Using Storybooks to Promote Multicultural Sensitivity in Elementary School Children

JOURNAL OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT• October 2006 • Vol. 34 223

© 2006 American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.

Using Storybooks to Promote MulticulturalSensitivity in Elementary School Children

Bryan S. K. Kim, Jennifer L. Greif Green, and Eileen F. Klein

The authors discuss the use of storybooks to promote multicultural sensitivityamong elementary school children. The increasing diversity in the United Statesdictates that children are sensitive to cultural differences of individuals fromvaried backgrounds. Because they are in a formative stage of life, children arean ideal population with which to begin teaching about diversity.

Los autores discuten el uso de libros de cuentos para promover la sensibilidadmulticultural entre niños de escuela primaria. La diversidad creciente en losEstados Unidos dicta que niños son sensibles a diferencias culturales deindividuos de origen variados. Porque ellos están en una etapa formativa de lavida, los niños son una población ideal con que empezar la enseñanza acercade la diversidad.

The past 4 decades in the United States have been characterized by adramatic increase in the number of people of color. Currently, AfricanAmericans and Latino(a) Americans each represent 13% of the total U.S.

population, with Asian Americans and American Indians representing 4% and 1%,respectively (U.S. Census Bureau, 2002). By the year 2050, it has been estimatedthat people of color will make up nearly 50% of the U.S. population (U.S. CensusBureau, 2002). In California, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Texas, people of coloralready constitute more than 50% of these states’ populations (U.S. Census Bureau,2005). These figures suggest that there will be a significantly high enrollment ofstudents from diverse backgrounds, and counselors will need to meet the chal-lenges posed by this increasing diversity in U.S. school systems. One of thesechallenges involves the question of how to instill and enhance the skills amongchildren that are necessary for them to interact effectively with individuals fromdiverse racial and ethnic backgrounds (Holcomb-McCoy, 2003).

In general, the recognition of the increasing diversity in the U.S. school systemhas led to a growing body of scholarly literature on ways that counselors caneffectively meet the culture-related challenges posed by this change (e.g., D’Andrea,1995; D’Andrea & Daniels, 1995, 1996; Roysircar-Sodowsky & Frey, 2003; Salzman& D’Andrea, 2001). D’Andrea (1995), for example, suggested using computer tech-nology to promote awareness of cultural differences among elementary schoolchildren. D’Andrea and Daniels (1995) described a prejudice-reduction counselingprogram that leads to improvements in social skills (e.g., cooperation, assertiveness,self-control) and to a decrease in problem behaviors among elementary school

Bryan S. K. Kim, Department of Psychology, University of Hawaii at Hilo; Jennifer L. Greif Green andEileen F. Klein, Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology, University of California,Santa Barbara. The authors thank Grace Werner for her assistance during the development of this article.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Bryan S. K. Kim, Department of Psychology,University of Hawaii at Hilo, 200 W. Kawili Street, Hilo, HI 96720-4091 (e-mail: [email protected]).

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children; these findings were partially replicated in a follow-up study by Salzmanand D’Andrea (2001). More recently, Roysircar-Sodowsky and Frey (2003) describedthe ways in which counselors can play an important role in promoting respect andunderstanding of unique cultural backgrounds of children of immigrants, a groupthat significantly accounts for the increasing diversity of the U.S. school system.With this background information in mind, the purpose of the present article is toadd to this body of literature by describing the counselors’ use of storybooks topromote multicultural sensitivity among elementary school children.

Several scholars have pointed out that instilling multicultural sensitivity is animportant part of helping children to develop a strong social competence, espe-cially given an increasingly diverse society (e.g., Gersten & Weissberg, 1986; Hunter& Elias, 1999). According to Hunter and Elias (1999), multicultural sensitivity canbe defined as the ability to (a) demonstrate respect for and understanding of peopleof diverse cultural backgrounds, (b) communicate effectively with people fromthese backgrounds, and (c) work collaboratively with people from these back-grounds. Regarding social competence, Gersten and Weissberg (1986) stated that it“summarizes an individual’s performance across a variety of interpersonal situa-tions” (p. 20) and includes two components—social skills and social problem solving.Social skills refers to a pattern of behaviors through which a person can influenceothers, including communication skills, sharing with others, making requests toothers, and complimenting others (Gersten & Weissberg, 1986). Social problemsolving is the ability to resolve conflicts with others across a range of situations.One of the major skills in social problem solving is perspective taking, which is theability to identify signs of feelings in others and infer others’ view of a situation.Hunter and Elias (1999) noted that the ability to engage in perspective taking is anintegral part of one’s capacity for having multicultural sensitivity. Hence, thesedefinitions illustrate how multicultural sensitivity is an important component ofsocial competence, particularly as it relates to a person’s ability to be sociallycompetent with others who are from different cultural backgrounds. Consistentwith this point, research on interracial friendships has shown that fifth-grade girlswith increased multicultural sensitivity, as demonstrated by their high-quality in-terracial friendships, had greater levels of social competence than their same-agepeers with no or low-quality interracial friendships (Hunter & Elias, 1999).

Although there is currently little research on multicultural sensitivity, per se, andchildren’s healthy social development, there is sizable research suggesting positivebenefits of children having social competence. For example, numerous studieshave shown that having social competence leads to the formation of social net-works, particularly friendships (see Salzinger, Antrobus, & Hammer, 1988). Throughfriendships, children learn to share, resolve conflict, negotiate (e.g., Hartup, Laursen,Stewart, & Eastenson, 1988), and be more cognitively sophisticated (Doyle, Connolly,& Rivest, 1980). In terms of cross-cultural relationships, children who are able toestablish interracial friendships demonstrate higher levels of psychosocial matu-rity (Fletcher, Rollins, & Nickerson, 2004). On the other hand, the absence offriendships and the presence of negative peer relations lead to a negative cycle

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involving limited opportunities to have positive peer interactions, which subsequentlyreduces the chances of ameliorating interpersonal difficulties (Janes, Hesselbrock, Myers,& Penniman, 1979). In addition, children with negative peer relations in childhood areat greater risk for a variety of mental health problems later in life, including depres-sion, schizophrenia, and behavior problems (Martin, Cole, Clausen, Logan, & Wilson-Strosher, 2003). Given these research findings, it seems imperative to develop strate-gies to promote children’s social competence in our ever-increasingly diverse schoolsby instilling multicultural sensitivity among these children.

As experts on mental health, interpersonal relations, and social skills, counselors inthe schools are in an ideal position to instill and enhance multicultural sensitivityamong students. Counselors can teach children to (a) have respect for and an under-standing of people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and (b) how to de-velop the necessary skills to communicate and work effectively with these individu-als. Promoting multicultural sensitivity could increase students’ sense of pride andesteem about their own cultural backgrounds and change the culture of school to onewherein diversity is valued. Studies (e.g., Constantino, Malgady, & Rogler, 1986)have found positive effects of using culture-specific folktales (e.g., Puerto Ricancuentos) to ameliorate problem behaviors among children and help them increasepositive peer relationships. Also, Berry (2003), on the basis of social learning theoryand referring to the influence of television media, commented that “ethnically di-verse programming that offers balanced cross-cultural perspectives can help teachchildren how to get along in this multicultural world and help them learn to valueand respect people who belong to ethnic groups different from their own” (p. 363).Hence, counselors are in an ideal position to offer “programming” with the use ofstorybooks to help children to tolerate and respect cultural diversity.

On the basis of the aforementioned ideas, we describe the use of storybooks bycounselors to increase multicultural sensitivity among elementary school children.It should be mentioned that there are many types of diversity that children encounterin school and in life, including disability status, sexual orientation, socioeconomicstatus, and religion. We have chosen to restrict our discussion to racial and ethnicdiversity given the limited amount of space available; obviously, many of the ideasand suggestions discussed herein are appropriate to other forms of diversity, as well.

theoretical basis for using storybooksto instill multicultural sensitivity

The use of books for educational purposes has long been a part of the counselingrepertoire and has even garnered the formal name of bibliotherapy. Bettelheim (1976)wrote from a psychoanalytic perspective that fairy tales “carry important messagesto the conscious, the preconscious, and the unconscious mind, on whatever leveleach is functioning at the time” (p. 6). Through encountering problems in stories,children are able to project their own struggles onto characters, thereby gaininginsight and direction. Jackson (2001) suggested that bibliotherapy can be ap-


proached from an Adlerian perspective because books can assist in the developmentof a therapeutic relationship, investigating lifestyle perception, gaining insight, andreorienting by helping children to develop new perceptions of themselves. Hence,influential counseling theories have incorporated bibliotherapy as a useful tool inpsychotherapeutic work.

In the school setting, bibliotherapy has been used with children who experience awide range of problems such as bereavement, depression, substance use, and behav-ioral problems as well as to prevent future problems in such areas (e.g., Berns, 2003;Hipple, Comer, & Boren, 1997). In general, books can provide information andinsight, facilitate learning and problem solving, communicate values, and build rela-tionships that can be valuable for children to effectively cope with these types ofproblems ( Jackson, 2001; Pardeck, 1995). In addition, bibliotherapy can be an unob-trusive and nonthreatening therapeutic approach that has been shown to effectivelyincrease coping skills (Tussing & Valentine, 2001).

More specifically, as they relate to multicultural sensitivity, books can be used tohelp children develop a sense of identity, an awareness of the ways in which theyare different from others, knowledge about their own and other cultures, and skillsto relate effectively with people of different cultural backgrounds. Ada (2003)suggested six principles for incorporating multicultural literature into education(and in the present case, into counselor interventions with elementary school chil-dren). First, Ada pointed out that schools need to validate the children’s culturallydifferent experiences at home, which more often will happen to children for whomEnglish is a second language or who have racially or ethnically diverse back-grounds. If not, they may become passive and unwilling to communicate regard-ing their sense of identity, develop two identities (one to fit the home and anotherto fit the school environment), or feel rejected and isolated from the school system.Second, Ada pointed out that language is essential to children’s abilities to besocial, develop leadership skills, communicate thoughts and ideas, collaborate withpeers, and hone their thinking process. Recognizing the importance of the children’slanguage is integral to accepting and valuing the whole child (Ada, 2003). Third,Ada suggested that technology can be used to facilitate learning and self-expres-sion. However, it is also important for teachers to be aware of disparities in children’saccess to technology and support the use of new technology (Ada, 2003). Usingstorybooks has the advantage of transportability and relative cost-effectiveness incomparison with other forms of technology. Fourth, Ada noted that when well-written books are used, children can come to conclusions about their position as aprotagonist in their own lives. In authoring their own stories, children can use theirreadings as a basis for developing their own stories, solving their own problems,and establishing their own identities (Ada, 2003). Fifth, Ada stated, “Cooperativelearning facilitates growth while developing solidarity rather then competition” (p.10). Storybooks are excellent tools for cooperative group activities that encouragesolidarity (Ada, 2003). Such learning activities enhance interactions among stu-dents and can be used to develop unity among diverse groups of children. Finally,Ada pointed out that home–school collaboration is central to children’s develop-


ment of a positive sense of identity that incorporates their home culture andvalues with the new socialization that they have experienced at school.

On the group level, books can be read with an entire class to address shared problemsor common developmental topics. In addition, “literature circles” can be implementedwherein children read independently from a selection of books provided by the teacherand then have a group discussion on the chosen topic; such an approach can be effec-tive for eliciting discussions and offering children choice and ownership over thematerial that they are reading (Stringer, Reynolds, & Simpson, 2003). Furthermore,many schools develop “diversity days” or similar forums for formally addressingcultural differences in their communities. Storybooks can be integrated into thesetypes of school activities, both as a forum for discussing multicultural issues during theevents and also as opportunities for teachers to informally follow up with their studentsafter the events have ended.

Because counselors are increasingly faced with issues related to cultural diversity,helping children develop greater multicultural sensitivity, and, in turn, social compe-tence, may be an appropriate goal for individual counseling, groups, classrooms, or theentire school community. The use of bibliotherapy can be an effective way for counse-lors to help children gain this sensitivity. Storybooks are a particularly useful tool tointroduce children to cultures other than their own because they constantly evolve toreflect changing values and cultural norms (Delaney, 1995). As children gain moreknowledge of other cultures, their levels of ethnocentrism may decrease. Also, childrenwhose cultures are portrayed in literature presented in the classroom can gain knowl-edge of and pride toward cultural aspects of their own heritage (Ada, 2003).

suggestions for selecting storybooks toenhance children’s multicultural sensitivity

Pardeck and Markward (1995) offered useful guidelines for selecting storybooksfor instilling multicultural sensitivity. According to these authors, counselorsshould select books that appropriately match the issues faced by the childrenbecause it is important for children to identify themselves in the stories. Witholder children, counselors should select books that also allow children to haveverbal or nonverbal emotional reactions. These reactions can be used as a foun-dation for developing effective approaches to solving a problem. Also, it is im-portant to choose books with illustrations that maintain interest and communi-cate storylines. Pardeck and Pardeck (1998) also recommended attending to thereadiness of the child, which involves assessing rapport, determining the child’swillingness to work through problems, and examining what goals can be metthrough bibliotherapy. These authors noted the importance of selecting booksthat children will find interesting and that are appropriate for the children’sreading level. Counselors should consider whether the book is “suggested” to thechild or “prescribed” for the child. Finally, follow-up activities are an importantpart of the bibliotherapeutic process to ensure that the process of learning is


continued (Pardeck & Pardeck, 1998). Examples of follow-up activities include artand writing tasks, role-plays, and discussions.

representation of people of color inchildren’s storybooks: a caveat

In seeking to increase multicultural sensitivity in children, it is vitally importantto be aware of resources that are specifically available for this purpose and mind-ful of the implicit messages that children receive through the books that theyread. Pescosolido, Grauerholz, and Milkie (1997) reviewed almost 2,500 children’sillustrated books published from the late 1930s to the 1990s in the United Statesand found a significant underrepresentation of African American characters. Coleand Valentine (2000) pointed out that a lack of multiethnic characters in storybooksmight leave children feeling confused and invisible. Hence, selecting classroombooks that positively depict many different cultural groups is an important firststep in facilitating children’s development of multicultural sensitivity.

examples of storybooks that instillmulticultural sensitivity

Below are summaries of illustrative storybooks that can be used to enhance multiculturalsensitivity among children. These books were selected on the basis of recommenda-tions from librarians, elementary school teachers, and education professors; sugges-tions from the Children’s Literature in the Elementary School (Huck, Hepler, Hickman,& Kiefer, 2001); and the list of Coretta Scott King Award books. Using informationgathered from these sources, approximately 100 books were reviewed. These bookswere selected on the basis of their poignant storylines and illustrations depicting theexperiences of children, along with their friends and family in daily life, from diverseracial and ethnic backgrounds. Additional criteria used were the publishers’ recom-mendations, readability, and consultations with librarians and teachers. From the 100books that were reviewed, a total of 6 storybooks are described below, 3 for GradesK–3 and another 3 for Grades 4–6. The books were selected to be representative ofwhat counselors might choose to use in their work with schoolchildren. When select-ing appropriate books to share with students, it is important for counselors to con-sider the types of messages they want to send and the dialogues they wish to engagein. An additional list of books is presented in the Appendix.

grades k–3Uncle Rain Cloud ( Johnston, 2001) depicts the relationship between Carlos, a youngMexican American boy, and his Uncle, Tío Tomás, or Uncle Rain Cloud, as Carlos thoughtof his uncle. The story raises the reader’s awareness of the multiple roles that childrenplay when their family has recently immigrated to the United States. Carlos is not


only a nephew but also a translator and an English teacher for his uncle. The readerbecomes aware of the difficulty adults face when they come to a new country and livein a society where they do not know the primary language. While Carlos shares hisEnglish skills, Tío Tomás shares with Carlos his knowledge of stories about the Mexi-can gods. Johnston’s text contains both Spanish and English words, thus increasing thereaders’ knowledge of both languages.

Sitti’s Secret (Nye, 1994) is a captivating picture book that describes Mona, a youngPalestinian American girl, and her memory of Sitti, her Grandmother, who lives in theWest Bank. Nye explores Mona’s memory of her visit with her Grandmother by depict-ing their days cooking, exploring, and spending time together under the lemon tree asthey develop their own communication system despite the language barrier. The storyends with a powerful letter written by Mona to the American President, after watchingthe evening news, explaining her anxiety about her Grandmother. She asks him to re-member Sitti because she knows the President would like her Grandmother if they evermet. This beautiful book could be a catalyst for many discussions among school chil-dren, including, for example, culture, immigrant status, leaving families behind in homecountries, and anxiety and sadness surrounding missing family and friends.

In Chicken Sunday, Polacco (1992) describes an interracial friendship between twoAfrican American boys and a girl of Ukrainian descent who share in each other’scultural practices (e.g., the girl goes to church with the boys and their Grand-mother, and the boys create Pysanky eggs with the girl). Through the storyline,young readers can learn ways to get along with people from different ethnic back-grounds. The story describes how the children were unjustly accused of throwingeggs at Mr. Kodinski’s shop door. Although the children are afraid of the Ukrai-nian shopkeeper, they want to prove their innocence and befriend the gentleman.The children move past his “rough” exterior and make a special gift for him, usingtheir knowledge of the Ukrainian culture.

grades 4–6In Ribbons, Yep (1996) brings the reader into the world of Robin, a young ballerina,who is struggling to understand why her parents made her give up her balletlessons and why her Grandmother seems to show favoritism for the girl’s youngerbrother. With Ribbons, readers may increase their awareness of the importance offamily and of making sacrifices for the family in Chinese culture. Yep also pro-vides historical information on the Chinese practice of foot binding and dis-cusses the impact of that practice on women in today’s society.

In Have a Happy . . . , Walter (1999) describes the African American celebration ofKwanzaa, illustrating the holiday through Chris and his family as they celebratewith their extended family and friends. Walter also includes a glossary of Swahiliwords that are related to Kwanzaa. Through Chris and his family, the reader be-comes aware of the importance, in the African American community, of family,heritage, and support. Finally, Walter enlightens the reader about the skills in-volved in sharing one’s family heritage with friends.


In Taking Sides, Soto (1991) describes Lincoln Mendoza’s struggle with his iden-tity when he moves from the barrio to a suburban neighborhood and school. Inparticular, however, Soto enlightens the readers on the multicultural skills Lincolnuses to form friendships with the primarily Caucasian students at his new school aswell as maintain his friendships with his African American and Latino friends fromthe barrio. Soto also helps to increase the readers’ awareness of the identity strugglesyoung students sometimes face when they are trying to find their place amongtheir peers. Finally, Soto’s use of both English and Spanish in the text not onlyincreases the reader’s knowledge of both languages, but also adds flavor to thewriting and brings the reader into the story.

suggestions for using storybooks toenhance children’s multicultural sensitivity

There are several specific and concrete ways in which counselors in the schools can usestorybooks to instill multicultural sensitivity in students. During counseling sessions,storybooks can be used to provide information, facilitate understanding, and allowchildren to role-play cross-cultural situations that they may encounter with their peers.For example, counselors can help the students examine and explore ways in which theyare similar to and different from the characters in stories. Counselors can help thechildren to act out stories so that they develop an understanding of the points of viewof the characters. In turn, this could help the children to develop empathy skills.Alternatively, students can create their own endings to stories (in writing or throughrole-playing) to solve the problems presented in the storybooks. Children would thuslearn useful skills for defusing problem situations with their peers.

Counselors can work as consultants in the classroom or as outreach trainers forteachers and students. They can begin a discussion of multicultural sensitivityby reading books to an entire classroom of students. The children are then en-couraged to share stories, a process that also includes debriefing and discussingthe stories’ implications for student interactions within and outside the classroom.An advantage of working with teachers is that counselors can help to identifymulticultural challenges that are unique to individual classrooms. Then, counse-lors can provide teachers with relevant books and activities that they can imple-ment themselves. This type of consultation work can allow teachers to continueaddressing multicultural issues in the classroom, while giving the counselor thetime to work with other teachers and students.

Counselors can also work with the larger school community to promote multiculturalsensitivity. One avenue for a larger scale impact is to work with the school librarianto obtain books that can be used to educate students about awareness, knowledge,and skills related to culturally diverse groups. Counselors can work with librariansto develop a “Multicultural Book Section” in the library to facilitate students’ andteachers’ access to these materials. Counselors can also recommend summer readingbooks that address multicultural issues. Furthermore, counselors can take the oppor-


tunity to introduce these books to other school personnel who work with childrenin less formal settings (e.g., staff in after-school programs, reading tutors).

Using a more family systems approach allows counselors to introduce storybooksto students’ families. Given the significant impact that families have on children’sdevelopment and the extent to which these children become sensitive to cul-tural differences, parents can be important partners in this effort. Facilitatingfamilies’ selection of books to read together can also enhance the relationshipbetween families and the school. When used in conjunction with other activi-ties and discussions, sharing books among family members can enhance children’sdevelopment of multicultural sensitivity.

process guidelines for using thestorybook intervention

On the basis of the reviewed literature and other information available regard-ing the promotion of multicultural sensitivity in children, the following pro-cess guidelines are recommended for counselors who use storybooks. We alsorefer the reader to Forgan (2002), who provides a sample lesson plan for incor-porating storybooks into classroom instruction.

1. Develop clear goals. The goals will inform the specific intervention. Forexample, the desire to increase children’s multicultural sensitivity maybe part of a schoolwide effort to acknowledge and celebrate diversity, orit may be the outgrowth of a specific problem that has developed be-tween students in a classroom. These various purposes might lead todifferent intervention strategies; hence, the goals should be carefullyconsidered before engaging in the intervention.

2. Determine the target population. If there is a target child for the interven-tion, it is important to determine the setting in which that child will mostdirectly benefit from bibliotherapy. Younger children may have an easiertime focusing in a one-to-one interaction, whereas older children may bemost receptive in a larger group setting. Also, it is important to be alertto racial and ethnic identity levels, levels of acculturation, and levels ofcurrent multicultural sensitivity among the participants. Clearly, coun-selors should avoid recreating situations in which students feel targetedor singled out because of their racial and ethnic backgrounds.

3. Select appropriate books. As mentioned previously, the book selection pro-cess is crucial to effective storybook intervention. In addition to selectingbooks that positively depict the cultural groups of interest, counselorsshould consider the types of diversity that will be represented. It is recom-mended that book selections initially incorporate the diversity of the groupof students involved in the storybook intervention. This will increase self-awareness and facilitate group discussions about values, viewpoints, histo-


ries, and traditions. When cultures that are unfamiliar to students are laterintroduced, the counselor can refer to these earlier discussions.

4. Engage in pre-reading activities to introduce the idea of diversity. Johnson,Wan, Templetom, Graham, and Sattler (2001) suggested motivating stu-dents to discuss diversity by working on classroom activities that reflectthe group’s diversity. One suggestion made by these authors was to builda “family collage bulletin board” that is composed of photographs anddrawings of students and their families (p. 5). Such activities introducestudents to the topic of diversity and encourage them to begin thinkingabout the diversity of their own classroom.

5. Read the book at an appropriate pace and volume for children to hear and pay atten-tion. Consider stopping at climactic points in the story to engage in questions/dialogue with students to ensure that they understand the book’s messages.

6. Engage in a careful discussion after a storybook is read. Discussions following thereading can be guided in several ways to reinforce the messages in the story,help children to relate the story to their own lives, and facilitate greater prob-lem solving and sensitivity to differences. Johnson et al. (2001) suggested thatfollowing the reading, the children should first be given time to reflect on thestorybook. This may involve silent reflection or writing in a journal. Thisperiod of time also allows counselors to check in with students who appearedto have a strong emotional reaction or to have been upset by the content of thestorybook. When engaging in the follow-up discussion, counselors can modelsupport of students by being nonjudgmental and empathic toward charactersin the story. The following questions might be used during the discussion:How are you and your family members similar to or different than the char-acters in the book? What traditions and customs did you learn from the story?What traditions and customs do you have in your own family? What are someof the important values that you heard in the story? How are these valuessimilar to or different than the values held by your family?

7. Engage in follow-up activities. Follow-up activities can be helpful for childrento further integrate the lessons from the storybooks into their lives. Follow-up activities may include ongoing discussions of the book. This can beparticularly useful when the counselor is able to refer to the story when real-life situations occur that have relevance to the lessons that were discussed.

conclusionFostering the development of multicultural sensitivity as a way of enhancingsocial competence is one way that counselors can use to assist elementary schoolchildren to effectively meet the challenging demands of an increasingly diverseworld. Children’s development of social competence incorporates awareness oftheir own cultural background and those of others around them. Often, conflictsarise because of misunderstandings related to cultural differences. To preventsuch conflicts, counselors can play an important role in influencing children’s


development of social competence by promoting their multicultural sensitivity.In turn, this enhancement can positively affect the overall climate of the schoolenvironment. The use of storybooks can be an effective strategy in this effort.

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conflicts. In P. B. Pedersen & J. C. Carey (Eds.), Multicultural counseling in schools: A practicalhandbook (2nd ed., pp. 61–83). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Salzinger, S., Antrobus, J. S., & Hammer, M. (Eds.). (1988). Social networks of children, adoles-cents, and college students. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Salzman, M., & D’Andrea, M. J. (2001). Assessing the impact of a prejudice prevention project.Journal of Counseling & Development, 79, 341–346.

Soto, G. (1991). Taking sides. New York: Harcourt Brace.Stringer, S. J., Reynolds, G. P., Simpson, F. M. (2003). Collaboration between classroom teachers and a school

counselor through literature circles: Building self-esteem. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 30, 69–76.Tussing, H. L., & Valentine, D. P. (2001). Helping adolescents cope with the mental illness of a

parent through bibliotherapy. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 18, 455–469.U.S. Census Bureau, (2002). Projected migration by race and Hispanic origin: 1999 to 2100. Retrieved

February 10, 2005, from http://www.census.gov/population/projections/nation/summary/np-t7-c.txtU.S. Census Bureau. (2005). Annual estimates of the population by race alone or in combination

and Hispanic or Latino origin for the United States and states: July 1, 2004. Retrieved August11, 2005, from http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2005/cb05-118_table1.xls

Walter, M.P. (1999). Have a happy . . . New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books.Yep, L. (1996). Ribbons. New York: Putnam.

APPENDIX

Bibliography of Recommended BooksGrades Kindergarten to 3

Chavarría-Cháirez, B. (2001). Magda’s pinata mágic. Houston, TX: Pinata Books.Chocolate, D. M. N. (1990). Kwanzaa. Chicago: Childrens Press.Garza, C. L. (1996). In my family. San Francisco: Children’s Book Press.Hoyt-Goldsmith, D. (1998). Celebrating Chinese New Year. New York: Holiday House.Morris, A. (2002). Grandma Lois remembers: An African-American family story. Brookfield, CT:

Millbrook Press.Pak, S. (2003). Sumi’s first day of school ever. New York: Viking.Pinkney, G. J. (1994). The Sunday outing. New York: Dial Books.Polacco, P. (1992). Mrs. Katz and Tush. New York: Batman Books.Wong, J. S. (2000). This next new year. New York: Frances Foster Books.

Grades 4 to 6

Clifton, L. (1979). The lucky stone. New York: Delacorte Press.Grimes, N. (1998). Jazmin’s notebook. New York: Dial Books.Lord, B. B. (1984). In the year of the boar and Jackie Robinson. New York: Harper & Row.Namioka, L. (2000). Yang the eldest and his odd jobs. Boston: Little, Brown & Co.Pinkney, A. D. (1995). Hold fast to dreams. New York: Morrow Junior Books.Soto, G. (1996). Off and running. New York: Delacorte Press.Walter, M. P. (1986). Justin and the best biscuits in the world. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books.Yep, L. (2002). When the circus came to town. New York: HarperCollins.

Documents

Using Storybooks to Promote Multicultural Sensitivity in Elementary School Children