Would more Latino characters get Latino kids to read?

It’s an intriguing premise put forth recently by the New York Times – more characters in books read by children in class who are of some identifiable Latino ethnicity might actually capture the attention of the growing number of Latino kids in our schools.

Too many of the characters that kids get exposed to are of some sort of generic white origins, which makes some kids think they just don’t belong.

I KNOW SOME will argue against that premise. Although perhaps it would do the white kids some good to be exposed to more people in their lessons.

Because the one thing I am sure of is that it is pretty sad that the one Latina that kids these days get to read about is Dora the Explorer – who began in television cartoons.

I don’t think Dora deserves a monopoly when it comes to Latinos in children’s literature.

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