Problem-posing with Multicultural Children’s Literature documents an ongoing qualitative study of early childhood teachers using a problem-posing method with multicultural children’s literature. Grounded in critical theory, the text has been written for use in upper-division undergraduate- and graduate-level classes that study infants, toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners, and students in grades one and two. The book uses examples from both early childhood and elementary teacher education students, and practicing teachers’ work as they study critical literacy, multicultural children’s literature, and integrated early childhood curriculum. This structure provides insights into guided research in child development, cultural and linguistic contexts, learning theory, strategies for teaching young children, family advocacy, and all related aspects of early childhood teacher education as the learners move through the activities.

The Author: Elizabeth P. Quintero is Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at New York University. She received her doctorate in early childhood and bilingual education from New Mexico State University. Her research, teaching, and service involve critical literacy in multilingual, multicultural communities with particular emphasis on families, early childhood programs, refugee mothers’ strengths and needs, and multicultural children’s literature. Quintero’s most recent publications include Becoming a Teacher in the New Society: Bringing Communities and Classrooms Together (Peter Lang, 2003); American Voices: Webs of Diversity; and Teachers’ Reading/Teachers’ Lives, all co-authored with Mary Kay Rummel.