This study compares social studies textbooks used in elementary schools of Canada, China, Mexico, Taiwan, and the U.S. in terms of how multicultural education is integrated into the curriculum. Based on Banks' framework of multicultural curriculum reform, the researchers examined the dimensions of content integration, knowledge construction, and prejudice reduction to assess the level of multicultural education represented in each textbook. The results were interpreted in the cultural, historical, and political contexts of each society.

This article chronicles the findings of two university professors who wanted to support cultural awareness and competence in their teacher education students at both pre-service and graduate levels. Many of their students did not understand the concept of social justice as it applies to classroom practice. The authors propose a model for first approaching the topic of culturally inclusive pedagogy that begins with self-awareness; progresses to understanding and valuing others; and advances as action in the educational setting to support equity for all. This is not a comprehensive model, but addresses beginning steps for creating an inclusive, diverse classroom community.

Rapid advances in technology are providing librarians, teachers, and students with a much wider range of choices in strategies and materials that support learning. We were interested in how graphic and virtual novels are offering creative venues for reaching audiences who might not discover or enjoy good literature in more traditional formats.We approached two of the best in today's children's literature market. Gloria Skurzynski has been writing award-winning books for young people for many years. Her most recent, Virtual War Chronologs: Book 4, The Choice, is forthcoming. George O'Connor, relatively new to the scene, has received recognition for his first two picture books for younger children. His first graphic novel, Journey Into Mohawk Country, will be in print Fall 2006. Pisah and Stahl (2005) have chronicled the frustration of an excellent history teacher who struggles to ensure that all his students have access to the content mandated by state standards, regardless of their learning challenges. They write, Students with learning and attentional disabilities and those with limited motivation cannot keep pace in the same class-not because they find the . . . content too challenging, but because they cannot read or attend sufficiently to keep pace with their nondisabled peers. (p. 69)The authors describe digital "universally designed instructional materials," which support students who struggle with more traditional texts. When the teacher they observed implemented new strategies in his classroom, including the option of viewing text on the computer and CD-ROM, he and his students experienced marked success.Crawford (2004) endorsed graphic novels as a "magnet" for reluctant readers and students who are second-language learners, noting that the illustrations unlock meaning for them in a way that ordinary text cannot. He encourages librarians to include these in their collections as a valuable tool to motivate and support struggling readers.What do the authors have to tell us about these materials? We conducted these interviews electronically. The authors' voices are completely authentic, as they responded to questions submitted in e-mails. Gloria SkurzynskiMy first book was published in 1971. Virtual War Chronologs: Book 4, The Choice will be my 56th book for young readers. I'm happiest when I'm writing and quite restless when I'm between writing projects. I write fiction in several genres-sci-fi, historical novels, mysteries-and I also write nonfiction books, mostly about science. Luckily for me, the public schools in my home town of Duquesne, Pennsylvania, made us diagram sentences from 4th grade through 12th, so I got a feel for how words hang together. And thanks to Andrew Carnegie, who built us a wonderful library, I grew up in a world of books. Now, with digital imaging, I can create characters not only in my imagination but on the computer screen as well.