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  • Stories Matter: The Complexity of Cultural Authenticity in Children’s Literature
  • Meena G. Khorana (bio)
Stories Matter: The Complexity of Cultural Authenticity in Children’s Literature. Edited by Dana L. Fox and Kathy G. Short . Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2003.

This collection of essays will undoubtedly become a basic reference work in cultural studies, because it introduces readers to all aspects of the controversy surrounding multiculturalism. The term "cultural authenticity" is used as a point of entry, but all the related issues—such as multicultural literature, multicultural education, insider/outsider distinction, authorial freedom and responsibility, and the sociocultural and political functions of children's literature—are discussed in detail. The editors, Dana L. Fox and Kathy G. Short, provide twenty-five well-respected authors, illustrators, editors, librarians, educators, and scholars involved with children and their books the opportunity to debate the contentious issue of cultural authenticity in children's literature. However, the contributing essays are not isolated positions of the various authors; instead, the authors engage in a "complex conversation" about cultural authenticity by "refer[ring] across their pieces and positions to the texts, ideas, and stances of others in the volume" (Fox and Short 4). Each author has seen what the others have written and is given the opportunity to respond, argue, and disagree.

The structure of the collection also does not privilege any particular ideological stance. The twenty-two chapters, representing a range of voices and philosophical views, are organized into five broad sections. The introductory section, The Sociopolitical Contexts of Cultural Authenticity, has two essays that frame the debate about cultural authenticity. Section II, The Perspectives of Authors, Illustrators, and Editors on Cultural Authenticity, consists of seven moving first-person accounts exploring whether or not an author can write about another culture. The four essays in Section III, Political Correctness and Cultural Authenticity, debate the gritty issue of whether an "outsider" can write authentically [End Page 215] about another culture. The six essays in Section IV, The Perspectives of Educators on Cultural Authenticity, examine cultural authenticity in children's books about specific groups. Section V, Connecting Cultural Authenticity to the Classroom, contains three essays that set the debate in its pedagogical context and focus on how to choose and use multicultural literature in the classroom.

The editors' introductory essay, "The Complexity of Cultural Authenticity in Children's Literature: Why the Debates Really Matter," facilitates the reading of the book by identifying the major topics being debated, analyzing the underlying principles informing these divergent views, and suggesting new areas for discussion. This detailed summarizing may tempt readers into thinking that perhaps it is irrelevant to read the remaining essays; however, that would be a mistake, because each essay reflects not only the distinctive voice of its author but also the experiences, beliefs, and rationale informing his or her position. Rudine Sims Bishop's introductory essay, "Reframing the Debate about Cultural Authenticity," emphasizes the political nature of the issue of representation in children's books. Tracing the historical context of cultural authenticity in African American children's books, she calls for an in-depth examination of this issue because "much of the authenticity debate seems to be oversimplified, ignoring or downplaying both history and the complexities of the ways race, power, and privilege operate in this society and the field of children's literature" (29).

At the heart of the many controversies debated in this volume is the focus on the nature of multicultural literature and how many and which cultures it should represent. While no absolute categories and definitions emerge, several authors provide thoughtful discussions on whether multicultural literature refers to international literature, racial or ethnic literature, literature about all "minority" groups in society (including women, gays, and the disabled), or cross-cultural writing. There are no specific literary criteria mentioned for multicultural literature, except that it is distinguished by its purpose. Mingshui Cai maintains, in "Multiple Definitions of Multicultural Literature: Is the Debate Really Just 'Ivory Tower' Bickering?" that it should be literature by and about people who are outside the sociopolitical mainstream, especially people of color. This view has been criticized as emphasizing the "Other." Cai responds that the inclusive...

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