Search
On-Site Program Calendar
Browse By Day
Browse By Time
Browse By Person
Browse By Room
Browse By Unit
Browse By Session Type
Search Tips
Change Preferences / Time Zone
Sign In
X (Twitter)
Objective/ Purpose
Book bans have historically been used to limit the types of books students can access, especially for communities of Color and historically marginalized groups. The last few years have given rise to book challenges and book bans. The New York Times reported in January of 2022 that “parents, activists, school board officials, and lawmakers around the country are challenging books at a pace not seen in decades.” (Harris & Alter). The purpose of this study is to use Critical Content Analysis (Perez Huber et al., 2020) to analyze a set of 10 Latine picture books that have been banned or challenged.
Perspective/Theoretical Framework
For our study, we rely on the conceptualization of Critical Race Theory Content Analysis developed by Pérez Huber et al.(2020), which describes the use of this analysis as focusing on “ how raced and intersectional identities are assigned, how dominant ideologies operate, how People of Color’s experiences are represented, whether a broader context is provided to situate those experiences, and the racialized meanings created from how the story is crafted itself” (Pérez Huber et al., 2021). Huber et al. contend that this analysis can provide a framework for analyzing books or parts of books to gain insights into how stories and characters are racialized.
Methods/Data
For this study, we analyzed 10 picture books that were both banned or challenged and were award-winning books. We were guided by Pérez Huber et al. (2020) alignment of Critical Race Theory with Critical Content Analysis to conduct our analysis.
Findings
Our analysis illustrates the essential topics that these books address. The books show the value of the Latine community and the importance of individuals being proud of who they are and where they come from. The books in this study challenge dominant perspectives about Latine communities being homogenous in that they are all immigrants coming to the United States to take jobs. Instead, these texts showcase the diversity of the Latine experience. The books feature characters that have a commitment to social justice and to making a difference. They want to make the world a better place and the texts share some of the ways they do this. The books also showed the importance of experiential knowledge in the Latine community. The texts demonstrated how important family is to the Latine community and the bonds across various members of their communities. These banned and challenged picture books are a portal towards cultural affirmation and validation that honors and celebrates the cultural as well as linguistic diversity of the readers.
Significance
This study is significant considering the rise in book bans and challenges across the country. Findings from this study demonstrate the myriad of Latine experiences that are represented in picture books. We argue that these books must continue to exist in classrooms. Children, especially ones from historically marginalized communities, need access to picture books that center their lived experiences and provide the language to engage in a discourse that challenges dominant ideology and promotes a commitment to social justice.