The Importance of Visibility: Students' and Teachers' Criteria for Selecting African American Literature.

The article discusses a study regarding the inclusion of African American literature into school curricula and school libraries as a way of benefitting African American students. The author comments on increases in the publication of African American children's literature and notes criteria for evaluating African American literature as authentic and relevant to students. Students were asked to evaluate African American children's literature in discussion journals and ballots. Students also participated in debates discussing the books they read and a survey was administered to teachers regarding books used in class. The study indicated that emotional attachment to a book's characters was a key factor in book selection for students and that realistic fiction was the most popular genre.