Beyond Mirrors and Windows: A Critical Content Analysis of Latinx Children's Books.

This critical content analysis examines the representation of Latinx characters in 15 picture books published in 2013 and identified by Children’s Cooperative Book Center (CCBC) as having significant Latinx content. The theoretical framework undergirding this study is Critical Race Theory (Ladson-Billings, 1998; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002; Taylor, 2009; Yosso, Villalpando, Delgado Bernal, & Solórzano, 2001). This theory is used to uncover the assumptions and ideologies that are often represented in children’s literature. The results of this study indicate that (1) English is privileged in the texts, (2) superficial references to cultural artifacts are present, (3) traditional female centered roles are prevalent, and (4) authors situated books within a utopian society. The authors use these findings to argue for the importance of making curricular decisions with critical attention to text selections and the engagement of young children in critical literacy in early childhood and elementary classrooms.