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 DC-Land: Part Two

Another activity I particularly enjoy when I visit different cities is exploring independent bookstores, and if I'm especially lucky, I stumble upon great independent children's bookstores.  Last summer, I found a lovely shop in Boston, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover another in Alexandria, VA, on my way home from DC last week.

Hooray for Books is a fantastic store filled with books and more for children of all ages, from little tinies to teenagers.

So cute!

I had an incredibly easy time finding favorite classics and popular new titles in several different genres.  The staff are kind and knowledgeable, and they wrap holiday gifts for free!

While the store doesn't have a separate multicultural section, I did notice several excellent books by and about people of color:

 Sharon Flake's new novel

 A picture book by Arun Gandhi, political activist and Mahatma Gandhi's grandson

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and One Crazy Summer

Scorpions by the incomparable Walter Dean Myers

One of my favorites!  Read it!

I've never seen so many diverse titles prominently displayed in a bookstore before.  How wonderful that, instead of segregating the multicultural titles into their own section, the staff not only put all of the books together but also took the time to emphasize great works by authors and illustrators from different backgrounds.  This setup shows customers that diverse books are important and deserve to be included alongside popular books by White authors -- and it publicizes titles that customers might not know about otherwise.

The only disappointing feature at Hooray for Books is their bilingual and Latin@ book selection.  After searching the shelves, the only Latin@ books I could find were Pat Mora's Tomás and the Library Lady and Yuyi Morales' Niño Wrestles the World.  Meanwhile, the bilingual and Spanish-language books consisted of some board books for babies and a few translations of popular English-language picture books.

I understand that stocking bilingual and/or Latin@ titles can be somewhat risky for booksellers, especially those who own independent stores -- they need to meet customers' demands and provide books that will sell well in order to make a living.  Unfortunately, I assume there's not much demand for bilingual/Latin@ books from the people who typically shop at indie bookstores (White, middle-class, monolingual English speakers) unless their children are enrolled in a dual language school, so booksellers don't want to waste money stocking books that won't sell.  That's too bad, but it makes sense.

My experience in this shop makes me wonder what indie bookstores can do to draw customers' attention to bilingual and Latin@ books and create more demand for the wonderful, diverse titles out there.  I imagine that displaying these types of books more prominently (like they did with several works by African-American authors) would help.  Or maybe booksellers can set up special displays that endorse winners of different book awards, like the Pura Belpré Award, the Américas Award, or the many other literary prizes that celebrate various cultural groups.  Here's an article describing more successful strategies that independent booksellers can use to promote diversity on their shelves.  It can be done!

So yes, go to Hooray for Books if you visit or live in the DC area -- it's a great place with an obvious commitment to multicultural children's literature.  But when you drop in, let them know that you'd like to see more diverse titles.  Let's create even more demand!

10 (Children's and YA) Books That Have Never Left Me

After my last post I need to write about something lighter, so I'm going to indulge in the "10 Books That Have Never Left You" survey.  Usually, I like to convince myself that I'm too grown to participate in social media surveys, but deep down inside I know that part of me loves them.  And this one's book-themed -- I can't resist.  (Although I'm going to focus on children's lit, because duh.)

So here are my ten books.  Whether I read them as a kid or as an adult, they'll always mean a lot to me.

1. Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Louis Sachar)

This book made quite an impression on me when my second grade teacher, Mrs. Davis, read it aloud to us.  Sachar's absurdism definitely influenced my ridiculous sense of humor, and I'll love him forever for that.  Also, I cherish this book (and its sequels) so much that I got a potato tattooed on my toe.  (You'll have to read all of the Wayside School books to figure that one out.)

2. Secrets of the Mummies (Joyce Milton)

I cringe when I think about how horribly outdated this book is (published in 1984, black-and-white photographs) but it still means a lot to me.  Secrets of the Mummies elicits so many wonderful memories -- my discovery of the joys of non-fiction, my beloved Kindergarten teacher and how she encouraged me to pursue my interest in ancient Egypt, and my friends who read this book with me.

3. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)

Yeah, the story's nice and everything, but the real reason I love this book is because, in third grade, it introduced me to my favorite English word ever: orb.

4. Anno's Alphabet (Mitsumasa Anno)

The illustrations are weird and wonderful, and they helped me learn my ABCs.  Every time I think of this book, I'm transported back to my first childhood home on Marron Court.

5. Chickens Aren't the Only Ones (Ruth Heller)

More non-fiction.  It's also the first book I read aloud to someone other than my parents.

6. I Love My New Toy! (Mo Willems)

I'll never forget how much my Pre-K students laughed whenever I read this one.

7. The Legend of the Poinsettia (Tomie dePaola)

When I was little, Tomie dePaola's books were some of my favorites.  Later, examining the problematic elements of his works were what first drew me into the critical study of picture books.  I have a complicated relationship with this giant of children's literature because I'm simultaneously drawn to the richness of his watercolor illustrations, bothered by his well-intentioned misrepresentation of various cultures, and fascinated by the cognitive dissonance that results in me.

8. Chavela and the Magic Bubble (Monica Brown)

This book contains so much beauty: magical realism, vibrant pictures, and the relationship between the main character and her grandmother.  And now it's even more personally meaningful because now I have a sobrinita who, like Chavela, lives for chewing gum :)

9. Niño Wrestles the World (Yuyi Morales)

Possibly the cutest picture book ever?  It reminds me of my dad, who was really into professional wrestling when he was a rascally little kid.

10. Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White (Lila Quintero Weaver)

The first graphic novel I ever read!  I appreciate this one because of its atypical (in a good way), refreshing perspective on an important social justice topic, and I'll always associate it with the fantastic time I had at my first children's literature conference.

Well that was fun and gave me all kinds of warm fuzzies.  I encourage you to take a few minutes to remember some books that meant a lot to you when you were little -- it's amazing what kinds of warm memories that children's literature can bring back!

Take Action: Book Drive for Unaccompanied Immigrant Children

I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about the crisis with the unaccompanied migrant children whom US immigration officials have detained after they crossed the border.  When I first heard about it, I felt stunned and paralyzed – it’s such a painful situation, and there doesn’t seem to be much that we regular citizens can do.

To make matters worse, politicians (on both sides) are trying to turn this humanitarian crisis into a political situation, and a lot of people seem to be forgetting the real heart of the issue – these children and the violence and poverty that they have fled in Central America.  I understand that we in the US don’t have the facilities to adequately cope with this problem, but surely there’s something we can do.  They are children.

Fortunately, the folks at La Casa Azul Bookstore in East Harlem have joined forces with the Unaccompanied Latin American Minor Project at John Jay College and Safe Passage Project to host a book drive for the young people who have been apprehended by immigration and then transferred to NYC, where they await deportation proceedings.

Although collecting books isn’t going to solve the larger problems of crime and poverty in Central America and immigration reform in the US, this action can help comfort the children and provide them with something to do at the detention center.  They face an uncertain future, and, as many of us know, books can generate hope and solace.

Therefore, please consider donating.  You can find more detailed information here at La Casa Azul’s book drive website and in these articles from the LA Times and NBC News.

If you’d like to donate some books, please also remember that the organizers are asking for books that are in Spanish and also culturally relevant.  In other words, stories should be pertinent to young Central American and Mexican children’s experiences – stories to which they can potentially relate.  Additionally, books should be new or gently used, appropriate for children between the ages of 4 and 13, and high quality literature.

The book drive starts TODAY (July 10^th) and runs through August 10^th, so let’s get busy!

UPDATE:

For another way to help, check out the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Program.