White Kids + Diverse Books

During my sophomore year in high school, I was required to read Hunger of Memory, Richard Rodriguez's autobiographical account of losing touch with his family's culture and language as he progressed in his education here in the US.  (For more info on this book, click here.)

I've always cared about diversity and creating a more loving world for people of all ethnic, linguistic, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds in a broad and general way, but as a teenager, I was still very unaware of issues like White privilege, systemic racism, and the struggles that many people face on a daily basis due to inequity and prejudice in our society.  So when I began reading Rodriguez's book and found it somewhat boring*, I got frustrated and thought to myself: "Why do I have to read this book anyway?  I'm not Mexican."

That's when I needed someone to (not literally) slap me and say, "Because other people's experiences and perspectives matter, numnuts."  At that time in my life, even though I was somewhat aware of injustice in the world and wanted to care, I didn't see past my own small world.  I needed someone to help me look beyond myself by explicitly showing me how to read critically, to name and confront inequity, to cherish stories from people different than me, but no one did.  (Honestly, I can't blame my sophomore English teacher, because I know she was and still is an amazing educator who's very dedicated to diversity and equity -- I'm 99.99% sure that she didn't feel free to discuss these issues at length due to politics at my mostly White, very conservative school.)

Earlier this week, I came across a guest post by Taun M. Wright at the Lee & Low blog called "Why Do We Need Diverse Books at Non-Diverse Schools?" and it really hit home.  In this post, Wright lists the multiple reasons why it's important for kids from "dominant" sociocultural backgrounds to read diverse books, including decreases in prejudice and increases in academic performance.  All very true.  I needed diverse literature as a child/teenager, and I also needed adults to point out to me why reading diverse literature is crucial in our society.

I'm so grateful that graduate school has invited me to delve into topics concerning social justice, diversity, and multicultural education and children's literature -- my studies have enriched my life so much and have allowed me to see beyond myself, and I hope that my research can encourage others.  But what bugs me is that I didn't start exploring these topics in depth until graduate school.  Why not elementary school, or high school at the very latest?

This is why we need diverse books -- not only to read them, but to discuss them and get kids from all backgrounds thinking and acting.

*I've re-read Hunger of Memory since high school and, thankfully, don't think it's boring anymore :)

KidLit in Savannah

Have you ever been to Savannah?  It's a very cool, extremely fascinating city.  Last week was my first time down there, and I wish I could have stayed for two weeks instead of two days.  SO MUCH interesting history.

Mikve Israel, the third oldest

Jewish congregation in the US

First African Baptist Church, a stop in the Underground Railroad

and meeting place during the Civil Rights Movement

Haitian Memorial Monument, a tribute to the Haitian

soldiers who fought in the Battle of Savannah

during the American Revolution

Pretty square :)

Lots of interesting bookstores, too.  The first place I hit was E. Shaver, Bookseller, a small, independent store in the historic district.  

It had two rooms dedicated to books for young people -- one for picture books and another for chapter books and nonfiction.  Admittedly, I assumed that the selection would be pretty White and conservative (being in a city that gets a lot of White, conservative tourists), and I was pleasantly surprised to find many books by diverse authors and about diverse characters and topics.  While most of these books were more older, popular "classics," it was nice to see diversity on the shelves.  Here are some examples:

Cassie's Word Quilt by Faith Ringgold,

a gorgeous picture book about young Cassie's community

Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo,

a super cute picture book about 

being brave with a cool grandma

BEEKLE!! (this year's Caldecott winner by Dan Santat)

 Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, 

an autobiographical novel about

Japanese-American internment during World War II

The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis,

an exploration of racism and the Civil Rights Movement

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

and Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, 

two of my favorite banned books right next to each other!

A W.E.B. DuBois doll next to Ruth and the Green Book

Final verdict: Loved this store, although they could stock more new diverse books -- there are lots to choose from.  Bought Beekle for the nieces, although they might have to pry it out of my selfish fingers if they really want it :)

The next day, I visited the Book Lady, a used bookstore also located in the historic area, and found quite the little treasure: a signed copy of Heave Ho! by Savannah author and illustrator, José Lucio.

Heave Ho! is the story of a little worm who wants to crawl out of his hole and play in the sunshine, only to be grabbed by a bird.  Struggle and hijinks ensue.  It's an adorable, funny book for little kids, and the illustration style (photography + mixed media) is totally charming.  Buy yourself a copy and support a talented up-and-coming author/illustrator!

If you know of any other good bookstores in Savannah, let me know!  I'm always up for more literary tourism.

GCBA 2015!

Every year, UGA's College of Education hosts the Georgia Children's Book Awards and Conference on Children's Literature (or GCBA), an exciting, informative gathering that brings together authors, illustrators, teachers, librarians, and, happily, grad students.  In case you didn't know, I love smaller conferences because they provide great opportunities to spend time with friends, meet new people, enjoy interesting presentations and workshops, and just savor a nice weekend.

A lot happens at the conference, including the announcement of the year's award-winning picture book (grades K-4) and chapter book (grades 4-8).  Students and teachers around the state vote for their favorite books, and this year's picture book winner was Ol' Clip Clop: A Ghost Story, written by Patricia C. McKissak and illustrated by Eric Velasquez -- no big surprise, since lots of kids love spooky tales.  (I wish Niño Wrestles the World had won, but we can't have everything we want.)

The highlight of the conference for me, though, was meeting artist/author Shonto Begay and hearing him speak about his experiences growing up in Arizona, attending the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, and creating sumptuous paintings that capture the desert, Navajo cultural practices, his family and neighbors, and the "harsh realities of modern reservation life."  His art is "about praying, about sending out a universe of prayer," he said, and each swirl of color is "the visual representation of a chant, the syllables of prayers."  And he can Etch-a-Sketch like no other.

Mr. Begay also discussed his time at a boarding school -- school officials literally kidnapped him while he was tending his family's sheep and took him to the "brutal institution," where government teachers attempted to "cleanse" children of their language, religion, and cultural identities.  While he didn't go into much detail about his "educational" experiences, Mr. Begay did emphasize that these schools left "a whole generation traumatized" and that his time there greatly influenced his work.  The tragedies of Indian boarding schools are so often ignored by history, so I'm grateful that he shared his memories.  We need to confront this past, even if it's painful.

Later that day, I found a treasure in the bookstore (because yes, this conference has a bookstore!) -- Navajo Long Walk, illustrated by Mr. Begay and written by Joseph Bruchac.  A counter-narrative to the glorified story of European-American westward expansion, this book privileges the Navajo perspective on the Long Walk, a 450-mile forced march from a reservation in Arizona to the Bosque Redondo in New Mexico.

I've been studying depictions of American Indians in nonfiction children's books and have observed that the telling of American Indian histories is dominated by White historians (Wilson, 1996).  Traditionally, it's been somewhat difficult to find histories written and/or told by Native people about their own tribes and nations.  Furthermore, books about American Indians written by non-Native authors are often filled with harmful stereotypes, biases, oversimplifications, and generalizations (Noll, 1995; Reese, 2007) -- either that, or authors romanticize Native people, minimizing their humanity by depicting them as magical, "relentlessly ecological," noble savages (Slapin, Seale, & Gonzales, 1996, p. 20; Stewart, 2000).  Navajo Long Walk, however, is a history created by two Native people and gives voice to people who have long been silenced while avoiding stereotypes.  Highly recommended.

If you're interested in exploring Shonto Begay's other children's books, take a look at this Goodreads list.  Have fun!

References

Noll, E. (1995). Accuracy and authenticity in American Indian children’s literature: The social      responsibility of authors and illustrators. The New Advocate, 8(1), 29-43.

Reese, D. (2007). Proceed with caution: Using Native American folktales in the classroom. Language Arts, 84(3), 245-256.

Slapin, B., Seale, D., & Gonzales, R. (1996). How to tell the difference: A guide for evaluating children’s books for anti-Indian bias. Sonoma, CA: Oyate.

Stewart, M. P. (2000). How can this be Cinderella if there is no glass slipper? Native American    “fairy tales.” Studies in American Indian Literature, 12(1), 3-19.

Wilson, A. C. (1996). American Indian history or non-Indian perceptions of American Indian       history? American Indian Quarterly, 20(1), 3-5.