Literature for Children and Young Adults about Oceania

Curricula in literature have traditionally focused on the writings of the West. The influx of immigrants from Eastern and Southeastern Asia, and more recently from Pacific countries and islands, has brought to our schools children who deserve to be introduced to their own literary heritage. So too, as American society gains more members from Oceanic cultures, it is important that Americans of European ancestry become better acquainted with the literature of the Pacific.

This bibliography includes annotated entries written in English for children's and young adult literature concerning the cultures of Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, Australia, and New Zealand. The volume begins with an introductory overview of Oceania's geographical features, people, and customs. The chapters that follow are devoted to specific regions of Oceania, and each includes an overview of the literature, an annotated list of books for children and young adults, and an annotated bibliography of secondary sources for adults. Within each bibliography, entries are organized alphabetically by author.

MARY C. AUSTIN is Professor Emerita at the University of Hawaii, where she served as Director of the Reading and Language Arts Center for the College of Education./e With Esther C. Jenkins she wrote Promoting World Understanding Through Literature, K-8 (1983) and Literature for Children About Asians and Asian Americans (Greenwood Press, 1987).

ESTHER C. JENKINS is Professor Emerita at the University of Hawaii, where she taught Children's Literature in the College of Education. In addition to Promoting World Understanding Through Literature, K-8 (1983) and Literature for Children About Asians and Asian Americans with Mary C. Austin (Greenwood Press, 1987), she has published articles in Elementary English, Education Digest, and other journals.