Bookstore Observations
Book #1 – Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio
Grace's teacher shows her class pictures of presidents, and Grace incredulously asks, “Where are the GIRLS?” Upon hearing that there have been no woman presidents, Grace announces that she wants to be president, and all of her classmates laugh. Grace runs against a boy in the school elections and the book explains the electoral process. Her opponent calculates that the boys in the school hold more electoral votes than the girls and assumes he will win. When a boy has to cast the deciding vote, he votes for Grace, explaining, “I thought you were the bets person for the job.” As the book closes, Grace declares that she will be president of the United States, and this time, no one laughs. This book is especially appropriate right now considering that Grace is an African-American girl, and the current democratic race is between an African-American and a woman.
Book #2 – I am Latino: The Beauty in Me by Sandra Pinkney
This book is filled with photographs of Latino children and describes the beauties of their culture. The narrative invites the reader to “listen to the melody of my language”, “feel my music explode”, “see the love in my family”, and “smell and taste my foods”. The book features the recurring line, “I am Latino[a], can you sense the beauty?” and closes with the exclamation, “I am Latino. I am the Beauty!” Pinkney's book is a beautiful celebration of Latino culture.
Book #3 – A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson
In A Sweet Smell of Roses, two young African-American girls go to a march with Martin Luther King, Jr. This is a simply told story, illustrated with black-and-white drawings. An example of a page from the book is,
“Then we start to march,
Minnie and me.
We look ahead and walk faster like him.”
The smell of roses is a motif in the story, and the color red is the only color in the illustrations. This book is unique in the way it features children's roles in the civil rights movement with moving simplicity and sweetness.
Book #4 – Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth
Three children meet Stillwater, a panda who has come to their house by way of an Asian umbrella. Stillwater guides the children through three classic Zen stories about enlightenment and love. Zen Shorts features watercolor illustrations and tells the stories through pictures of animals wearing traditional Asian garments. Though this book is not overt, it transmits Zen ideas to its young readers.
Book #5 – A Letter to Amy by Ezra Jack Keats
A Letter to Amy tells the story of a young African-American boy who writes a letter to invite a girl to his birthday party. He goes out to mail the letter and the wind blows it away. Through its illustrations, this book shows its readers a realistic picture of an urban neighborhood, complete with graffitti, scraps of paper on walls, a Chinese hand laundry, and trash cans. It does not sanitize the city but presents it truthfully.
Book #6 – Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse
This book features an Inuit lady and daughter and shows their culture through its illustrations. The thank-you note on the inside of the front cover includes the following:
“The editor, author and illustrator would also like to thank CEW Graham of the McCord museum of Canadian History in Montreal for his patient and gracious assistance in checking this manuscript for accuracy in its portrayal of the Inuit culture.”
At the end of the book, the authors explain that “the masks in this book are modeled after the ceremonial masks traditionally used by the Inuit. The cocentric rings within the mask represent heaven and earth. The objects attached to the rings are the individuals shaman's symbols, or spiritual keepers. Often used to ask the spirits for good luck or prosperity, the human hand and fish represent a wish for abundant game.” The back of the book also explains the animals, symbols, and words used throughout the book, such as Igloo, lamp, Umiak, whale, and polar bear. The text of the book also includes many traditional Inuit elements, such as in when the child asks what would happen if she broke the ptarmigan eggs, put salmon in her mother's parka, and put lemmings in her mucklucks. The mother replies that, even through anger, “I'll love you until the Umiak flies into the darkness, until the stars turn to fish in the sky, and the puffin howls at the moon.” This original book presents Inuit culture authentically.
Book #7 – Uncle Bobby's Wedding by Sarah S. Brannan
The characters in Uncle Bobby's Wedding are guinea pigs, and the protagonist is a young guinea pig girl named Chloe. Chloe's Uncle Bobby, a male guinea pig, is marrying another male guinea pig, Uncle Jamie. However, the gay marriage is not the problem in the story; instead, the main issue is Chloe's fear that, once married, Uncle Bobby will not love her as much anymore. Once she gets to know Uncle Jamie, she realizes he will be a great addition to the family, and is excited for the wedding. The gay marriage is treated as normal, as if they were describing a straight wedding. It's very interesting to see how the author normalizes such a controversial issue in a children's picture book. This book was smushed in between a lot of other children's books; if I hadn't been looking for books on social issues, I would probably not have found this book very easily.
Book #8 – The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
After finding seven picture books, I decided to find a novel to complete the collection. Although I could not read this book in my limited time in the bookstore, flipping through the book and reading the back cover ensures me that this a great example of children's literature featuring another culture. The back cover reads,
“Imagine living in a country in which women and girls are not allowed to leave the house without a man. Imagine having to wear clothes that cover every part of your body, including your face, whenever you go out. This is life in Afghanistan, where the Taliban, members of an extreme religious group, run most of the country.”
The book also explains that “Deborah Ellis has been to Afghan refugee camps and heard many stories like Parvana's. All the royalties from this book will be donated to Women for Women in Afghanistan, dedicated to the education of Afghan girls in refugee camps in Pakistan.”
Note: This book was published in 2000; i.e., before the 9/11 attacks. Since 9/11, the plight of Afgan women has been prevalent in the media, but this book was published prior to those attacks. Thus, it was even more significant in exposing children to a different culture.
Are there many such books available?
Where are these books located in the store?
How are these books displayed and what variety is available?
When I entered the store, there was a section called “African-American Literature”. In the History/Politics section of the store, which is towards the back, there are sub-sections for Gay/Lesbia/Transgender Studies and Women's Studies (which is, interestingly, right next to the erotica and self-help sections, but there's another place and time for that discussion...) However, after a few minutes, I realized that, given that this is a class on children's literature, my seventy minutes would be much more wisely spent in the children's section.
The children's section has four bookcases for Spanish language books. In the history section, I saw several copies of I Am Latino: The Beauty In Me, right in the center of the display shelf. However, the shelf was up so high, I couldn't even reach the books! Eventually, I found a copy of the book mixed in among other books down below, but it took considerable searching. In the history section, there were sub-sections for Native American Studies (also probably too high for many kids to reach, being over five feet from the ground) and for African American studies. Each of these sections were less than half a shelf each in the corner of the section. There were only three books in the African American section and four in the Native American section.
However, perhaps the African American section, at least, was so sparse because of the large display wall of “African American classics”. This included Hoffman's Amazing Grace, Ringgold's Tar Beach, Trueit's Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Rappaport's Freedom River, Myers' Jazz, and McDermott's Anansi the Spider, among others. The books include nonfiction, biographies, historical fiction, and fiction.
Some books were misplaced. For example, the novel on Afghanistan was in the “fantasy” section, which is near the historical fiction section. Perhaps it was supposed to be there instead?
Outside of these sections, I found relatively few images of people of color. (I did see a prominently placed fairy section, and an entire other wall of fairy books... just an observation). I was surprised, as I had expected to find a greater diversity of images and subject matter in the books.
Is the authorship of these books diverse?
The authorship does seem diverse. I noticed that more of the books seemed to be written by women than men; however, this may represent the authorship of children's books overall.
For whom are the books in the store accessible? For whom are they not accessible?
The books are accessible for most readers. However, there were sections, such as the Native American section, the We Are Latino book that I mentioned previously, and about half of the books on the wall of African American classics, that are very high-- I couldn't even reach some of them! Perhaps they need to re-think the layout of a section that is geared towards children. I think kids would be much more likely to read books that are within their reach, and although it's great to prominently display books, such as on the African-American classics wall, they won't do any good if they can't actually get into the hands of young readers.
Do the books portray any sorts of cultural stereotypes?
I was actively looking for cultural stereotypes as I examined these books because of this question. However, I couldn't really find any. I think that modern authors are really trying to be conscious of such things, and writers (and illustrators) that choose to work on books displaying different cultures and/or social issues are particularly careful to do justice to the characters they portray.
What do these books convey about the characters in them? Describe the neighborhood in which the bookstore is located. How might this location intersect with your observations?
I observed in the Borders bookstore in downtown Silver Spring, MD. I live in downtown Silver Spring, and the area is quite diverse. The bookstore's customers included families of all races. As this area is full of restaurants and stores, it attracts people from surrounding areas as well, so the clientele of the bookstore includes people of all different socioeconomic groups. I think that the considerably-sized Spanish language section may be in part to cater to the many Spanish-speaking families living in Silver Spring and the surrounding areas of Wheaton and Kensington.
Library Observations
Book #1 – Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Imperial China by Joanna Cole
This book includes many facts and historical details throughout. The book also has a modern Chinese character, a boy with funky hair, helping to remind children that things in China have changed since the times this book describes. At the end, there is a section that addresses errors and omissions in the text. For example, the author explains that, unlike what happened in the story, an emperor in Imperial China would not have spoken to ordinary people. This book is an educational look at a foreign country in a specific time in history.
Book #2 – Big Boy by Tololwa M. Mollel
This is a story about a boy living in contemporary Africa. Big Boy is a form of the prodigious child tale. The story itself does not give details of what country the boy lives in, and while it contains many words in an African language, the story does not tell what language this is. At the end of the book, it explains that the story includes details from the author's native country of Tanzania and words from the Kiswahili language.
Book #3 – Little Mamá Forgets by Robin Cruise
This story takes place in East Los Angeles. While her mother is busy with her brother and her father is at work, Lucy spends most of her day with her grandmother, Little Mamá, who tells her stories of long ago in Mexico. The story, while featuring the grandmother's memories, also includes elements of modern Hispanic-American culture. For example, the family structure of Latino families, which often includes close bonds with members of the extended family, becomes part of the story as Lucy's cousins and other family members come together for dinner. The story also includes details such as Latin-American foods, like rice pudding, Spanish words, and scenes of Los Angeles, including storefronts with signs in both Spanish and English, taxi cabs, traffic, chili dog vendors, and stores with Mexican flags hanging inside. This book paints a strong picture of the culture that defines Lucy's life.
Book #4 – For You Are A Kenyan Child by Kelly Cunnane
This book, narrated in the second person, describes the life of a child living in Kenya. At the end of the story, the author includes a comparison to the life of an American child. Details of Kenya in the story include things such as the family's hut with a fire burning on the floor, maize porridge, meeting the village chief, taking grandpa's cows to pasture, and so forth. The story also includes words in Swahili.
Book #5 – Jamela's Dress by Niki Daly
Jamela's Dress takes place in present-day South Africa. This book showcases African fabrics, but it also includes many other details. In one image, we see a road filled with cars and chickens. Another detail is the hand-clapping game Jamela plays with her mother. At the wedding which takes place at the end of the book, we see people wearing both traditional African and modern Western outfits, including the bride, who wears a white dress. This book is great because it shows modern South Africa. I think many books about Africa tend to show a more traditional picture of Africa, but this book merges the traditional elements with the modern to show children what life might really be like if they lived in South Africa today.
Book #6 – Farm Morning by David McPhail
This book is about a father and daughter waking up before dawn on their farm and taking care of their morning chores. These chores include feeding the animals, milking the cows, and gathering eggs. I chose this book as representative of a different culture because farm life is foreign to many children, and this book exposes them to the culture of people living on farms in the country.
Book #7 – My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits
Yoon is a girl who has recently moved to the United States from Korea. Yoon thinks that everything is different in America, and she is unhappy as she tries to adjust to her new school, especially as she does not speak any English. However, by the end of the book, she has begun to adjust to the changes, and accepts that “maybe different is good, too.”
Book #8 – Mama Provi and the Pot of Rice by Sylvia Rosa-Casanova
Mama Provi lives on the first floor of an apartment building, and her granddaughter lives on the eighth floor. Mama Provi loves to tell her granddaughter stories about growing up in Puerto Rico, but today, her granddaughter (like in Little Mamá Forgets, also named Lucy) is sick and cannot come to visit her. So, Mama Provi decides to make Lucy some arroz con pollo and take it to her. As Mama Provi climbs each floor, she meets her neighbors, Mrs. Landers, Senor Rivera, Mrs. Bazzini, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Woo, and Mrs. Kelley, and they all contribute different kinds of food to the meal Mama Provi is taking to Lucy.
Are there many such books available?
Where are these books located in the library?
How are these books displayed and what variety is available?
I spent my 75 minutes in the children's section of my local library. Unlike at the bookstore, there was no particular display or section where I could find “diverse” books. Instead, I just looked around the children's picture book section, which is arranged alphabetically. Some of the books were displayed above the bookshelves, but most of the books were on the shelves.
Is the authorship of these books diverse?
I found the authorship to be diverse, including men and women of various ethnicities.
For whom are the books in the library accessible? For whom are they not accessible?
The books are accessible for most readers. I thought the library did a better job than the bookstore of making sure that the books were within children's reach. There were also librarians readily available to help, and computers on which you could search for books (including a kids' search engine).
Do the books portray any sorts of cultural stereotypes?
The books in the library included older books, and there were also many more books than in the bookstore. However, among the books I read, I did not encounter any obvious cultural stereotypes, even though I was looking for them.
What do these books convey about the characters in them? Describe the neighborhood in which the library is located. How might this location intersect with your observations?
This library, like the bookstore I visited, is located near my home in downtown Silver Spring. The neighborhood is racially and ethnically diverse, and this was represented in the library patrons. I noticed many books portraying children in African countries. There is a large population of African immigrants in Silver Spring, and this may have influenced the library's decision to carry so many books featuring African cultures.
No comments:
Post a Comment