Rudine Sims Bishop facts for kids

Rudine Sims Bishop is a retired professor from Ohio State University. Many people call her the "mother of" multicultural children's literature. This is because her research changed how we think about children's books. She studied how different cultures are shown in books for kids.

About Rudine Sims Bishop

Rudine Sims Bishop was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. This town is about 100 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Her schools were not separated by race. But, she noticed that there were not many job chances for African Americans back then. Teaching was one area where she could work.

After high school, Bishop went to West Chester State Teachers College. This school is now called West Chester University. She earned her master's degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania. Later, she got her doctorate degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.

She taught elementary school for a few years. Then, she taught at colleges and universities. She taught reading, how to create school lessons, and children's literature. She taught at Morgan State College, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the State University of New York at Buffalo. She also taught at Ohio State University. There, she focused on children's literature, especially books about African Americans.

How Her Work Changed

Bishop says a few things helped her work on multicultural children's literature. One big influence happened in college. Her roommate, Patricia Grasty Gaines, showed her a book called Bright April (1946). This was the first children's book Bishop read that had characters who looked like her. The book also showed community life similar to her own.

Another important moment happened when she was a student at Wayne State University. She saw a large collection of African American children's books for the first time. A book fair in Detroit had a special display in 1969. It was called "The Darker Brother Collection." It had over 40 children's books about African Americans. Bishop remembered, "it was the first time I had seen so many children's books about African Americans together in one place." She wanted to read them all and see how African Americans were shown. This led to her interest in multicultural literature.

Her final influence came from her work with Professor Ken Goodman at Wayne State. She helped him with his research on how children read. They found that kids often read better when the stories were "culturally relevant." This means the stories were about things they knew or understood from their own culture. Bishop realized that what children read really makes a difference.

In 1982, Bishop wrote a book called Shadow and Substance. This book gave a way to look at children's books about people of color. It is still used today. Bishop looked at 150 fiction books with African American characters. She put them into three groups: Social Conscience, Melting Pot, and Culturally Conscious books.

Other Important Work

Rudine Sims Bishop has been involved with the Coretta Scott King Book Awards for many years. These awards honor great books by African American authors and illustrators. She was a judge for the awards in 2014 and 2015. She led the judging committee in 2016 and 2017.

Bishop was also on the committee for the Caldecott Medal in 1999. This award is for the best illustrated children's book. She was also on the committee for the Newbery Medal in 1992. This award is for the best written children's book.

She was also a member of the Boston Globe Horn Book Award Committee. This committee chooses excellent children's books. She served on it from 1987-1988 and again from 2003–2004.

Awards and Honors

Rudine Sims Bishop has received many awards for her important work.

• In 2013, she received the James R. Squire award from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). This award goes to a member who has greatly helped the field of education.
• In 2017, Bishop received the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. This award honors someone who has made a lasting impact on children's literature.
• She was added to the Reading Hall of Fame in 2001. This honor recognizes people who have made big contributions to reading.

Her Students

Some of Rudine Sims Bishop's former students include:

• Dr. Jonda C. McNair, who is now a professor of Children's Literature at The Ohio State University.
• Dr. Cynthia Tyson, who is a Professor at The Ohio State University.