Semester Reflection

So the end of the semester is finally upon us and sadly this means that my time in TE 448 has come to a close. Taking this class was a wonderful experience; I wish there were more classes like it here at MSU.

Almost all of my teacher education classes have had some emphasis on preparing pre-service teachers for the diverse group of students who will undoubtedly fill our classrooms throughout the coming years. I appreciated this course because it got me thinking about how literature can become a window in to the lives of many different people, and how we can use that to the advantage of our future students by knowing how to choose quality diverse literature.

I understand the importance of finding pieces of literature that represent authentic experiences. I also understand the importance of looking at these books through a critical lens –checking into the authors and illustrators and how they are related to the group of people whom they are writing about.

This course certainly provided us with many valuable resources which I know will aide me in difficult pursuit to find quality, diverse children’s literature.

Thanks for a great semester (and thanks for reading!)

LGBTQ Text Set

The three books that I read and reviewed, King & King, The Different Dragon, and Emma and Meesha My Boy: A Two Mom Story, were all picture books aimed at young readers. Really, the similarities stop there.

In my opinion, The Different Dragon and Emma and Meesha My Boy: A Two Mom Story are two books heading in the direction that I would like to see LGBTQ children’s literature go. Each told the tale of a loving family headed up by lesbian moms, however, the family structure was incidental to the plot of each story. The books weren’t meant to explain sexual orientations or confusions/concerns about having gay parents. The fact the Emma and Noah each had two moms was just second nature. I see the merits of writing books like Heather Has Two Mommies or Daddy's Roommate, but when it boils right down to it sometimes young readers just want to read about the adventures and antics of other kids. The Different Dragon and Emma and Meesha My Boy: A Two Mom Story did just that. The messages of family diversity were subtle but present and in this case, it worked perfectly.

King & King was a different type of book. It focused more on presenting the traditional prince and princess story in a new light. I appreciated the effort and I certainly think it is important to provide children with the opportunity to read about the diversity of relationships that exists in our world, but King & King’s flat characters showed an oversimplified depiction of the princes’ relationship. Rather than exploring the any sort of complex character features that would draw the prince to fall for Prince Lee, the readers might believe that sub-standard choices in potential princess-brides lead the prince to immediately and unquestionably fall in love at first sight.

Worth the Trip

Worth the Trip is a blog written by KT Horning, a librarian, young adult literature specialist, and “life-long reader of LGBTQ literature”.

This blog is chocked full of reviews of LGBTQ literature aimed at kids and teens. In addition to new releases, the blog also features “Retro Reads” --reviews of books that have been around a little longer.

Although there are a ton of reviews already posted, there is no need to fret. Worth the Trip is well organized. Each entry is tagged for easy sorting making it more manageable to find exactly what you are looking for.

Visitors can also find a list of other related/helpful blogs in the site’s Blogroll section, as well as a comprehensive list LGBTQ Authors and Allies, all of which have links to their own relevant websites and blogs.

As an added bonus, Worth the Trip has a loyal following of readers who actively post in the blog’s comment section . This provides a great opportunity for online interaction with fellow Worth the Trip readers.

All of these great features combined with its user-friendly format really do make this blog Worth the Trip.

Check out this great blog at: http://worththetrip.wordpress.com/

King & King

De Haan, Linda, and Stern Nijland. King & King. Berkley, CA: Tricycle Press, 2000.

King & King tells the story of a Prince being pushed by his impatient mother, the queen, to marry and take over the throne. The prince who admits that he has “never cared much for princesses” reluctantly agrees to meet a host of potential brides. Princesses arrive from all expanses of the globe but it isn’t until he lays eyes upon Princesses Madeline’s brother, Prince Lee, that he find his true heart’s desire.

De Hann and Nijland's twist on the traditional boy meets girl fairytale may be well intentioned but some potential issues arise within the pages of this picture book. The depiction of the princesses presents some subtle stereotyping. The princess from Austria is an overweight opera singer, the princess from Texas is wearing cowboy boots, so on and so forth. All of the potential brides are depicted as flawed in some way or another. This sets up a tension that the Prince only falls for Prince Lee because none of his female-suitors would suffice. Although the books presents a positive depiction of gay marriage as a “happily ever after”, we shouldn’t ignore the potential stereotypes/misconceptions that are perpetuated in the book.

King & King’s unique and colorful collage-style illustrations provide plenty for the reader to look at but become cluttered and overwhelming at times. In addition to the stereotyping of the princesses, the illustrations make other interesting statements, like the choice to censor of the two Kings’ kiss on the last page of the book.

The Different Dragon

Bryan, Jennifer. The Different Dragon. Illus. Danamarie Hosler. Ridley Park, PA: Two Lives, 2006.

Noah is a young boy living with his two mothers, little sister, and a plethora of pets. Although he no longer needs much help getting ready for bed he still loves to have a bedtime story told to him by his mom, Go-Ma. In a collaborative effort, Go-Ma and Noah weave a fantastical tale about journeying on a sailboat to a faraway land and meeting a dragon who may not be as fierce as he first seems.

Most of this book centers around the interaction between Noah and Go-Ma. While Noah’s other mother is pictured, she is never named. The illustrations depict Noah’s mothers as the matriarchs of a loving home, simply helping their children with all of those familiar bedtime routines. The fact that Noah comes from a family with same-sex parents merely frames the narrative. The central focus is Go-Ma and Noah’s bedtime story which carries a positive message about character, expectations, and acceptance. Jennifer Bryan presents Noah's family as normal part of his life, incidental to the overall story of The Different Dragon.

Illustrator Danamarie Hosler creates a beautiful home for Noah and his family, sprinkled with all the charms of a family living with two young kids. She is able to seamlessly transport the reader into the dreamy world of Noah and Go-Ma’s bedtime fairytale, making this a perfect book for anyone’s bedtime routine.

Emma and Meesha My Boy: A Two Mom Story

Considine, Kaitlyn T. Emma and Meesha My Boy: a Two Mom Story. Illus. Binny Hobbs. TWOMOMBOOKS.Com, 2005.

This picture book tells the story of Emma’s escapades with her cat named Meesha My Boy. A somewhat mischievous little girl, Emma is always busy playing with Meesha – but not always in ways that her moms approve of. With a little guidance from her parents, Emma learns to take care of her cat in a loving and respectful manner.

The book starts off by introducing the reader to the Emma, her cat, and her two moms, Mama and Mommy. The introduction of Emma’s moms is brief and is there mostly to clarify the names of each mom. It is certainly not the central focus of the story. Mama and Mommy are depicted as caring parents, watching over Emma and teaching her the do’s and don’ts of pet ownership. By focusing this story around Emma and her cat, Kaitlyn Taylor Considine is illustrating that diverse family picture books don’t have to focus on lesbian parents being unique or different.

llustrator Binny Hobbs uses both color and whimsy in her cartoon depiction of Emma and her family. Despite the mischief Emma tends to cause, the fun, full page illustrations depict all the signs of a happy, loving home life. The text is large, rhyming, and easy to follow making this a book that young readers are sure to enjoy over and over again.

Reactions to Confessions of a Closet Catholic:

After finishing up Confessions of a Closet Catholic by Sarah Darer Littman, I have to say I’m pretty impressed with how the book tackled the subjects of faith, spirituality, and religion in such an authentic and often humorous way.

Littman did a nice job providing the reader with insight into Jewish culture, customs, and traditions. I also enjoyed the intermixing of Yiddish and Hebrew language; it brought me back to some wonderful memories of Hanukkah and Rosh Hashana dinners at my boyfriend’s house.

One of the most useful messages that I took away from this reading was an overall message of tolerance. I’d have to echo Rob, Justine’s crush, in his admiration of her thirst for knowledge :

“It’s so cool that you took time to learn about another religion. Knowledge makes people more tolerant. Too bad more people don’t do what you did, and learn about different beliefs.” (pg 97)

I appreciate that the novel didn’t favor one religion over another. Instead, it addresses the complexity of faith while ultimately leaving the reader with an understanding that wanting to figure things out for yourself is okay too.

Themes within Becoming Naomi León

While reading Alma Ada’s piece, Words of Jade and Coral: Latino Literature for Children and Adolescents, I tried to connect her discussion of genre and theme with what I had just read in Becoming Naomi León.

One reoccurring theme Ada discusses is the important role that grandparents play in many pieces of Latino Literature. This certainly holds true in Becoming Naomi León as seen in the character of Gram. Interestingly, being Skyla’s mother, Gram is Caucasian rather than Latina. This does flip the script in terms of how this theme plays out in this particular novel. Still, there is no arguing that Becoming Naomi León is a book about the value of family, regardless of Gram’s race/ethnicity.

In my opinion Becoming Naomi León also does a great job at what Ada calls “Celebrating and Transmitting the Richness of the Culture”. Since Owen and Naomi grow up apart from their father, their main connection to their Mexican heritage comes through the characters of Fabiola and Bernardo and the family’s “vacation” to Mexico. It is during this trip that readers (alongside Naomi) truly get a sense of how wonderful Oaxaca and its traditions can be.

Slippery Slope or Solid Ground?

After reading Marc Aronson’s “Slippery Slopes and Proliferating Prizes” and Andrea Davis Pinkney’s “Awards That Stand on Solid Ground”, both published in The Horn Book Magazine, I felt compelled to response to these readings.

In his piece, Aronson questions what these “proliferating” awards will mean for the readers of these texts. He poses an important question, “If you have to be black to win the award, do you have to be black to appreciate the award winning book?” I would argue that the answer to this question is, absolutely not. We shouldn’t be confined to reading to reading about people “just like us”.

I was astonished at how few awards were presented to black authors, 3 Newberys in a 97 year period. When thinking about the “ratio of black to white winners” it is hard for me not to see merit in awards that recognize marginalized populations. Although I agree with Pinkney’s assertion that “these awards are a gateway to progress”, they are not an absolute solution that will help incorporate underrepresented populations into children’s literature.

In my opinion, as long as the work that is being honored is a quality piece of literature, there is no harm in branching out our recognition.

Jigsaw Assignment- Lambda Literacy Award

The Lambda Literacy Foundation Award’s website can be found at: http://www.lambdaliterary.org/index.html. The purpose of this award is to celebrate GLBTQ literature. This award does not take the orientation of the author into consideration; it is secondary to the quality of the writing and the LBGTQ content of the work. There are twenty one categories in which books can be nominated by their author or publisher. The books are judged by various members of the literary community, but judges are not announced until the winners are made public.

In 2004, there was a book (The Man Who Would Be Queen) which was nominated, announced as a finalist, and then removed from the list due to an outcry of the LGBTQ population. More information about this at http://www.tsroadmap.com/info/lambda-literary.html.

We found it quite interesting that we could not find a “seal” to acknowledge books which won this award. Our group questioned whether this is due to the political climate of our country and the connotations that this award might have toward these books. Does not having an award allow for this book to be read by children and young adults without being "flagged"?

In searching for books which have won this award, we could only find two of the books in the young adult/children’s lit categories: Luna (which was found at the library) and Boy Meets Boy (which is actually a book we’re reading in class).

The Insider/Outsider Debate:

There has been discussion among the experts as to whether or not a an “outsider” is capable of writing an authentic piece of literature about a group to which he/she does not belong. I must agree with Rudine Sims Bishop in her assertion that “you have to know a culture intimately if you’re going to reflect it accurately in your fiction”. However, I also believe that it would be unfair to make a blanket statement saying that only group insiders have the ability to create quality children’s literature. I believe Debbie Reese’s discussion of outside authorship in Native American children’s literature can be extended to other subsets of diverse literature. In her discussion, Reese claims that “non-Native people have demonstrated that careful research and sensitive writing can result in a quality children’s book that should be part of the classroom library”. Just as not every book penned by a group insider promises to be exceptional, not every book authored by an outsider is doomed to be disastrous.

What is Multicultural Literature?

Although I am still in the early stages of my experience with multi-cultural literature, I have noticed topics of debate seem to have weaved their way through this area of study. The first topic: how exactly do we define multicultural literature?

In his piece Multiple Definitions of Multicultural Literature: Is the Debate Really Just “Ivory Tower” Bickering?, Mingshui Cai presents the range of existing definitions on a sliding scale. He explains that at one end of the spectrum, multicultural literature is defined as “books by and about people of color”. On the other end of that spectrum, people believe that “all literature is multicultural literature”. Is it too confining to believe that diverse literature should only be defined by the issues surrounding race and ethnicity? After all, there are many other aspects of diversity (e.g.: gender, religion, socio-economic status, sexuality, language, etcetera). It may also be impractical, however, to leave the definition completely open ended. If this were to be the case I’d have to agree with Rudine Sims Bishop’s claim that “if the set of ‘multicultural children’s literature’ is that same as the set of ‘children’s literature’ then the risk is that we will simply maintain the status quo”.

I believe that the function of this type of literature is far more important the definition. It is unlikely that we will come to see one clear cut definition of multi-cultural literature, however it is important to discuss what this type of literature should do for the reader. It is my hope that “good” multi-cultural children’s literature will serve two distinct purposes. First, it should allow a traditionally disenfranchised group of people a voice. They deserve to have their stories heard. Secondly, it should allow the reader possible ways to, as Patrick Shannon puts it, “recognize themselves (or part of themselves) in stories that seem on the surface so far apart from their daily lives”. Hopefully discussing our similarities as well as our differences will allow readers to connect with the diverse cultures represented in this literature on an entirely new level.

Welcome to My Blog!

Hi, my name is Lisa Patterson and I am currently in my senior year at Michigan State University. I am majoring in Elementary Education with a specialization in Language Arts. I look forward to “blogging” my way through TE 448, a course focused on issues of diversity in children's literature. This course initially piqued my interest after I completed TE 348, a more general course about children’s literature. I look forward to building upon my previous experiences with this topic and learning how to create an inclusive and diverse library for my future classroom.