Analyzing a Picture Book to Determine If It Exposes Multicultural Ideas to Children
Running head: ANALYZING A PICTURE BOOK 1
Analyzing a Picture Book to Determine if it Exposes Multicultural Ideas to Children
Claudia M. Torres
University of South Florida
APA Style Claudia M. Torres
ANALYZING A PICTURE BOOK 2
Analyzing a Picture Book to Determine if it Exposes Multicultural Ideas to Children
Introduction
The focus of this analysis will be Gerald McDermott’s picture book Zomo The Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa (1992). It is a tale of a clever rabbit and how far he is willing to go in his quest for wisdom. This picture book is highly recommended by the New York Public Library as one of 100 picture books everyone should know. The evaluation will use Betsy Hearne’s standards and criteria to examine if this book is authentic and true to its cultural background. The goal is to evaluate the picture book and determine if it meets those criteria and should the book be considered among the 100 best picture books for children.
Picture Book Background The story begins by describing the main character Zomo, a rabbit. He is described as being neither big nor strong but clever. Zomo wanted wisdom so he went to the Sky God and asked to be given wisdom. The Sky God explains that he must earn the wisdom and gives him “three impossible things.” He needs to bring the Sky God three things: the scales of Big Fish, the milk of Wild Cow and the tooth of Leopard. Zomo as the title of the book says is a trickster and is a very clever rabbit. He manages to trick Big Fish and gets his scales, then he tricks Wild Cow and gets the milk and finally using both
Analyzing a Picture Book to Determine if it Exposes Multicultural Ideas to Children
Claudia M. Torres
University of South Florida
APA Style Claudia M. Torres
ANALYZING A PICTURE BOOK 2
Analyzing a Picture Book to Determine if it Exposes Multicultural Ideas to Children
Introduction
The focus of this analysis will be Gerald McDermott’s picture book Zomo The Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa (1992). It is a tale of a clever rabbit and how far he is willing to go in his quest for wisdom. This picture book is highly recommended by the New York Public Library as one of 100 picture books everyone should know. The evaluation will use Betsy Hearne’s standards and criteria to examine if this book is authentic and true to its cultural background. The goal is to evaluate the picture book and determine if it meets those criteria and should the book be considered among the 100 best picture books for children.
Picture Book Background The story begins by describing the main character Zomo, a rabbit. He is described as being neither big nor strong but clever. Zomo wanted wisdom so he went to the Sky God and asked to be given wisdom. The Sky God explains that he must earn the wisdom and gives him “three impossible things.” He needs to bring the Sky God three things: the scales of Big Fish, the milk of Wild Cow and the tooth of Leopard. Zomo as the title of the book says is a trickster and is a very clever rabbit. He manages to trick Big Fish and gets his scales, then he tricks Wild Cow and gets the milk and finally using both
Cited: one. Retrieved Sept 23, 2010, from http://people.lis.uiuc.edu/~hearne/cite.html. Hearne, B. (1993, August). Respect the source: reducing cultural chaos in picture books, part two McDermott, G. (1992). Zomo the rabbit: a trickster tale from West Africa. 1st ed. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace & Company. Mendoza, J., & Reese, D. (2001). Examining multicultural picture books for the early childhood classroom: possibilities and pitfalls 3. Retrieved Sept 22, 2010, from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v3n2/mendoza.html. Perini, R. B. (2002). The pearl in the shell: author’s notes in multicultural children’s Literature Smith, J., & Wiese, P. (2006). Authenticating children’s literature: raising cultural awareness with an inquiry-based project in a teacher education course