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.

Review: Ka'ya ta kutu'a kun Ñuu Savi

Title: Ka'ya ta kutu'a kun Ñuu Savi / Adivinanzas en mixteco, la lengua de la lluvia / Mixtec Riddles
Compiled by: Alejandra Cruz Ortiz
Illustrator: Octavio Moctezuma Vega
Publisher: Artes de México
Age Range: 4+

You might have noticed that bilingual books are (thankfully) somewhat easier to find these days, but have you ever seen a quintilingual book?  Well, guess what I found in Mexico.

Oh yes.

This colorful book of riddles offers readers brainteasers in five languages -- three varieties of Mixtec, Castilian Spanish, Catalan, and English.  For those of you who, like me, aren't super familiar with Mixtec, here's brief introduction from mixtec.org:

"Mixtec belongs to the Otomanguean group of Mesoamerican languages.  Proto-Otomanguean, the mother language, was spoken by hunters and gatherers in the region over 10,000 years ago.  A forerunner of contemporary Mixtec appeared some 7,000 years ago.

"It is misleading to talk about Mixtec language as a single, uniform system of oral and written communication.  By some estimates, there are thirty or even fifty variations of the language, some of which are very different from one another.  Residents of settlements separated by a few miles may only understand about 10-25% of what each other says [....]

"In the 500+ years since the arrival of Cortés, Mixtec has adopted or adapted Spanish words for which there are no Mixtec equivalents.  And today, because of the heavy migration between Oaxaca and the United States, Anglicisms are increasingly creeping into the language.  A startling, but no longer uncommon scenario in schools in the Mixteca [region were Mixtec is commonly spoken] is the following: A Spanish-only speaking teacher, educated in Mexico City, leads a classroom comprised of Mixtec-only speaking students, bilingual Mixtec-Spanish speakers, and bilingual Mixtec-English speakers."

Areas of Mexico where Mixtec languages are spoken

This passage illustrates how rich and complex languages are in Mexico.  With so many linguistic traditions coming together and mingling, it seems wise to create books like this one that recognize and utilize several of them together.  Also, I love how the book honors the Mixtec varieties -- which, sadly, some people view as useless or inferior -- by placing them first on the page instead of below Spanish or English, two more dominant, privileged languages.

Would you like a preview?  Here's a riddle:

Pinotepa, Oaxaca

Yu'u chavixi kuui vati chike nuu ndi'i ita

Chakan ñi ña'an kuniñi ko'oñi ñuñuyu

Ri saa ndio'o.

Xalpatláhuac, Guerrero

Visi ni vaku il chi

Xika ni'i nuu ita

Soo ndi'i na si'i ndiki na ko'o na ñuñu ii

Miñaa nada yo ku ii kuka'ndo.

Huajuapan, Oaxaca

Yu'u kuu iin ña v idji chii xikanuui tanuu,

tanuú ita ta ndi'i ña'a kutondodjo ñuñui kunina.

Castellano

¿Ya sabes quién soy?

Chiquito de mil colores,

por el lugar de las nubes voy.

Del dulce de mil flores

me deleito con sus sabores.

Català

Petit ocell multicolor

Vaig per les flors tastant sabors.

No pots endevinar qui sóc?

English

Even though I'm small in size,

I have many colors to delight the eyes.

I like to spend hours and hours

Drinking sweetness from the flowers.

And the answer is...

Yoo kuu yu'u: Saa ndio'o

Saa ndio va ku ii

Ndiyoo kuui. Ndiyo'o

El colibrí

El colibrí

Hummingbird

Love it.  And just think of all the possibilities for using this book in your classroom or at home with your children.  You might discuss translation and issues of linguistic diversity and marginalization with older kids, or you might provide younger students with opportunities to write their own riddles in any language they want.

As for me, I'll be giving Ka'ya ta kutu'a kun Ñuu Savi to my friends who are raising their son to speak Catalan, Spanish, and English, because seriously -- how many North American-published books can you think of that include Catalan (another marginalized, persecuted language)?  If you'd like to snatch up a copy for yourself, you can order it directly from the publisher or buy it used through Amazon or Barnes & Noble.  Enjoy!

KidLit in DC-Land: Part One

A week ago, I made a quick visit to our nation's capital for a conference.  Washington, DC, is one of my favorite cities because of its history and endless museums, and fortunately, I had a couple of minutes to play tourist.

One place I always look forward to visiting is the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), which opened in 2004 and houses several exhibitions on Native American history and current events.  Next time you're in DC, check it out -- it's packed with information typically left out of history textbooks and has plenty to teach everyone about the diversity and accomplishments of contemporary Native American people.

Also, sweet architecture.

And a ridiculously yummy cafeteria.

So you know I beelined it to the gift shop to check out their children's literature selection, right?  Yeah, of course.  I was so pleased to see books by wonderful Native authors from various nations and backgrounds: Joe Medicine Crow, Maria Williams, Gerald Dawavendewa, Joseph Bruchac.

However, I was surprised to see some more problematic books on the shelves.  Ever since I began studying multicultural children's literature, I have encountered multiple resources warning about offensive and harmful elements present in so many children's books about indigenous people and cultures.  So I was confused when I saw several books containing these elements in a museum that affirms indigenous people's cultures and experiences.

For example, the experts at Oyate -- a "Native organization working to see that [Native] lives and histories are portrayed with honesty and integrity" in literature -- have created a list of criteria for readers to look out for when choosing books about Native Americans.  This list includes warnings against:

• Stereotypes of Native people as primitive / savage / romantic / at one with nature
• Oversimplification or generalization of Native cultures (i.e., assuming that all nations dress, speak, act the same; tell the same stories; have the same experiences)
• Inaccurate portrayals of cultural practices
• Insinuations that Native people are all dead and gone, or that those who remain are not a "viable people"

Several of the pieces of children's literature I found in the NMAI gift shop -- "classics" that are very popular and abundant in classrooms and libraries around the country -- contained these elements.  Below are pictures of some of these books and links to reviews that point out their questionable features.

Brother Eagle, Sister Sky

Corn is Maize

and

Mama, Do You Love Me?

One of Joseph Bruchac's books in front of a more 

problematic title, The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses

After I finished browsing, I left the museum wondering about what I had seen.  Why do the folks at the NMAI stock these books?  Do they not consider them offensive?  Are they just trying to meet customer demands by selling what's well known and popular?

Honestly, I'm not quite sure what to make of this situation.  What are your thoughts?

Dismantling the Thanksgiving Myth: Helpful Links

As I've mentioned before, I was terrified of angering parents when I was a classroom teacher.  Because of this fear, I shied away talking about anything controversial with my students -- including Thanksgiving.  I've known for a long time the mythical nature of the United States' beloved Thanksgiving story, but since I didn't want to be accused of "playing the race card" or "harming children's innocence," I avoided the Pilgrim-and-Indian story altogether.

None o' this.

Instead, I focused on the basic practice of being thankful.  There are some great books out there that focus on gratitude without dragging in the Thanksgiving myth -- my personal favorite is Pat Mora's Gracias/Thanks, a wonderful reminder to be thankful for the little things in life.  Also, my students and I made "We Are Thankful for..." books.  It was a great time.

However, while there's nothing wrong with emphasizing gratitude (which, after all, should be the focus of such a holiday), I see now that simply ignoring the Thanksgiving myth won't make it go away.  Even if we educators don't actively perpetuate the story at school, kids will pick it up somewhere else from popular media that often portrays an incorrect, racist version of the Pilgrims' arrival in Plymouth.

Whoops.

So in addition to celebrating gratitude, it's important to dismantle the legend so that kids don't internalize false, harmful information about Thanksgiving.  I know it's a little late to talk about the holiday in schools, but it's never too early for teachers to start planning discussions and activities for next year, and parents still have time to address these issues with their children at home.

And if, like me, you're at a loss for strategies to begin critical discussions of the Thanksgiving myth, check out these links:

• "Good Books about Thanksgiving" at American Indians in Children's Literature

• "Deconstructing the Myths of the 'First Thanksgiving'" in popular elementary-level books

• "6 Thanksgiving Myths" at Indian Country Today

• "10 Thanksgiving Myths Dispelled" at Today I Found Out

• "Harvest Ceremony: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth" at the National Museum of the American Indian

• Strategies for critiquing the Thanksgiving story with young children at Education World

• Thanksgiving lesson plan for middle/high school at Teaching Tolerance

• Arts-based Thanksgiving lesson plan for high school at Arts and Justice (can be adapted for younger children)

I hope you have a warm and safe holiday, and, as always, let me know your thoughts on critical literacy topics like this one!