Topic: African-American Literature

Walter Dean Myers was born August 12th, 1937, in Wester Virginia, but grew up with Herbert and Florence Dean.  His biological mother had given him up, and he never discovered why.  Growing up, he loved Basketball, but had trouble in school, so at the age of 17, he joined the army.  One of his brothers had joined as well, but tragically was killed on first day of duty in Vietnam.

Today, Myers' son, Christopher, illustrates his books and even writes some of his own.  Myers is currently National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.  Most of his writing, he says, is about his teen years, not knowing who he was, not knowing how to navigate this world.  He has been quoted saying, "Reading is not optional."  Though he has a few children's picture books (more for older elementary level), most of his works are on heavier topics, such as Vietnam, jail, school shootings, etc.

This he has many terrific works, I'm going to share my thoughts on his book, Monster.  Monster is a polysemic book.  No, the "author is not dead", folks.  If this means nothing to you, I will explain.  Roland Barthes first introduced the idea of "the author is dead."  The meaning behind this is that there is no original text because everything that's written has already been written and everything that's been said has already been said.  Nothing is new, it's all simply in how we rework our language.  This idea of the dead author does not hold true for all books (if any actually).  Everything can interpreted in different ways by different people.  A polysemic text is one that has no determinate meaning.  The reader produces meaning.

With that all clear, I shall continue.  Monster is a polysemic text.  You struggle throughout the novel to determine whether teen Steve Harmon is innocent or guilty of a crime he is on trial for.  You get Steve's view the whole time and yet you are still left confused as to what he really thinks or what his actions were.  He lies, he tries to tell the truth, he's innocent, he's guilty.  Everything is somewhat up in the air.  This heavy story is more appropriate for older teens as the content and meaning of the novel can be difficult to grasp.  It is in the style of a screenplay, which helps make it a very quick read.

Awards:

• Nominated for the 1999 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.  The National Book Award for Young People's Literature is one of four annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens.
• Won the Michael L. Printz Award in 2000.  The Michael L. Printz Award annually honors the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit, each year.
• Named a Coretta Scott King Award Honor in 2000. The Coretta Scott King Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.

Other books of interest by Myers: 
Sunrise Over Fallujah
Shooter
Autobiography of My Dead Brother
Hoops


Another author of interest:
Angela Johnson was born June 18th, 1961 in Tuskegee, Alabama.  She began her career in 1989 and was inspire by her babysitter, Cynthia Rylant, to start writing, as Cynthia had spotted much potential in Angela.  As she knew people in publishing field already, it was rather easy for her to dive in.  She's now published over 40 books.  She prefers to write contemporary realism.  She respects criticism from kids.  You can watch an interview with her here.

Angela Johnson's novel If You Come Softly is an option for accompanying Myers's Monster.  Johnson's novel tells the story of two high schoolers, a female Jewish girl and an African American boy who meet and fall in love.  The story has a twist ending.  Overall, this is a terrific story of two teens who feel like the world is telling them to stay away from each other while their hearts are telling them otherwise.  The novel illustrates the struggles that accompany couples of different races.

Awards:

• Won Coretta Scott King Award 
• Won Ezra Jack Keats Book Award.  The Ezra Jack Keats Book Award is given annually to an outstanding new writer and new illustrator of picture books for children.
• MacArthur Fellows Genius Grant.  The MacArthur Fellows Program awards unrestricted fellowship to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.

Books of interest by Johnson:
Picture and young adult books.
Sweet Smell of Roses


Other authors of interest:
Sharon Draper was born August 21st, 1952 in Ohio.  She is a professional educator as well as an author.  She is actively engaged with the YWCA of Cincinnati.

Awards:

• Coretta Scott King Award

Books of interest by Draper:
Copper Sun
Tears of a Tiger
Out of My Mind 
November Blues
Romiette and Julio 


Children's books to accompany Monster and If You Come Softly:
Nappy Hair by Caroivia Herron
I Too Am America by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Bryan Collier
Other Side of the Fence by Angela Johnson.  Try comparing it to "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost.

Discussion Questions for The Other Side and I, Too, Am America:

1.  How would you classify each book and why?
2.  Do you think these books represent "good" multicultural literature?  Why or why not?
3.  How would you use these books?
4.  What do you think of the illustrations in terms of whether they enhance, support, or detract from the story?
5.  Both books are written and illustrated by African Americans.  Does this impact your view of how authentic these books are?

Specific to The Other Side
1. The illustrator portrays the characters (of all races) as dressing similarly, and the author has them speak similarly.  Does this contribute to assimilationist perspectives?
2.  Mama tells Clover not to play with the other children, yet teaches her not to stare.  What do you think about the contradiction there?
3.  Is the ending satisfying?
4.  Is there a moral to this story?  Should there be?  (Relate to how this book should be used with children).

Specific to I, Too, Am America
1.  What does the collage style of art contribute to the text?
2.  What is the symbolism of the porter throwing the papers and things off the back of the train?  (This is addressed in the illustrator's note.)
3.  What images of African Americans are presented in the text?  Are they reflected in the artwork?  Are they positive or negative?

Topic: Native American Literature

Louise Erdrich comes from a German and Native American heritage.  She has written many books on Native American cultures.  etc. etc.  More info on Louise.  Daily Beast interview with Louise.

I enjoyed Birchbark House.  It has been likened to books like Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie series.  It has a few pictures scattered throughout the book and reads at a somewhat slow pace and easy reading level.  There are, however, some Ojibwa terms included, but not to worry, there is a handy translation key in the back of the book with a pronunciation guide.

Birchbark House covers many topics such as growing up, loss of loved ones, survival, familial bonds, origins, and more.  The story is set in 1847, so it gives you a peek into what life was like for this specific Native American tribe, the Anishanabe.  What I enjoyed the most was the reality of the book.  The fights between the siblings, whether it was over feelings of anger masked as hate or as jealousy over a beautiful older sister.  I thought it was refreshing to see the struggles of the family because most children's books will not show you the complexity of sibling relationships.  Most children's books show the loving, kind siblings who do no wrong to each other.  This book show a more realistic version, that of Omakayas, the main character, getting frustrated by her annoying little brother, Pinch, and later in the novel developing a quiet, unspoken awareness of how her love for her brother has grown.  While slow at times, this book delivers when it needs to.  Winter comes and you are sent on a roller coaster of emotion as the family battles disease and depression.  I would recommend this book.  It has also been brought up to me that it would be a good idea to recommend at the same time as the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.  This would surely provide for good discussion between the two similar experiences.

Awards

• Anisfield-Wolf Book Award.  The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award recognizes books that have made important contributions to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human cultures.
• National Book Award.  The National Book Award are given to one book (author) annually in each of four categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people's literature. 
• National Book Critics Circle Award.  The National Book Critics Circle Award is given for the finest books published in English.

Children's books to accompany Birchbark House:
Powwow Summer by Marcie Rendon
Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith
The Good Luck Cat by Joy Harjo
Dreamcatcher by Audrey Osofsky
House of Bark: Tipi, Wigwam, and Longhouse by Bonnie Shemie

Discussion Questions:

1.  Do the illustrations in either book perpetuate stereotypes of indigenous tribes (Dreamcatcher and House of Bark)?
2.  How might you use either book to discuss stereotypes with your readers (Dreamcatcher and House of Bark)?
3.  In Dreamcatcher, do you think the author provides an authentic representation of the Ojibew culture?  Why or why not?
4.  What cultural values or themes might an insider identify with from the texts?
5.  What universal themes might an outsider identify with from the texts?

Websites of interest:

• www.theways.org The ways is an ongoing series of stories from Native communities around the central Great Lakes.  This online resource for 6-12 grade students features videos, interactive maps, and digital media exploring contemporary Native culture and language.
• American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical perspectives and analysis of indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books, the school curriculum, popular culture, and society.

Other authors of interest:
Debbie Reese is tribally enrolled at Nambe Pueblo in New Mexico.  A lot of her writing explores the ways in which Native Americans are displayed in children's books.

Crossing Borders

            Mingshui Cai, in Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults: Reflections on Critical Issues (2002), discusses the idea of crossing borders by discussing similarities among different cultures.  He begins, “Many multicultural books are designed to help children connect to other cultures by showing the similarities among people of different cultural backgrounds” (120).  Until I read this in chapter 7, I was rather under the same impression.  As a child (or even sometimes as an adult) it is easy to pass over the complications of life and think of the basics:  We are all human.  We all must eat, bathe, sleep.  We all have our happy moments, we laugh, our struggles, we cry, and our tipping points.  We are human no matter what language or color, no matter our height or our food preference, our religions or our habits or disabilities (or abilities).  The basic idea being, “Despite some differences, human beings are basically the same.” (120).   So since we are all human, why should it be a bad idea to allow children’s literature to portray this "healthy" view of the world?  How can it be a bad thing to show our similarities?  Wouldn't it help erase stereotyping, racism, sexism, etc.?  If we are all similar, are we not all equal?

           Mingshui Cai thinks differently.  There are borders that exist between people.  Three types, in fact, are described by Cai: physical, cultural, and inner borders (117).  It makes sense to think, though, that simply showing kids through literature that we all have similarities will not help us overcome all of these borders.  The borders simply are too great and complex to be resolved in a 20-30 page picture book.  The example I will draw on is from My Best Shoes by Marilee Burton.  

 This is a simple children's book that has a fun, innocent rhyme to it.  It displays a number of multiracial children wearing different shoes and explains why they wear those shoes.  It is not about showing Native Americans in moccasins or Chinese in sandals, but rather, it is considered a culturally neutral book.  It is not about the race of the children, but instead about showing kids how we all wear shoes and sometimes like walking around in bare feet.  

              Books that only discuss our similarities, such as this one, can prove harmful to an extent.  While it is great to portray our humanness, we must not forget that our difference also prove to be reason for celebration.  Books that focus only on our similarities give us a false idea that the world is "always a nice place" (122).  It oversimplifies the fact that true border crossing is difficult.  

             Let's look back at the borders mentioned: physical, cultural, and inner.  The physical border is just that: the line, for example, between the United States and Mexico.  The cultural border is one where perhaps someone has lived in another country for a few months or years and better understands the culture.  The inner border has more to do with the mind.  You cross this border when you truly understand that culture, more than just in a tangible way.  With a book like My Best Shoes, you aren't really allowed to cross any borders.  You are stuck in the oneness of the world.  

              An ideal world would be one where we automatically understand and can accept other cultures; where their traditions, habits, and customs are realized and respected.  Books on human similarity would be perfectly acceptable and encouraged.  As it stands now, though, this type of literature is by no means sufficient stock on library shelves.  It has its place, but it also has its gaps.

              Perry Nodelman, in chapter 7 of Multicultural Literature, distinguishes between truly multicultural books and theoretically multicultural books (122).  He explains that real multicultural books "insist...on the real and deep-seated emotional and intellectual differences between people of different cultural backgrounds and demand a real tolerance hard to achieve, rather than proclaiming as most theoretically multicultural books currently do that people are basically the same" (122).  Nodelman's distinctions are critical to the collections development librarian.  There must be a balance in the selection process.  We must look for books that are not just theoretically multicultural, but ones that display emotional and intellectual differences.  If we are all the same, we will not grow; we will not learn.  It is foolish to assume that one single culture knows all and should be used as the "exemplar" to other cultures.  In the collection process, we should analyze whether the multicultural children's book puts on a "similarity veil" or if it will teach the reader about another culture.  Does it face the issues head on or does it step around the cultural differences to show only the "fun" aspects of that culture?  Nodelman says, “It’s easy to tolerate someone like yourself, less easy to tolerate some quite truly different” (122).  

Thoughts on Authenticity

I chose to begin with the topic of authenticity as my first critical issues entry because one of the quotes I wrote down during my reading of chapter 2 of Dana L. Fox's Stories Matter: The Complexity of Cultural Authenticity in Children's Literature, was the same as one I found on a class handout.  The quote, by Rudine Sims Bishop, refers to how “much of the authenticity debate seems to be oversimplified, ignoring or downplaying both history and the complexities of the way race, power, and privilege operate in this society and in the field of children’s literature” (Fox, 29).  I would like to respond to that quote here as it really stuck out to me. 

            Sims Bishop’s context for this quote is a response to the idea of the insider/outsider perspective for authenticity.  What does this mean?  At times, the argument for publishing multicultural literature boils down to whether the author’s skin color or ethnicity is the determinant for true authenticity.  My response is that this is not how it should be.  Authenticity should not be determined by something so simple as skin color.  I have family friends who are white, but they originally came to America from Africa.  Does this mean anything they were to write would not be considered authentic?  Or to lengthen the plot a little, would anything they wrote not be considered authentic even if they had just "visited" Africa for a few months or years, instead of coming from Africa?
            This same idea should be applied to ethnicity.  Can one ethnicity be the only group of people allowed to write about their culture?  That argument encompasses skin color as well, but goes beyond saying that as long as the individual is from x country that they must be the authorities of their own culture.  The truth of the matter is that even someone from that culture can make mistakes.  Their own experience is never going to be the same as someone else, even someone from the culture.  There are just too many factors to think about.  What about the city they lived in?  Their economic standing--were they from the rich side of town or the poor side?  Were they from a one parent family or did their parents stay together?  One person's experience will never account for a whole group.  This is not to say that we do not share experiences, but rather to argue for the branching out of writing and publishing children's multicultural books by authors of various backgrounds and ethnicities. 

            Sims Bishops understands that much of the time debates such as this becomes twisted, “fodder for provocative journal articles” (Fox, 29).  These are not the real issues.  The deeper issues are that of power, privilege, and history.  What we should be considering is the reason for why each individual’s work should matter, no matter the skin color or ethnicity.  As Sims Bishop stated, even authors make mistakes about their own race or their own country.  A good author does research to prepare their work, no matter how close they feel they are to their subject and characters.  The insider/outsider view does not matter much in my eyes, as long as their research has closed the gaps that may have corrupted the intent in their writing.  Each individual should be evaluated in a way that does not consider their skin color or ethnicity, but rather their history, their efforts, and their view of the subject.  Are they viewing the subject from a perspective of the one in power (sometimes referred to as dominant culture)?  Are they obscuring the real issues the subject has to offer?

             Another topic to consider when thinking
about the authenticity of a work is its ideological underpinnings.  Sims Bishop points out that “different members of those groups [insiders versus outsiders] at different times create children’s literature to fulfill different functions” (Fox, 32).  This goes back to my statement about the author’s intent in writing.  Though intent is by no means the best way of evaluation, as good intent can also be found in problematic literature, it is a stepping-stone.  Some of the roles multicultural children’s literature is meant to fulfill is that of reinforcement, the way W. E. B. Du Bois hoped to inspire African American children to recognize that they are beautiful human beings, just as important and loved in God’s eyes as any other child.

             Multicultural literature has also been used to bridge the gap between races (Fox, 33).  This is another way of children’s literature fulfilling a function.  These books are written with an objective in mind of what information output they want their readers to obtain.  It is important to notice these ideological underpinnings because of what the child may get out of it.  Whether the author is of the culture or not, if the message is true and it teaches the child something they otherwise would not have learned, why shouldn’t the authenticity be credited to the author? 

Note: this response is solely based on Fox chapter 2 as prompted on the homework sheet.  I realize there are arguments along these lines in chapter 4 of Cai and chapter 3 of Fox.