The Complexity of Building Bridges of Books Across Global Cultures

Books can provide compelling invitations for children to explore global cultures, but how those books are used influences whether readers connect information about a particular global community to that culture's deeper values. Our concerns about reducing the cultural richness of a global community and establishing stereotypes led us to explore engagements for children that encourage a cosmopolitan orientation. Through this orientation, children balance critical reflection on their own cultural loyalties with critical reflection on their openness to an unfamiliar global culture. This article focuses on our learning as teachers in an afterschool club and our recognition that books can close rather than open children's minds and build walls rather than bridges across cultures.