Reading Across the World

Developing Global Citizenship Through Translated Literature

Abstract

21st Century learners live in a shrinking world with advances in technology and transportation with political, social and economic choices made in one corner of the globe affecting the opposite (Friedman, 2005; Zahabioun, Yousefy, Yarmohammadian, & Keshtiaray, 2013). To help navigate this changing landscape, global citizenship is an important life-skill for youths. UNICEF (2003) describes lifeskills in three dimensions: cognitive, personal, and interpersonal. These can be enhanced through the provision of high-quality international literature in the school library. Critical reading of translated literature provides an opportunity for youths to enhance their life-skills in reading the world and connecting their own experiences to others (Buck et al., 2011; Louie & Louie, 1999). Using the UN’s Declaration of the Rights of a Child (1959) as an analytical lens, we identify powerful examples of youths enacting agency and managing profound difficulties related to their cultural memberships in a set of award-winning translated titles.