Reviews: (by author)

Darby, Mary Ann and Miki Pryne. Hearing All the Voices: Multicultural Books for Adolescents. Scarecrow Resource Guide Ser. 2. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2002. $29.50. ISBN 0-8108-4058-8.

Hearing All the Voices is a three part book dedicated to multicultural books for adolescents between the ages of eleven and fifteen. Darby and Pryne have chosen to use a broad definition of the term multicultural which encompasses ethnicity, disabilities, substance abuse, physical abuse and nontraditional families. The first part of the book addresses the importance of incorporating multicultural books in the classroom. The authors go even further by explaining how literary circles can be used for the incorporation of this literature and by describing how to conduct literary circles. Also, the book provides examples of assessment projects for individual students and groups that can serve as alternatives to traditional testing. The second part of the book is an alphabetic annotated bibliography of over five hundred books. Each listing includes a multicultural categorization, a reading level, and an interest level. The third and last part of the book offers four appendices and two indexes. The first two appendices divide the over five hundred books listed in part two by their possible uses in literary circles, and in other curriculum areas. Story collection and Science Fiction and Fantasy books which touch on multicultural topics are listed in the last two appendices. The book ends with author and culture indexes. Mary Ann Darby and Miki Pryne have done an outstanding job organizing this book. It is incredibly easy to use and very informative. The methods they recommend and the multiple examples they provide have been used in their own classrooms and proven successful. By expanding the meaning of multicultural literature, they have brought attention to our current society which is made up of difference. It is exciting to see such an open perspective.

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