Skin Color and Appearance

Indian peoples are usually referred to as “red,” but like all racial groups,their skin colors are varying tones of brown. In addition to being inaccurate, referring to Native peoples as “red” lumps them all together. The skin tone of American Indians varies from Nation to Nation and among individuals, just as with other groups of people. Use of the term “red” when referring to Native peoples feeds into even more derogatory terminology,such as “Redskin.” Redskin is an extremely offensive term. It refers to the bounty historically paid by Europeans for the skins of American Indians (Bigelow and Peterson 1998, 58–59).

Language

Stereotypes of Native American languages involve use of terms such as “how” and “ugh,” war whoops, and broken-English language structures. For example, in the well-known The Indian in the Cupboard (Banks 1980, 20), the Indian continually speaks in broken English, such as, “I better. You not better. You still big. You stop eat. Get right size.” All of these language stereotypes are extremely offensive and perpetuate the idea that Native peoples are uncivilized, all speak the same language, and don’t have highly developed languages. Native peoples speak hundreds of different languages.

Homes

Non-Native children often believe that all American Indian people live in tipis. There is a reason for this erroneous idea. Books, cartoons, and movies typically show all Native peoples living in the past, most often in the tipi, the traditional abode of the plains Nations. For example, What Can You Do with a Pocket? (Merriam 1964) shows generic Indians in front of tipis. Some teachers try to counter this by studying the historic abodes of various Native Nations. Few teachers or books, however, show the homes of Native peoples today. Books such as A House Is a House for Me (Hoberman 1978), still being sold in bookstores as of this writing, continue to lock Native peoples in houses of the past:

• An igloo’s a house for an Eskimo.
• A tepee’s a house for a Cree.
• A pueblo’s a house for a Hopi.
• And a wigwam may hold a Mohee.

This stanza is clearly an attempt on the author’s part to reflect the diversity of Native Nations, and perhaps to counter the prevalent image that all Native peoples traditionally lived in tipis. However, the attempt is flawed because the author portrays Native peoples in the past and not in the present. A House Is a House for Me is a clear example of how a well-meant effort to diversify curriculum can go badly astray if all the factors are not considered.

Dress

Once again stereotypes transform all Native American people into members of plains Nations, wearing feathered headdresses as part of their normal attire. Many children’s books depict Native peoples in this fashion, while others show children or adults dressing up as generic Indians. Some examples are Amazing Grace (Hoffman 1991), in which a young girl dressed up as Hiawatha (Iroquois) sits cross-legged in a stoic pose and wears a full plains headdress; My First Word Book (Wilkes 1991), which shows a child dressed as a “chief” in a generic Indian “costume” complete with headdress; I Like You (Warburg 1965 and 1993), which shows a child dressed in stereotypic braids, buckskin dress, headband, and feather; the Rugrats book Be My Valentine (Wigand 2000), in which an adult dresses in a headband and feather for a Valentine’s Day party; The Golden Picture Dictionary (Ogle and Thoburn 1976), which includes a white child dressed up as an Indian and Indian characters attacking a fort; What Do You Do, Dear? (Joslin 1961), which asks the reader what you should do if you are an Indian smoking a peace pipe with cowboys, and you swallow some smoke; and If It Weren’t for You (Zolotow 1966), in which the younger child is dressed as an Indian throughout the book. Unfortunately, the list could go on and on.

Warlike

Many young children already view Native Americans as warlike, dangerous, and hostile. The authors of the New Brighton study, which was previously cited, were surprised at the large number of kindergarten children who described American Indians as violent and mean, killing and shooting people (Hirschfelder 1999, 4). Recently, Guy was approached by a young girl who asked, “You’re not going to scalp me, are you?” This image of Native American peoples is not surprising given the violent images so often portrayed in movies, in cartoons, and by sports teams who use Indians as mascots, inspiring stadiums full of fans to perform tomahawk chops. Many children’s books also depict a warlike image of Native peoples. Sometimes the images are in the background, as is the case in Will I Have a Friend? (Cohen 1967), in which a child dressed as an Indian runs around with a tomahawk, hand to mouth in a war whoop, throughout the book. In a book for older children, the “Indian” in The Indian in the Cupboard tells Omri, the child character, “Little Bear fight like mountain lion! Take many scalps!” (Banks 1980, 29) While The Indian in the Cupboard is a chapter book, some older primary-age children can read it, and it has been made into a movie. Children notice these images, and they leave behind a bias that is hard to erase.

Living in the Past

Another prevalent stereotype of Native peoples is that they lived only in the past. When asked to describe Indian people today, many young children list historical occupations, dwellings, and attire. In other words, they believe that modern-day Indians wear buckskin, shoot bows and arrows, and live in tipis. In the New Brighton study, 69 percent of the kindergartners and 77 percent of the fifth-grade children gave only traditional activities when describing occupations of male Indians (Hirschfelder 1999, 4). Teachers reinforce these misconceptions when they focus their curriculum on Indian dwellings of the past, ask Native guests to come to class dressed in historical attire, or introduce arts and crafts projects that require children to recreate historical Indian dwellings or clothing. Books also reinforce these images. My First Picture Dictionary (1990, 179) defines the word Indian in past tense and uses a historic picture of Chief Joseph for the illustration: “Indian—a person from any of the groups of people who first lived in America. Indians

Culture

Non-Native children typically lump all Native peoples together under one culture. This is not surprising since so many books, toys, television shows, and movies do the same thing. This clumping together of cultures in children’s minds was evident when a diverse group of American Indians, while on a historic Walk for Justice (1994) across the country, camped in a park in Cincinnati. Several young European American boys approached a Lakota man seated in a lawn chair and asked him to get up and do a rain dance. After politely telling them that he didn’t do rain dances, he invited them to show him one of their own dances. In addition to creating generic Indian cultures, non-Native writers often add European elements to them. For example, the back cover description of the beginning reader The True Story of Pocahontas (Penner 1994) proclaims, “Pocahontas was a brave, beautiful Indian princess.” European cultures had princesses; Native cultures did not.

Music

Hollywood has created stereotypes of American Indian music, along with stereotypes of demeanor, mannerisms, and dress. A typical example of stereotyped music is the fake war chant used by fans of the National League baseball team in Atlanta, students at Florida State University, and others. Rhythmic stereotypes also abound. One often hears a pattern of four beats, with the first heavily accented: “DUM dum dum dum, DUM dum dum dum.” None of these stereotypes is heard in the music of any Native cultures; nevertheless, they make their way into “Indian” songs for children. For example, in Silver Burdett’s Making Music Your Own (1971), a music series that was adopted by many schools and is still available in libraries, a song in the kindergarten volume titled “Playing Indians” (p. 75) contains stereotypes in both the melody and words:

Playing Indians is such fun / Let’s be Indians now . . .
Did you ever see a Sioux / Ride across the plain . . .
Did you ever see a Crow / Paddling a canoe . . .
Navahos sit in the sun, / Making bowls of clay . . .
Let’s pretend we’re Iroquois, / Shooting with our bows . . .
Hi-yah! Hi-yah! Hi-yah! Hi-yah! Hi-yah! Hi-yah! Hi!

One of the problems with school music series is that the editors tend to select one or two allegedly traditional “Native American” songs, often without any apparent consultation from the cultures the songs supposedly represent, and use them as representatives of Native American music. This presents children with an extremely narrow and often inauthentic perspective about Native music. In actuality, American Indian music is extensive, extremely diverse, and continually evolving in the contemporary world, as is the music of most cultures. Some curious anomalies appear in these series. For example, the supposed Hopi “Butterfly Dance” in the kindergarten volume of the Macmillan series The Spectrum of Music (1980, 27) has exactly the same melody, with the exception of the last note, as the alleged Hopi “Grinding Corn” song in the first-grade volume of the Silver Burdett and Ginn series World of Music (1988, 126), yet the words are completely different. In some music books the only Indian songs that are included are those with vocables (syllables with no apparent meaning)—no words or translations (The Spectrum of Music—Level 1 1980, 55 and 59; Silver Burdett

Depersonalization

One of the most insidious stereotypes of Native American peoples is their dehumanization in books and songs. They are often portrayed as animals in children’s books, because authors and illustrators seem to believe that just adding a headdress automatically makes anything into an “Indian.” The following are just a few of the numerous books that portray Native American peoples as animals, or vice versa: The Eleventh Hour (Base 1993), which shows a tiger in feathered headdress; Teddy Bears ABC (Gretz 1975), which includes two teddy bears carrying a headdress; Richard Scarry’s Find Your ABC’s (Scarry 1986), which includes a cat dressed in buckskin shirt and headdress and a raccoon in a headband and feather; Clifford’s Halloween (Bridwell 1967), in which a dog wears war paint, a blanket, and a headdress and smokes a pipe; Alligators All Around: An Alphabet (Sendak 1962), in which one alligator wears a headdress and carries a tomahawk, and another alligator sits stoically, smoking a pipe; and The Stupids Step Out (Allard 1974), which shows a dog wearing a headdress. Native peoples are further objectified when they are used as objects for counting in children’s songs and counting books. The most widespread example is undoubtedly “Ten Little Indians,” which spreads generationally by word of mouth and is perpetuated in music books such as the kindergarten volume of Silver Burdett Music (1985, 30). Many adults who grew up singing this song themselves have a hard time understanding why it is objectionable. They must remember that items used for counting are almost always inanimate objects or animals. To group Native Americans with animals or objects is the height of dehumanization. It supports an image of Indian peoples that is undifferentiated by culture and less than human. Just to experience how it feels to be a counting object, try putting your own race or ethnic group into the song. Would any of us sing about ten little white boys, Jews, or African Americans?

Feathers and Headdresses

This is one of the most common “Indian” activities used by teachers of young children. Some activity books, such as More Than Moccasins (Carlson 1994, 51–56), give specific directions for war bonnets or headdresses. They illustrate the somewhat prevalent attitude that children can play Indian, just as they might play cowboy. The important difference is that cowboy is an occupation, while Indian is a race. Native peoples do not consider making headdresses or using feathers in “Indian” projects to be acceptable. To Native peoples, feathers are sacred. They are often used in ceremonial practice. As a comparison, teachers would not have children make and wear yarmulkes, the traditional rounded caps used by Jewish men to cover their heads in the presence of G-d, as a strategy for understanding Jewish people.

Peace Pipe

We often hear references to a “peace pipe,” and in More Than Moccasins children are directed to make peace pipes out of toilet paper tubes (Carlson 1994, 36). The Pipe is so sacred to Native American peoples that it is brought out only for very significant occasions. Although traditional teachings about how the Pipe was given to various Indian Nations differ, all agree on the sacredness of the Pipe. To the Lakota people, the Chunupa (Pipe) symbolizes earth, all things that grow on earth, and all things that are on earth. This is represented on the Pipe by leather, feathers, sweet grass, and sage. Indian people consider the term “peace pipe” to be derogatory and feel that class projects that involve the Pipe take away from its sacredness. They therefore regard such activities as highly inappropriate, in the same way that people from other religious traditions would object to children creating representations of their sacred icons.

Sun Dance Skull

To many people, the term “sun dance” evokes images of an exotic Indian dance (or perhaps a particular automobile). Several activity books, including The Kids’ Multicultural Art Book (Terzian 1993, 22–25) and Multicultural Festivals (Weir 1995, 43–45), suggest having children make the buffalo skull from the Sun Dance. The buffalo skull is part of the Wi Wacipi, one of the most sacred ceremonies in the Lakota religion. Needless to say, it is held in deep respect, as are important religious icons in other faiths. Incorporating sacred items such as this into class art projects demeans them. Instead of helping children understand Native cultures, it teaches disrespect for their beliefs and traditions.

Totem Poles

Many teachers introduce totem poles as individual or class sculpture projects. Global Art (Kohl 1998, 127) gives directions for making totem poles out of boxes, while More Than Moccasins (Carlson 1994, 169–171), Multicultural Festivals (Weir 1995, 15–18), and The Kids’ Multicultural Art Book (Terzian 1993, 30–33) suggest making them out of egg cartons, paper towel tubes, boxes, or paper. Totem poles are still carved by Native Nations in the Pacific Northwest to preserve important teachings, traditions, and historical events and communicate them to future generations. A common phrase in the English language, “low man on the totem pole,” conveys a huge misconception. Among Indian people, the bottom of the totem pole is the most sacred place to be since the one at the bottom supports the whole world. While totem poles were never worshiped, a misconception of missionaries that led to the wholesale destruction of totem poles, they are used in important ceremonies. When teachers simplify totem poles by turning them into craft projects, they take away their deep meaning.

Fancy Dance Bustle

Traditional Native American dance regalia should not be equated with a dance costume. The regalia of Native dancers represent a part of their personal identity and also their affiliation with a particular Indian Nation. Dance regalia are considered sacred. Nevertheless, More Than Moccasins (Carlson 1994, 48) suggests that children make dance bustles out of pizza boxes and paper plates. Indian children don’t play with dance regalia, because they are taught to respect it. Non-Native children also should be taught cultural respect. They should not be encouraged to make or play with Native American dance regalia.

Indian Tom-toms

Teachers err when they assume Native American drums are just musical instruments, as are most drums in European cultures. Thus, they often assemble materials for children to create “Indian” drums. More Than Moccasins (Carlson 1994, 83–84) suggests that Indian drums be made from oatmeal boxes. To American Indian people, the Drum is sacred and represents the heartbeat. It is treated with great respect. For example, singers at powwows never leave the Drum unattended. Indian children do not make drums; neither should non-Native children create drums designated as Indian.

Fetish Necklaces

Out of ignorance, teachers may assume that fetish necklaces are just cute pieces of jewelry. More Than Moccasins suggests carving the animals out of soap (Carlson 1994, 64–65). The fetishes used in traditional Native necklaces were given to individuals and families and are similar to the historical family and clan crests in European societies. As such, they carry special, spiritual significance. Just as children from one family or clan would not make or wear the crest from another family, teachers should not encourage children to re-create fetishes from Hopi or other Native Nations. To do so contributes to misunderstanding and a lack of respect for cultures not their own.

Dream Catchers

Dream catcher kits are commonly sold in craft stores, and The Kids’ Multicultural Art Book (Terzian 1993, 44–45) suggests making them out of paper plates. It is important for teachers to understand the significance of dream catchers; otherwise, they may introduce activities that mock cultural traditions. Dream catchers are traditionally given to children by their parents, as was the case with Guy, who gave a dream catcher to his young son when he was having bad dreams. The purpose of the dream catcher is to catch the child’s dreams in its web so that the bad dreams can melt away in the morning sun. It is sacred to the parent and child relationship and creates special memories. To see the dream catcher reduced to a class craft project takes away from that special significance.

Magic Power Shields

A typical stereotype of American Indian peoples is one of mysticism and magic. Some activity books, such as The Kids’ Multicultural Art Book (Terzian 1993, 18–19), suggest that children create “magic power shields” out of paper plates. Teachers should be aware that many Indian people do not appreciate seeing traditional objects referred to as “magical,” with symbols that have special significance to individuals incorporated into class projects. Activities such as this can build barriers between cultures and create animosity. Part of learning to understand and respect various cultures is becoming aware that symbols may mean different things in different traditions. For example, in many Native cultures the clown is considered sacred because he makes you laugh. This is a very different significance than that accorded to the clown in European American society. To refer to “magical power shields” reinforces stereotypes of the superstitious American Indian and suggests that Native Americans are not as advanced spiritually as other peoples.

Sand Paintings

Teachers sometimes assume that it is okay to have children create Navajo (Diné) sand paintings because colored sand is used for other art activities. The activity books Global Art (Kohl 1998, 125) and More Than Moccasins (Carlson 1994, 172) give specific directions for children to make Navajo sand paintings, although the authors acknowledge that they are part of religious or healing ceremonies. Sand paintings are indeed sometimes used as part of Diné healing ceremonies, and Diné elders confirm that they are regarded as sacred in the culture. It may be helpful for teachers to reflect upon how they treat the sacred practices of other religions. For example, while early childhood teachers often incorporate bead stringing into the art curriculum, they do not go a step further and have children make rosaries. Diné sand painting poses the same kind of situation. While working with colored sand may be a fine art activity, teachers should not associate children’s art explorations with sacred Navajo sand painting.

Pictographs

Another typical preschool art activity, straw blown painting, is transformed into an Indian pictograph project in More Than Moccasins (Carlson 1994, 166). Pictographs were a way for Native cultures to pass down their histories to future generations. They were very significant to the culture, as the people would have to determine what events were most worthy of preserving. Thus, while blowing air through straws to move paint is a fine art or science activity for young children, associating a craft project with important Native traditions is not.

Face Painting

Face painting is another way in which non-Native children associate Native American peoples with war and violence. More Than Moccasins (Carlson 1994, 71) gives directions for war paint and other types of Indian face paint. Recently, Guy was asked to bring Native American dancers, singers, and storytellers into the Dayton schools for a special program. At the first school they visited, the dancers wore regalia but did not have time to paint their faces. The children enjoyed the program and responded positively. After lunch, however, the dancers had enough time to apply paint before the afternoon performances. As the dancers entered the stage, the children became frightened and began to scream hysterically. They screamed so loudly, in fact, that they drowned out the Drum. When the children had finally calmed down, Guy explained the significance of the colors of the paint and described how the manner in which the face is painted tells a story. The dancers then related how each design used in their face paint was given to them in ceremony. When evaluating activities, teachers must recognize that television, movies, and books have all created powerful images for children of war-painted savages. Introducing face painting as an “Indian” activity reinforces these images and detracts from the significance and symbolism of the paint to the individual and the culture.

Rattles

As with drums, activity books such as More Than Moccasins (Carlson 1994, 78–82) treat Native American rattles as rhythm instruments to be copied as classroom projects. Among Indian people, however, rattles are sacred and are used in ceremony. Thus, while it is fine to use rattles or maracas in the classroom, teachers should not cross the cultural boundary of making specifically “Indian rattles.” Rattles have a special significance in Native cultures that should be respected.

Kachinas

Kachinas look like exotic dolls to educators who don’t appreciate their cultural significance. They appear in the Native American toys section of More Than Moccasins (Carlson 1994, 97) and as paper cut-outs in Multicultural Festivals (Weir 1995, 11–14). To the Hopi people, Kachinas are sacred and are given for a special purpose. Thus, it is not appropriate to have children make them as an arts and crafts project.

Brown Bag Vests

Teachers sometimes have children make “Indian” vests from paper bags. The Kids’ Multicultural Art Book (Terzian 1993, 16) and More Than Moccasins (Carlson 1994, 41) give instructions. Brown bag vests are not sacred, but they do reinforce the “all Indians are the same” stereotype that is common among children and society as a whole. While some Indian peoples wore leather vests, others did not. Another problem with this type of activity is that it conveys the notion that children can become Indian by dressing up. As with other cultures, the apparel of American Indian people is part of their identity, both as individuals and as part of their Native Nation.

When considering activities that involve materials held sacred by particular groups of people, teachers should reflect on the care that other segments of society may use in similar situations. In a recent production of the Verdi opera Nabucco, set designers for the Cincinnati Opera Company wanted to include an enlarged text of the Torah, sacred scripture of Judaism, for the backdrop. They realized, however, that this would not be acceptable practice since the Torah is holy text. Rather than pushing ahead anyway, they turned to Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati for assistance. Eventually, a Samaritan text was located and used for the production. Although use of this text was considered acceptable by the Jewish community, it is still considered sacred and therefore must be given to a synagogue at the end of the production rather than discarded (Hutton 2001).

Educators should take note that having children make sacred objects in school, such as many of those cited above, has been ruled by at least one court as transgressing the separation of church and state. In White Plains, New York, a federal judge found a school district in violation of the law for allowing a teacher to have children cut out elephant-head images of the Hindu deity Ganesha, make toothpick “worry dolls,” and build an altar for an Earth Day liturgy (Zielbauer 1999; Associated Press 1999).

Outcomes for Children

• Understand similarities among all peoples
  Children quickly perceive and comment on differences among people. Through appropriate curriculum and sensitive teaching, they can also begin to understand the similarities that link all peoples.
• Understand, respect, and embrace differences among peoples
  Young children are egocentric. They have a hard time understanding thatnot everyone views things the same way they do. Adults often seem to have the same problem when dealing with cultural differences. Carefully selected curriculum and teaching strategies can help children feel comfortable with differences among peoples without viewing people from cultures other than their own as exotic or weird.
• Develop accurate images of Native peoples
  We know that even young children hold inaccurate and stereotypical images of American Indians. Our goal is to counter these images with positive, accurate images that reflect Native peoples today.
• Educators should take note that having children make sacred objects in school, such as many of those cited above, has been ruled by at least one court as transgressing the separation of church and state. In White Plains, New York, a federal judge found a school district in violation of the law for allowing a teacher to have children cut out elephant-head images of the Hindu deity Ganesha, make toothpick “worry dolls,” and build an altar for an Earth Day liturgy (Zielbauer 1999; Associated Press 1999).

Outcomes for Teachers

• Learn to accurately evaluate Native American curriculum materials In most cases, teachers lack the background and education to adequately evaluate Native American content in the literature and materials they use. With increased knowledge and sensitivity to diversity issues, they can make more informed choices.
• Develop appropriate strategies for implementing Native curriculum Teachers often feel that the best way to learn about American Indians is to isolate them as a unit of study. A much more respectful and developmentally appropriate strategy is to integrate Native literature and curricular materials throughout the year, in all units of study.
• .Develop a resource file of appropriate Native literature and curriculum materials As teachers begin to discard inappropriate materials, there are many outstanding Native children’s books and resources to take their place. Teachers need to be knowledgeable about the materials available and where to find them.
• Understand how to recognize and avoid stereotypes of American Indian peoples Teachers need to become sensitized to the many stereotypes of Native peoples that abound in our society. Only then can they adequately screen materials and terminology that promote inaccurate and negative images.
• Know where to go to find answers about Native issues in educational environments Inevitably, there will be some popular book or teaching material that teachers wonder about. Knowing whom to contact to ask respectful questions empowers teachers to continue to improve their teaching materials and practices.

References

• Allard, Harry. 1974. The Stupids step out. Pictures by James Marshall. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
• Associated Press. 1999. School scolded for Hindu dolls. The Cincinnati Post, 22 May, 2A.
• Banks, Lynne Reid. 1980. The Indian in the cupboard. Illustrated by Brock Cole. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday.
• Base, Graeme. 1993. The eleventh hour, reprint ed. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
• Bigelow, Bill, and Bob Peterson. 1998. Rethinking Columbus, 2d ed. Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools.
• Bredekamp, Sue, and Carol Copple. 1997. Developmentally appropriate practice in earlychildhood programs, rev. ed. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
• Bridwell, Norman. 1967. Clifford’s Halloween. New York: Scholastic Book Services.
• Carlson, Laurie. 1994. More than moccasins. Chicago: Chicago Review Press.
• Cohen, Miriam. 1967. Will I have a friend? Pictures by Lillian Hoban. New York: Macmillan.
• Eastman, P. D. 1964. The Cat in the Hat dictionary. New York: Beginner Books.
• Gretz, Susanna. 1975. Teddy bears ABC. Chicago: Follett.
• Hirschfelder, Arlene, Paulette Fairbanks Molin, and Yvonne Wakim. 1999. American Indian stereotypes in the world of children, 2d ed. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press.
• Hoberman, Mary Ann. 1978. A house is a house for me. Illustrated by Betty Fraser. New York: Viking.
• Hoffman, Mary. 1991. Amazing Grace. Pictures by Caroline Binch. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.
• Hutton, Mary Ellyn. 2001. “Nabucco” research pays off. The Cincinnati Post, 19 July, 1B.
• Joslin, Sesyle. 1961. What do you do, dear? Pictures by Maurice Sendak. New York: Young Scott Books.
• Kohl, MaryAnn F., and Jean Potter. 1998. Global art. Illustrations by Rebecca Van Slyke. Beltsville, Md.: Gryphon House.
• Loewen, James W. 1996. Lies my teacher told me: Everything your American history textbook got wrong. New York: Touchstone.
• Making music your own. 1971. Morristown, N.J.: Silver Burdett.
• Merriam, Eve. 1964. What can you do with a pocket? Illustrated by Harriet Sherman. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
• Miles, Miska. 1971. Annie and the Old One. Illustrated by Peter Parnall. Boston: Little, Brown.
• My first picture dictionary. 1990. Glenville, Ill.: Scott Forsman–Addison Wesley.
• Ogle, Lucille, and Tina Thoburn. 1976. The Golden picture dictionary. Illustrated by Hilary Knight. New York: Golden Press.
• Penner, Lucille Recht. 1994. The true story of Pocahontas. Illustrated by Pamela Johnson. New York: Random House.
• Scarry, Richard. 1986. Richard Scarry’s find your ABC’s. New York: Random House.
• Sendak, Maurice. 1962. Alligators all around: An alphabet. New York: Harper & Row.
• Silver Burdett Music centennial edition. 1985. Morristown, N.J.: Silver Burdett.
• Slapin, Beverly, and Doris Seale. 1998. Through Indian eyes: The Native experience in books for children, 4th ed. Los Angeles: UCLA American Indian Studies Center.
• Spectrum of music, The. 1983. New York: Macmillan.
• Terzian, Alexandra M. 1993. The kids’ multicultural art book. Charlotte, Vt.: Williamson Publishing.
• Warburg, Sandol Stoddard. 1965, renewed 1993. I like you. Illustrated by Jacqueline Chwast. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
• Weir, Wendy. 1995. Multicultural festivals. Illustrated by Kelly McMahon. Santa Ana, Calif.: Wendy’s Bookworks.
• Wigand, Molly. 2000. Be my valentine. Illustrated by Louis del Carmen and James Peters. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• Wilkes, Angela. 1991. My first word book. New York: DK Publishing.
• World of music. 1988. Morristown, N.J.: Silver Burdett & Ginn.
• Zielbauer, Paul. 1999. Judge rules school district erred on religion in classrooms. The New York Times, 22 May, B1
• Zinn, Howard. 1990. A people’s history of the United States, reprint ed. New York: Harper Perennial.
• Zolotow, Charlotte. 1966. If it weren’t for you. Pictures by Ben Shecter. New York: Harper & Row.