Multicultural Literature for Building Children’s Character

Abstract

This paper aims to define the advantages of multicultural literature for building Indonesian children's character. The method is library research, and the data was collected by analyzing journal articles, books, and other scientific sources. The discussion focused on the benefits of multicultural literature in helping parents and teachers teach about five character values: religious attitude, integrity, nationalism, mutual cooperation (gotong royong), and independence. Cap Go Meh, folklore Putri Bidara Putih, Upin Ipin, Battle of Surabaya, and short stories created by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture such as Wisata Kuliner Bersama Nenek, Tiga Pahlawan Tanpa Tanda Jasa, and Dito dan Kisah-Kisah Teladan are some of the Indonesian multicultural stories that will be a good media in teaching and integrating character education values. Hence, parents and teachers should maximize the use of multicultural stories since it is proven to build children's character.