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Stepping Back in Time in Contemporary International Books

by Kathy G. Short, The University of Arizona

Stepping Back in Time in Contemporary International BooksThe need for book reviewers who are either cultural insiders or who consult with cultural insiders in writing their reviews has become increasingly apparent to me. Seemi Aziz Raina and Yoo Kyung Sung in their research on the representations of Muslims and Korean Americans in children’s literature have identified many subtle issues that would be difficult to identify by someone who does not have some kind of insider knowledge. They have also found that the recency of that insider knowledge is critical.
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A Book Never Stands Alone: Do Reviewers Have a Social Responsibility?

By Kathy Short, Director of Worlds of Words

social responsibilityBook reviews, by definition, are a summary and evaluation of a particular book. Clearly reviewers make those evaluations within their in-depth knowledge of the broader field and body of literature. The reviews themselves sometimes connect the book to other literature, especially in longer reviews, but the general approach to reviewing is from an individualistic standpoint — the book stands alone. Several recent examples have made evident why this is problematic.
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Reviewer’s Assumptions about Audience

By Kathy Short, Director of Worlds of Words

mainstream audience for reviewsHaving written book reviews for various publications, I am aware of the difficulty of succinctly conveying a summary of the text, description of the illustrations, discussion of themes, and evaluation of the book in a few sentences. Many book reviews are one short paragraph, providing little space to convey much of a sense of the book. My conversations with other educators over the past several months have led me to wonder about the unwritten rules for writing these reviews that have developed out of a need to be so brief. I wonder if we have fallen into some practices as reviewers that send unintended messages to the mainstream audience for reviews.
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Children’s Hope in the Midst of Despair

By Kathy Short, Director of Worlds of Words

Kathy's Wishes, children's hope, war and peaceMany adults believe children should not be burdened with books that raise difficult social issues, particularly war and violence. They argue to protect the innocence of children, not realizing that what children want is perspective, not protection. Continue reading