Homeschool Fever

About this Genre: This genre involves stories that reflect a wide range of societal structures, beliefs, ethics, attitudes, morals, abilities, ethnicities, family structures, and countries.

Importance: This genre helps challenge what children view as “normal” and shows them that there are more than one way of living life outside of a middle-class American suburbian existence. It also helps break through stereotypes such as those of nationality, race, and religion, as well as creates a sense of knowing and empathy during times of conflict.

Criteria to use when evaluating books from this genre:

The book is an excellent piece of literature
The book depicts diversity as an important but not gratuitous backdrop in a nonstereotyped manner, or
The book explores cultural differences and similarities in an accurate and sensitive manner, or
The book explores a particular culture accurately, demonstrating diversity within as well as across cultures if appropriate and avoiding stereotypes
The book is a positive contribution to an understanding of culture portayed

Major awards associated with this genre:

Americas Award; Carter G. Woodson Award; Coretta Scott King Award; John Steptoe Award for New Talent; National Jewish Book Awards; Pura Belpre Award; Sydney Taylor Book Awards; Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award

Fun Idea!

Study a Regional Culture: Have children choose a US region such as the Appalachian Mountains, New Orleans’ French Quarter, or even New England, and let them study the different aspects of that region such as cultural traditions, folklore, accent, foods, and their unique habits.

Why this Genre is Important:

This genre is important in the classroom because of the influx and mainstreaming of different cultures as is happening today. At our public schools, children are now not only encountering other “white” American children, but children with many diverse backgrounds such as African Americans, Mexicans, Asians, and more. It is important that our children recognize that we are all essentially the same inside – we have feelings, desires, needs, wants, thoughts, and hunger – regardless of our cultural heritage.