry. . . . New York
scholastic.
Buehner, M. (1994). Haruey Potter’s
balloon farm. New York Lothrop,
Lee & Shepard.
Carle, E. (1990). The uery quiet cricket.
New York Philomel.
Carle, E. (1995). The uery lonelyfir&.
New York Scholastic.
Cronin, D. (2000). Click, clack, moo:
Cows that type. New York: Simon &
Schuster Books for Young Readers.
McPhail, D. (1999). Mole music. New
York: Henry Holt.
Rathman, I? (1995). Oficer Buckle and
Gloria. New York: Scholastic.
Rohmann, E. (2002). M y friend rabbit.
New York: Roaring Brook Press.
Shannon, D. (1998). No, David. New
York: Scholastic.
Shannon,D. (1999). Davidgoes toschool.
New York: Scholastic.
Shannon, D. (2002). David gets in
trouble. New York: Scholastic.
Walsh, E. S. (1989). Mouse paint. New
York Harcourt.
 cultural significance to them. For example, in the
application stage of a read-aloud, shared reading, or
reading workshop mini-lessons on S t a i d Tall, Molly
Lou Meloii (Lovell, 2001), immigrant students could
write log entries about how Molly Lou Melon’s actions
contributed to their realization that they should not
be embarrassed about occasionally using nonverbal
means to communicate with their peers, should they
experience difficulties communicating verbally. Ad-
ditionally, both mainstream and immigrant students in
the class could collaborate in a reader’s theater project
(Martinez, Roser, & Strecker, 1998/1999)of Starid Tall,
Molly Lou Melon. As the class rewrites the dramatic
script, teachers could ensure that both mainstream and
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immigrant students’ cultural markers are evident.
Additionally, and especially during reading work-
shop, teachers could encourage buddy reading of the
books. In this kind of reading, ”Students take turns
reading aloud to each other or read in unison” (Tomp-
kins, 2007, p. 268). If teachers use matched pairs of
mainstream and immigrant students, the mainstream
student could model prosodic aspects of English to the
immigrant students and, more importantly, students
could talk and share their cultural interpretations of
the books after the reading. Furthermore, particularly
in the applying stage of reading workshop, immigrant
students could read the books independently, think
further about the issues and situations they have
encountered (and will continue to encounter) in their
new school culture, and write their reflections in their
journals. In order toextend those students’ thinking on
the issues and monitor their evolving cultural under-
standings, teachers could hold individual conferences
with them, based on the content of the book.
Closing Thoughts
Our stated goal for this article was to broaden the culture
and literature research base by identifying children’s
literature that will give mainstream teachers a tool for
helping their immigrant students acquire the cultural
attributes needed for success in their schooling and
academic work while still maintaining an important
sense of themselves (i.e., they can take an integrative
stance) (Berry et al., 1988). Teachers and students often
need help with bridging the gap, and we are mindful
of the fact that the titles we have suggested in this
article and our analysis of the categories are just the
beginning of that assistance. In view of that, we sug-
gest further research that does two things: 1) investi-
gates the opportunities that teachers and immigrant
students, as well as their parents, have to discuss the
implicit cultural categories that are apparent in the
books, and 2) explores what it means for teachers and
studentdparents to be part of the literature versus
culture conversation.
The use of children’s books for teaching culture is
not new to teachers of ELLS (Adeyanju, 1978; Harris
& Harris, 1967a, 1967b; Spack, 1985). Neither is it
new to mainstream teachers, especially with the cur-
rent heightened focus on diversity, the drive to help
minority students embrace their own beliefs and cul-
tures, and attempts to heighten mainstream students’
multicultural awareness. For example, Lowery (2000)
challenges us to use immigrant literature in American
classrooms so as to provide elementary students with
balanced information and images about immigrant
cultures. What is new in this study, however, is the
perspective that it is also necessary that teachers use
literature that reflects the dominant classroom culture
in the U.S. and that doing so does not undermine
multiculturalism but rather complements it. Indeed,
we seek the integration orientation toward accultura-
tion. Literature that represents the dominant culture
can act as a foundation for immigrant children, help
them understand their position in their new society
and surroundings, and slowly but surely help them
feel like they are a part of the new classroom culture.
Although our premise is to help immigrant students,
all students stand to gain from the cultural insights
afforded by the ideas set forth in this article. As
Clayton (2003) explained,
Since one of the goals of education is to prepare students for
life, schools need to be a vehicle by which all students can
become empowered in the dominant culture. Students do
not need to give up one culture to be able to work within
another. To grow up biculturally is possible. . . . Not only
is it possible, it is a powerful gift. To ask children to give
up their cultural conditioning is to ask them to shed their
identity, to cast off their souls. Acknowledging children’s
cultural heritage and teaching them to access power in the
dominant culture will help them grow to their full and true
potential. (pp. 11-12)
We must not deny immigrant students an education
because they do not understand the dominant language
and culture. Indeed, we must move past linguistic
concerns for our immigrant studentsand use children’s
literature to help teach about the dominant culture
and the many cultures of the classroom. In this way,
teachers can promote implicit cultural understanding,
a necessity in today’s global society.
Children’s Books Cited
Falconer, 1. (2003). Olk~in. . . mid t l i c r r i k i r i ~ ytoy. New York:
Atheneum.
Lovell, P. (2001). Stnrrd tnll, Molly Lou M L ~ INew . York:
G.P. Putnam’s.
Martin, J. B., & Azarian, M. (1998). Srioyf?“ke Beritlry. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin.
Scieszka, J. (1995). Mntli curse. New York: Penguin.
Summer 2008 21i
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