From Invisible Diversity to Inclusive Representation: Culturally Sustaining Jewish Literacy in Children’s and Young Adult Literature

Abstract

Abstract

Despite the rapid expansion of “diverse books” initiatives in children’s and young adult (YA) literature, Jewish identity remains inconsistently recognized within diversity frameworks in publishing, curriculum, and literacy education. This conceptual review examines how Jewish children’s and YA literature can serve as a resource through which young people interpret identity, confront erasure, and imagine more inclusive social worlds. Drawing on culturally relevant and culturally sustaining pedagogy, critical literacy, and critical youth studies, the article argues that Jewish narratives expand the interpretive possibilities of literacy education by foregrounding diasporic identity, antisemitism, and the internal diversity of Jewish communities. To operationalize this argument, the article proposes a culturally sustaining framework for K–12 literacy instruction organized across four strands: contemporary Jewish life, global Jewish identities, intersectional Jewish identities, and agency-centered narratives of antisemitism. The discussion illustrates how educators can use these texts to support youth agency, ethical inquiry, and critical media literacy, including in contexts shaped by curricular and political constraints. By repositioning Jewish children’s and YA literature as central to inclusive literacy, this article reframes representation as a question of interpretive possibility.