Creating and Using Culturally Relevant Squishy Books for Indigenous Preschoolers

Alison C. Root J. R. Browder D. M. Wood L. (2017). Technology-based shared story reading for students with autism who are English-language learners. Journal of Special Education Technology, 32(2), 91–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162643417690606

Anderson J. (2009). Law, knowledge, culture: The production of Indigenous knowledge in intellectual property law. Minnesota Journal of Law, Science, & Technology, 10(12), 1–63. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781848447196

Bang M. Warren Be. Rosebery A. S. Medin D. (2018). Restoring balance: Toward Indigenous, place-based, and culturally grounded education. Review of Research in Education, 42(1), 422–448. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X18765232

Bennett S. V. Gunn A. A. Gayle-Evans G. Barrera E. S. Leung C. B. (2018). Culturally responsive literacy practices in an early childhood community. Early Childhood Education Journal, 46(2), 241–248. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-017-0839-9

Bishop R. S. (1990). Windows and mirrors: Children’s books and parallel cultures. In Atwell M. Klein A. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 14th Annual Reading Conference (pp. 3–14). CSUSB Reading Conference. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED337744.pdf#page=11

Brown M. (2024, July 30). Investigation finds at least 973 Native American children died in US government boarding schools. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2024/07/30/indian-boarding-schools-deaths-investigation/2e6cee94-4ea2-11ef-9728-3037305a6b0f_story.html

Bruchac M. M. (2014). Indigenous knowledge and traditional knowledge. In Smith C. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of global archaeology (pp. 3814–3824). Springer Science and Business Media. https:/doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_10

Congressional Research Services. (2024). The 574 federally recognized Indian tribes in the United States. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47414

Cooperative Children’s Book Center. (2024). Books by and/or about Black, Indigenous and People of Color 2018-2024. https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/literature-resources/ccbc-diversity-statistics/books-by-and-or-about-poc-2018/

Demmert W. G. Towner J. C. (2003). A review of the research literature on the influences of culturally based education on the academic performance of Native American students. Northwest Regional Education Lab. https://educationnorthwest.org/sites/default/files/cbe.pdf

Frates A. Spooner F. Collins B. Peterson P. (2024). The effects of an instructional package on reading skills for multilingual learners with extensive support needs. Research and Practice for Persons With Severe Disabilities, 49(3), 190–207. https://doi.org/10.1177/15407969241247815

Galyon C. L. Floyd K. K. Wood-Fields C. (2023). Access for all: Adapted literacy through low-tech assistive technology. Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 21(2), 22–27. https://doi.org/10.5860/cal.21.2.22

Gay G. (2018). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (3rd ed.). Teachers College Press.

Gunn A. A. Bennett S. V. Alley K. M. Barrera E. G. IV Cantrell S. C. Moore L. Welsh J. L. (2021). Revisiting culturally responsive teaching practices for early childhood preservice teachers. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 42(3), 265–280. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2020.1735586

Hammond Z. (2014). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Corwin Press.

Hayes C. Francis G. (2024). Making waves: Early childhood teachers’ experiences with multicultural picture books to promote equitable classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, 52, 1511–1523. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-023-01557-w

Helm J. H. (2008). Got standards? Don’t give up on engaged learning! Young Children, 63(4), 1–9.

Inglebret E. Pavel C. D. M. (2014). Place-based multiliteracies framework. In Pavel C. D. M. Inglebret E. Wood S. (Eds.), Honoring tribal legacies: An epic journey of healing, Volume II—Guide to designing curriculum (pp. 74–127). University of Oregon and National Park Service.

Kana’iaupuni S. M. Ledward B. Malone N. (2017). Mohala i ka wai: Cultural advantage as a framework for indigenous culture-based education and student outcomes. American Educational Research Journal, 54(1), 311S–399S. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216664779

Keehne C. N. K. Sarsona M. W. Kawakami A. J. Au K. H. (2018). Culturally responsive instruction and literacy learning. Journal of Literacy Research, 50(2), 141–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086296X18767226

Ladson-Billings G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312032003465

Lopez G. R. Scribner J. D. Mahitivanichcha K. (2001). Redefining parental involvement: Lessons from high-performing migrant-impacted schools. American Educational Research Journal, 38(2), 253–288. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312038002253

McCarty T. L. Lee T. S. (2014). Critical culturally sustaining/revitalizing pedagogy and Indigenous education sovereignty. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 101–124. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.84.1.q83746nl5pj34216

Minkler M. Mallerstein N. (2008). Community-based participatory research for health: From process to outcomes (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Moll L. C. González N. (1994). Lessons from research with language-minority children. Journal of Reading Behavior, 26(4), 439–456. https://doi.org/10.1080/10862969409547862

Pewewardy C. Hammer P. C. (2003). Culturally responsive teaching for American Indian students. ERIC Digest. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED482325.pdf

Pierce P. (n.d.). Making squishy books. Nevada Dual Sensory Impairment Project. https://www.unr.edu/ndsip/english/resources/tips/making-squishy-books

Reyhner J. Eder J. (2017). American Indian education: A history. University of Oklahoma Press.

Rivera C. J. Haughney K. L. Clark K. A. Werunga R. (2022). Culturally responsive planning, instruction, and reflection for young children with significant disabilities. Young Exceptional Children, 25(2), 74–87. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096250620951767

Rivera C. J. Hudson M. E. Weiss S. L. Zambone A. (2017). Using a multicomponent multimedia shared story intervention with an iPad to teach content picture vocabulary to students with developmental disabilities. Education and Treatment of Children, 40(3), 327–352. https://doi.org/10.1353/etc.2017.0014

Running Bear C. Spooner F. Collins B. Frates A . (2025). Using distance education delivery to conduct shared reading with Native American preschoolers. Rural Special Education Quarterly. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/87568705251348219.

Toews S. G. McQueston J. Kurth J. A. (2021). Evaluation of the evidence base for shared reading to support literacy skill development for students with extensive support needs. Research and Practice for Persons With Severe Disabilities, 46(2), 77–93. https://doi.org/10.1177/15407969211008531

U.S. Department of Education. (2015). Shared book reading. What Works Clearinghouse. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs/InterventionReports/wwc_sharedbook_041415.pdf

Valencia R. R. (2010). Dismantling contemporary deficit thinking: Educational thought and practice. Routledge.

Widyana R. Astuti K. Bahrussofa M. F. Githa G. M. (2020). The effectiveness of jolly phonics and multisensory learning methods in improving preschoolers pre-reading skills. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 11(8), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.53333/ijicc2013

Yosso T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006