Children's literature can broaden and enhance readers' views of themselves and others. When children's literature from abroad as well as from the United States is incorporated into the literacy practices of a first grade class, the potential exists to widen the children's perspectives of the world and build insights about others. Additionally there exist openings to challenge cultural stereotypes and "the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the whole story." In this article, the author describes the experiences of a class of first-grade children who engaged with children's literature and crossed cultural as well as academic borders. (Contains 6 figures.)