Readers learn the discourses or literacies of Dodola’s world (in the story of Habibi) through text and images that are fraught with rules—to which many readers cannot likely relate. Immediately and jarringly, readers learn, for example, that females should be virgins at marriage and that…

Habibi is a harrowing tale. It focuses on Dodola, who is sold into marriage at age nine. Soon her husband is killed, and she is taken by slavers. She escapes, along with Habibi (also called Zam), an African baby whom she adopts as her brother.…

When considering the possibilities of arts integration, an important area to consider is audience. Who is the audience for the art? Is it just the teacher? Does it include classmates? Could the audience be the student themself? Could the audience extend beyond classroom walls? Our…

An initial question for any teacher considering arts integration is about purpose. For what end do students create art in response to literature? To deepen their understanding of what happens in a text? To express feelings and reactions to the book’s topics/issues? Responding to literature…