Publication:
Problematizing Yertle the Turtle, the Lorax, and Horton through critical literacy, global issues and Freire’s tenets

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Authors
Rivera Villanueva, Marylian
Embargoed Until
Advisor
Román Pérez, Rosa I.
College
College of Arts and Sciences - Arts
Department
Department of English
Degree Level
M.A.E.E.
Publisher
Date
2012
Abstract
Through the use of children’s literature, this thesis encourages educators and parents to expose children, from an early age to texts that promote critical thinking. In order to identify texts that do so, an evaluation tool was done to three Dr. Seuss books to identify if they portrayed McDaniel’s characteristics of critical literacy, three of Freire’s tenets, and Yakovchuk’s global issues. After each of the elements were identified in the Dr. Seuss’s books Yertle the Turtle, The Lorax and Horton Hears a Who!; the findings were critically analyzed using a holistic approach. As a result, these evaluations revealed that the three Dr. Seuss's books lend themselves to the use of critical pedagogy by presenting the characteristics of critical literacy, Freire’s tenets, and global issues. Ultimately, this thesis motivates educators and parents to choose books which encourage children to think critically and become active agents in their world.

Esta tesis provee a educadores y padres una herramienta de evaluación que puede ser utilizada para seleccionar textos que promuevan el pensamiento crítico. Dicha evaluación identifica once elementos en textos de niños: las características de alfabetización crítica establecidas por McDaniel, tres principios de Freire y los problemas globales presentados por Yakovchuk. Tres libros de Dr. Seuss fueron seleccionados para el análisis: Yertle the Turtle, The Lorax y Horton Hears a Who!; luego se analizaron cada uno de los hallazgos con un enfoque holístico. Como resultado, estas evaluaciones revelaron que los tres libros se prestan para la enseñanza de pedagogía crítica mediante la presentación de alfabetización crítica, los principios de Freire y problemas globales. Finalmente, esta tesis proporciona a los educadores y padres una herramienta de evaluación útil y accesible para seleccionar libros que inciten a los niños a pensar críticamente y se conviertan en agentes activos en su mundo.
Keywords
Theodor Seuss Geisel-criticism and interpretation,
Children's literature,
Children's literature-critical thinking,
Freire, Paulo
Cite
Rivera Villanueva, M. (2012). Problematizing Yertle the Turtle, the Lorax, and Horton through critical literacy, global issues and Freire’s tenets [Thesis]. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11801/876