From Principle to Practice: Using Children's Literature to Promote Dialogue and Facilitate the "Coming to Voice" in a Rural Latino Community

Abstract

When viewed through the lens of critical pedagogy, children's literature offers a viable avenue for tapping the "funds of knowledge" abounding in culturally and linguistically diverse communities. It is an effective means for promoting dialogue, arousing critical consciousness, and facilitating the "coming to voice" of oppressed people. In this article I examine the tenets of critical pedagogy as practiced in the Libros y Familias Program, a family literacy program for Spanish-speaking families in Independence, Oregon. It gives practical examples of how children's literature can be used as a vehicle for building community and personal transformation and presents a model adaptable to other communities.