This study questions the impact of multicultural literature on reader responses. Research declares students are learning from a Eurocentric curriculum cultivated by canonical literature that many African American students do not relate to or understand. Six African American students constructed literary responses and focus group discussions after exposure to several multicultural genres in contrast to mainstream genres exposing the inability to interpret mainstream literature. The cultural disconnect from mainstream literature reinforced how significant cultural identification is for effective literacy development. Cultural validation is acknowledged based on the literature’s cultural relevance activating similar sociocultural experiences to help foster literary interpretations
