In the Interest of Transparency

In my second post I mentioned my aversion to being labeled "middle class," and how it was a complicated topic that I would return to at a later date. Well, I think that is today.

I have been writing and thinking and talking and listening and reading a lot about social class these past few weeks. It is a touchy, tricky subject. In some ways, I was hesitant to dissect it further in the context of this blog, but I think it is important. Not only is it important that my background and identity be transparent in this process, so that my own biases and missteps can be brought to the foreground, but the topic of class is virtually non-existent in children's books. When it is addressed, like so much else we aim at kids, it is in a formulaic, or, worse, romanticized way.

My upbringing was in a middle class family. My parents both went to college, as did all four of their parents. Even though in much of their adult lives my parents shunned the "comforts" they had been raised with, there is no way to rescind that privilege.

My story is much the same. I was raised in a home that my grandparents owned, and always had access to a car, new clothes, and abundant "educational opportunities." In more recent years I have lived in houses with up to 14 roommates, an old ambulance, and various basements and sheds. I have been on social assistance and fallen into the governmental bracket of "impoverished" for most of my adult life. But, regardless of these scenarios, I remain "middle class."

One of the things I have come to realize lately about class is that it isn't something you can "undo" just because you are unemployed, or living your life in a different wealth bracket than the one you were raised in. Class is about access. Like so many other aspects of "privilege," when you have it, it can take some effort to see how it benefits you, and hinders those without it.

I have been reading an incredible new book by Leticia Nieto and her co-authors called Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment, which talks about the intricate dynamics of oppression and privilege. ( I highly recommend this amazing book, which I hope to be using in the future in more depth to look at how it can be applied to children's literature.) It is an incredible book to be reading to start to identify what these pieces of our identity that include race, class, culture, religion, gender, and ability are and how they affect our interactions with the world and each other.

Some of the questions that come up for me about class in the context of children's literature, is asking the question of who is telling these stories? And what are the assumptions that are being made about who is reading the book, and what the "social norm" the reader is expected to identify with, or strive for?

One of the hardest things that I have been confronting lately about my own desire to write books is "Does the world really need one more book written by a white, middle class, person in a hetero relationship?" I have been filled with a lot of doubt and questions about my desire to write, what perspective I can authentically write from, and if those perspectives are actually useful to the world of radical literature I want to create? I hope that the answer is "YES!" It just might look different than I thought it would. I might look like me collaborating with folks, or writing about confronting the issues of race, class, gender, etc, from the perspective that I am viewing it from, including how I am trying to be a better ally to groups of folks targeted by oppression.

The truth is, I am not sure where this all will lead. I still want to write, and illustrate books for kids that show so many perspectives that I think are currently missing in the world of children's literature. But I think the way that is going to unfold is going to be of narrower focus, from my own focus, than I once would have envisioned. And I think that is good.

Without diverging too much from the topic at hand, I also want to note how much I think this comes into play with the topic of "multicultural" books for kids, and just who is writing these books. This is another topic that I plan to get in depth with in the future. I think that in the interest of bringing diverse images and stories to children, we often are speaking from experiences, and telling stories that are not our own, and end up tokenizing the very group of people we hoped to support.

Is there a way to address diversity without tokenizing? I think there is. And I know there are lots of people doing it. And I need to explore this question so much more.

OK... I feel like I could write for hours about my unpeeling of this onion. But I'll end it here for now.
Next post, back to the list....
I have found some beautiful, incredible children's books that I am excited to share with you.
Thanks for reading this.
See you soon.

THE LIST: Books I Like #1

The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco is a book about an immigrant family from Russia and the quilt the Mama makes from fabric they brought from their homeland. The quilt is passed along through generations and used as, among other things, a birthday tablecloth,  baby blanket, wedding huppa, and death shroud.

My favorite thing about this book, aside from the incredible art, is the family portrait it paints of "in-tact" family traditions. I love that the story shows different generations from an immigrant family, and how culture and tradition are passed along.


Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey  This book was first published in 1948, but in many ways feels timely and fresh for today.   I love the art in this book; I will probably say that about most of the books on this list because, for me, art is an incredibly important part of what makes a great kids book.  

Blueberries for Sal follows a mama and child as they pick blueberries to preserve for winter.

 
There are several things that I appreciate about this book. First, the themes of self sufficiency and providing for our own food needs, (from the wild, in this case.) I love that they are foraging and canning.

 
Another aspect of this book I love is the mama and child's relationship with the bear mama and child.  Their relationship is one of neighbors sharing a living area. The human mom is certainly surprised to see the bear cub, and not her child, following her, but the story gives the sense of the humans and other animals being able to co-exist. 

 
The thing I love the most about this book, especially for the era in which it was written, is the gender presentation of Sal, the child. Sal has androgynous looks and name, and even though she is referred to as "she," doesn't fit neatly into a gender stereotype. 

 
Aside from being pretty progressive for a book from 1948 to show a little girl getting dirty in overalls, it is also a beautiful picture of an adult respecting a child's autonomy. Sal is not hovered over, but allowed to explore, graze and have adventures at her own pace.

And did I mention how beautiful the pictures are?

A Few Questions for You

 So now I need your input.
Once you have read the previous few posts... I am curious...


Are there any books from your childhood that have stuck in your memory? Have you gone back and reread them as an adult, with a critical eye? What do you notice now that you didn't then? Do you think that an image or idea stuck with you in any way that you hadn't realized? Would you read this book with your child? Are there any books that you have come across that you would remove from your bookshelf, and for what reasons?


Also, what are the books that you have come across that you are excited to share with the kids in your life? What are the images or messages that you love most about these books?


I am excited to hear the ways you are all thinking about the stories we are passing along to kids! Please share!

On the Essay "A Plea for Radical Children's Literature"

The third essay in Herbert Kohl's book, Should We Burn Babar is titled "A Plea for Radical Children's Literature."

One of the first things he addresses is how, though there is an increasing "personal and social sensitivity represented in young adult literature today, there is an almost total absence of books, fiction or nonfiction, that question the economic and social structure of our society and the values of capitalism."

I am a devoted children's literature reader. Long before I had kids, I had a collection of both picture books and juvenile fiction that presented alternatives the the social norms I saw represented in most kids books. I was, and am, always on the look out for books that show strong female characters, empowered youth, adults that respect children, diverse families, DIY ethics including collective living and working and making things by hand, and people living outside the assumed norm of nuclear family, two-car garage, middle-class America.

My list is growing, if slowly, but I have noticed the same thing that Khol speaks of pertaining to questioning economic and social structure. There are an increasing number of books that deal with revising the role that girls play in fairy tales, but they still take place in the typical fairy tale settings of the white, wealthy, ruling class. This is similar for many of the books I have found with "same-sex" couples.

Even though my focus is on picture books, and not chapter books, I have found it much the same in these books as well. There are great juvenile fiction books/series that have lots of diversity in their characters, and show them encountering many real world situations that teens face including death, pregnancy, and struggles around sexual orientation. But where are the books that are taking it to that next step? Where are the books that are challenging the social norms that govern our culture? Where are the books that show alternatives to capitalism and the insinuated goal of the "American Dream?"

One series of picture books I've found that begins to deal with this topic are the "Henry" books, written and illustrated by D.B. Johnson. These books are based on the writings of Henry David Thoreau, and Henry and his friends are re-imagined as bears. The first book in the four book series, Henry Hikes to Fitchburg tells the story of Henry and his friend who both want to make the journey to Fitchberg. Henry's friend decides that he will work to earn the money to take the train, while Henry chooses to spend the time walking to Fitchburg instead.

The basic question the book deals with is how people spend their time, and how they interact with their surroundings. The fact that the book is beautifully illustrated is a bonus to it's thought provoking message, but I think that the most important part is that it is well written. It doesn't matter what sorts of radical ideas are set forth if no kid will sit still to listen to the story.  As Kohl writes, "Radical tales should nurture the social imagination and at the same time not be dogmatic or preachy."

The subsequent "Henry" books, Henry Builds a Cabin, Henry Climbs a Mountain and Henry Works are equally as thought provoking, beautiful and well written. All of the stories are taken from ideas found in Thoreau's work, and deal with ideas around simple living, paying taxes, and the definition of work.

Another major point in Kohl's essay is what I would call "Social Movements vs. Exceptional Individuals." Kohl points out the disservice that we do to children, to all people, by telling stories (and retelling history) where one exceptional individual overcomes adversity to succeed, in whatever way, when the truth behind history, and the majority of real life examples, is much more complex.

"Books that deal with poor people concern the efforts of individual youngsters or families to escape poverty. Books on social movements center on leaders  and on participants who have performed individually heroic actions, not on the building of movements and the power of people united in struggle."

pg 59

Kohl writes about how nurturing hope and painting images of a world that could be free of oppression could be key to "sparking utopian and hopeful imaginings" that could lead to creative social change.

"When there are no examples of stories for young people that fundamentally question the world as it might be, resignation, defiance, or the quest for personal success become the only imaginable options unless the young have other sources for generating hope."

pg 63

The idea of "exceptional individuals" as opposed to "movements of people" seems like a story we are told, and tell children, over and over again: think Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, or Rosa Parks. In another of Kohl's essays in this book, he deals in depth with the fallacy of the story we tell about the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. By painting Rosa Parks as a tired old woman who refused to give up her seat on the bus out of stubbornness and exhaustion, we take away the power of the true movement for social change behind the actual story. We do a disservice to all people by mis-telling history in this way. To show this moment as exceptional individual action makes us believe that the people who create social change are born with some sort of special quality. The more empowering, and much more complex truth that we could be telling children would be about how we are all capable of creating such change.

"I've come to realize how important it is for young people to hear tales of justice, to learn the sorrows and joys of trying to make a better world."

pg 64

I am interested in searching further for such books: Books that paint empowering images of social change, books that show movements and struggles. Are there any more out there now than there were 15 years ago when Khol was doing his own research? Has the state of children's literature changed, or are we in the same anchored boat, teaching our children to row, and wondering why we reach adulthood without much movement?

In my next posts I am also going to start to detail a list of books that I have found to be liberating and socially positive in one way or another. Very few of them are "100% awesome." The best kid's book I know about gay marriage is also set in a fairy tale using the images of kings and queens and the rest. Some of the most empowering books about gender are still mostly about white people. And, as Khol pointed out, there still are almost none that "question the economic and social structure of our society and the values of capitalism."

Was Kohl's plea heard?

The Stories We Tell

I think a lot about what kinds of things I want to make a special effort to share with my kids. What are the images and stories I want them to hear about the world, and their place in it.


There isn't some dogma I am tied to, or some liberal, middle-class "Perfect Mom" ideal that I am striving to achieve. I am not, and have no desire to be middle-class, or liberal. And I don't believe in those glossy media notions of the "good" or "perfect" mom. My partner and I are working class, solidly where the government considers us "impoverished." (Which, even when struggling to pay our bills, I acknowledge how much relative wealth and privilege we have. Incredible privilege, actually. But more on that at a later date.)


I also don't identify as a "Liberal." My beliefs about government, community, environmental issues, capital and commerce are deeper into the roots of the issues. I prefer to discuss and work on the origins of the issue and how we can change things at their depths, instead of just bandaging the wounds.  I think this leads to my interest in revolutionizing the ways we view and engage with childhood. Because, is our culture not born and reborn with every new generation?


Something that has become incredibly important to me is being aware of the messages about the world that we are passing along to children. We pass along the information that gives them their image of themselves and the world through language we use, the ways we interact, the activities we pursue, and encourage (or force)  them to pursue. We pass these stories that become their facts about the world through various media, including movies, television, and books. We pass them along through the things they are taught in school, or perhaps more importantly, the way they are taught.


Some of the choices my partner and I have made so far include not having a television in our house, or showing our kids videos (on any device, at home or not.) I would love if the "no TV/movie" thing lasted until they were teens, but I realize that is virtually impossible. As it is, at almost two years old, they have never watched Dora the Explorer or Yo Gabba Gabba, or anything other than and eight second clip of their cousin doing a somersault. (And now they can't pass the computer without demanding " Baby! Baby! Baby!")


We also got rid of a bunch of racist records from my childhood, regardless of how charming the music was. These included a Burl Ives album and Disney's Bre'r Rabbit and the Tar Baby.


And we are REALLY picky about the kids books we keep around.


In the title essay of Should We Burn Babar by Herbert Kohl, the author uses the Babar books by Laurent de Brunhoff to discuss troubling aspects of some children's literature considered "classic."


"In Babar the reader learns that there are different classes of people and the Rich Lady is of the better (that is richer) class. And that the elephants are not as good as people, but might be if they imitate people. Was I aware of those distinctions as a child? Did I learn to admire the rich from reading the book?Did I also learn about the inferiority of creatures from the jungle (people included)?" 
pg 7


And so he asks,


"Was Babar so offensive that it should be eliminated? Or so powerful an influence that it was dangerous to young children? More generally, if literature has an influence on children's behavior, then the classics may present a problem for parents and teacher if their content portrays, sanctions, and even models inequity. What to do about kings and princesses? About the triumph of strong and the mocking of the weak? About the glorification of wealth and the sanction of "deserved" poverty? About the portrayal of some people as civilized and others as savage? Should books that represent these antidemocratic sentiments be a major part of our children's earliest repertoire of stories and tales, or should we avoid purchasing them and sharing them with our children?"
pg 4


Kohl further discusses the images of power, civilization, class, and the underlying racism within the Babar books.


Kohl brings up the question of whether or not we should throw away any books with values contrary to our own.


"Should children be protected from many of the classics of children's literature if these works seem to celebrate oppression, embody racism or provide images of women as subordinate to men?"
pg 13


Kohl suggest that avoiding all stories, toys and images that don't jibe with our own beliefs is virtually impossible. He goes on to say that introducing our kids to these things and then engaging in critical discussion with them about it is perhaps the best way to deal with it.


"However, read uncritically, there is always the possibility that a book like Babar can contribute to the formation of stereotypes and attitudes that might be reinforced by other reading, by TV, and by the nature and shape of the toys manufactured for children's use. Children's books contribute to the formation of culture, and some books, can even transform the way children look at and relate to the world."
pg 23


Kohl concludes his essay by saying,


"I'd use Babar only if the children had been surrounded by a wealth of books and stories and tales."
 "If there were only a few books a child had access to, it would be foolish to select any that have racial, class or sexual bias woven into their content."
pg 29


I love Kohl's statements about engaging kids in critical discussion, and he points out that this can be done with children as young as toddlers. The task of raising critical thinkers instead of passive consumers of information is an important one. I think this, and clear communication are two of the top skills I hope to help my daughters learn. However, I still think that there is plenty they will be exposed to that can provide opportunities for these discussions.


I'd venture to say that the vast majority of children's books available are biased in directions I feel no need to enforce in my children's minds. There is plenty of that in the culture at large. I would like to share with my children books that focus on cooperation, diversity of culture, and diversity of lifestyle, among other things. These books are harder to come by than you'd think. Then, if you are looking for them to be non-stereotypical about gender, and on top of that be well-written and beautifully illustrated, you whittle it down much, much more.


I think that the messages passed along by the whole of the jumble of children's books are not even as blatantly racist and classist as Babar. I think that, in some ways, the things that are less obvious that we are teaching them about the world are the ones I am more interested in dissecting. I'd bet that most people, even those who read their kids Sleeping Beauty at night, could tell you why lots of fairy tales are sexist. But what about the power issues in the classic The Runaway Bunny, or the assumed norm of "whiteness" in kids' book illustrations. How about the very specific cultural assumption that all babies sleep in cribs and drink from bottles? Or that everyone is "able-bodied" and families are of a single race, and generally middle class?


What are the assumed mainstream cultural ethics and values in these books? If detailed outside of a story about bunnies or fishies, would we as adults even agree that these are the pieces of our culture we wish to propagate?


I'd like to repeat what Herbert Kohl wrote...


"Children's books contribute to the formation of culture and some books can even transform the way children look at and relate to the world."


I'd venture to take it one step further and say that the stories we tell children are vital in the weaving of the future world they will grow up and exist in. Perhaps we should start to look closer at what we are teaching them are the "truths" of the world?

Mama First!

I just have to start by saying how excited I am to be reading these books, thinking about these things, and working on this project! Right now there aren't enough hours in the day to devote to it as I would like. I sneak in a chapter from "Should We Burn Babar" by Herbert Kohl while nursing my babies down for their nap. I furiously underline text and scribble in the margins of 'The Child and the Book" by Nicholas Tucker while stealing a few extra minutes of private time in the loo. (It's sad but true. If you are a parent, you know what I mean!)


I have so many books that keep getting added to the queue, both books of critique and picture books, that it is looking like this three month project may stretch into six months. I am even lining up books, and writing down ideas for the future projects that will emerge from the work I am doing now.


I am so compelled to do this research, have this dialogue, to create resources for parents and books for kids. And then I have to take a deep breath and know that doing fifteen minute chunks of work thirty times a day is how it is going to be right now because my amazing, beautiful, full-time gig is being Mama to these two clever little imps. That giving them (giving all kids) the respect and attention they deserve is one of the overarching messages of my larger project.


So I am going to read and write and blog and discuss, scour the internet, mine the kids book area at the library and the bookstore. I am going to figure out how to do it all in energetic bursts so that dinner still gets cooked, bills get paid, and two curious, talkative toddlers get the most present, loving Mama I can be.