Children's Literature, Infancy to Early Adolescence

Appendix III

Class Station

1. What were the economic conditions during the time the text was written?
2. Are the individual struggles for the interest of the class in power or for the common people?
3. Is there a de-racialized middle class environment where lightness reigns and problems are solved on the basis of expediency?
4. What employment is accessible to characters?
5. How does dialect portray class?
6. Does physical environment limit possibilities?
7. How does the text reinforce, reproduce or praise prevailing class structure or the dominant economic system or class structure? With what social class is the author affiliated?
8. What are the conflicts between the social groups?
9. What values, attributes, qualities, attitudes are associated with social levels?
10. Who has the power to govern and on what is the power based?*

Gender Station

1. Are the females stereotyped as passive and ineffectual, dumb, silly, and unable to keep secrets, dependent, and timid?
2. Is there balance and cooperation between the male and female characters?
3. Does life revolve around attracting a sexual partner?
4. Is the identity of the male or female perceived or real?
5. Is the code of behavior less demanding for one gender than the other?
6. Does the story recognize and accept human qualities of people and not demand or distort by sex, race, ethnic or economic background?
7. Is the female the head or the neck?* Is the male the head or the neck?*
8. What are the roles of the male and female in the society and historical context of the text?
9. What are the patterns of thought, behavior, values and power in the relationship between men and women?

Race Station

1. Do Blacks serve in the interest of their group or in the interest of the dominant group? 2. Are Black people invisible? Do the characters have names and full lives? 3. Are the Black characters self-controlling, self-determining with positions of power and leadership besides as criminals or law enforcers for the dominant society? 4. Is Africa portrayed as primitive, uncivilized and barbaric? 5. Are there stereotypes: shiftless, lazy, irresponsible, light-hearted, constant singing and dancing, child-like, dishonest, overly sexual? Just as in the visual media, are there stereotypes of the athlete, the rapper, the welfare mother, the brooding criminal and the gangbanger? 6. Is society color- blind or without race?* 7. Are Black people only associated with animals and beasts? 8. Is the dialect subservient, childish, exaggerated, derogatory (excessive name-calling and profanity), inappropriate, and seemingly with little intelligence? 9. Does the text weaken or strengthen Black identity? 10. Is there a color distinction of virtuous people versus evil, negative people? Light is gloriously right, the advantageous prize and dark is dastardly wrong, a disaster.

Historical Station

1. How does history influence the author or the text's purpose?
2. What was going on at the time the text was written?
3. What is the author's biographical and historical background?
4. What other works has the author written?
5. Did the historical moment influence the causes and effects of the problem or conflict?
6. What is the most accurate, factual information about the time and space?
7. What was the technology available at the time and setting of the text (transportation, communication, household, entertainment, education)?
8. How has history influenced the present and the future?*
9. What people, class, gender, race and areas of life are left out of history? Who seems important?

Ideological Station

1. Do values serve as guides to behavior?
2. What are the assumptions of what is natural, just and right?
3. What seems to be important?
4. How is religion handled? Is there a balance or only one recognized religion?
5. What is the image of beauty?*
6. How does the text help the reader understand the indestructible human spirit?
7. What ideas does the text push or reflect through the characters, setting, plot, conflict and resolution? Are there contradictions?
8. Is there a particular group whose beliefs, customs, habits, practices seem to dominate another group? Is there a conflict or clash of values?
9. Is ideology universal? Do all people have the same universal value system?