Children’s Literature from Asia in Today’s Classrooms

Book excerpt: This new volume, Children’s Literature from Asia in Today’s Classrooms: Towards Culturally Authentic Interpretations, aims to provide readers with interpretation guides and practical ideas when they endeavor to make use of Asian international children’s literature in the classroom. It attempts to help readers interpret stories from Asia more authentically, and focuses both on international children’s literature and also on international literature read by young adults. In an increasingly interconnected world, understanding Asian international children’s literature and effectively using it are worthy goals for PK-16 classrooms and teacher education programs. The book is divided into two parts. Part I discusses how to authentically read children’s literature from four countries: India, Thailand, China, and Japan. These chapters provide guides for meaningful interpretations of cultural aspects of children’s stories from these countries. Part II consists of annotated bibliographies of international children’s literature from selected Asian societies: China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The editors believe that readers will find each author’s cultural insights fascinating and useful as they attempt to read with cultural authenticity.