THE LIST: Books I Like #2

The books that I am going to write about today all deal, on some level, with economic class.
Addressing class in the context of a children's book seems like a tough thing to do without making it heavy-handed. These books show working class families, a family living on the edges of society, and two different stories of people making beauty out of other peoples waste.


Night Shift Daddy by Eileen Spinelli, Illustrated by Melissa Iwai 

This is a really sweet books that highlights a family of color, where the father works the night shift.
What I love most about this book is the lack of conflict. The story is simply a sweet look at how the daddy puts his daughter to bed at night and then goes to work, and when he returns, she puts him to bed in the morning.
It is a glimpse into a loving, working-class family, showing an urban life, and a different lifestyle than is portrayed in many children's books.


Smoky Night by Eve Bunting, Illustrated by David Diaz

This book deals with issues of race and violence and is set in an ethnically diverse, working-class neighborhood in Los Angeles.
The story is taking place as a riot (of unknown origin) is taking place outside of a young boy's apartment building, while the mama tries to explain why people are engaging in such behavior.
There is also tension between the mama, who is, perhaps, Latino, and a neighbor named Mrs. Kim, who appears to be Asian.
The apartment building gets set on fire as a result of the riot, and the tragedy results in the two women coming together to begin to build a friendship.
Though I have some conflict about the origins of this book, which was written by a white woman from Ireland, I think the issues it confronts are important ones to discuss with kids.
I do wish that there had been more explanation of why the people were rioting, because I think it could begin interesting discussion with kids about injustice and inequality and what are ways these things can be addressed.
But the artist is one of my favorites, using brightly colored folk art paintings in juxtaposition with photographed collage backgrounds. I think it is a stunning example of how art can serve to tell a whole other level of the story.

The Table Where Rich People Sit By Byrd Baylor, Illustrated by Peter Parnell

 A family tries to put a price on the things that are most important to them about their lives, and determine that they are very rich.
Ok... Sounds cheesy, but it is truly a beautiful book. I am not entirely thrilled about the need to see ones life through a capitalist lens, but I realize that that is a lens that many can identify with, especially when contemplating ones economic class.
The family portrayed in the story is also not typical in kids books, or much media, for that matter. They have chosen to live a life outside of the "mainstream" where they can follow work that makes them feel passion, and live a life in rhythm with their surroundings, and created by their own hands.

The Tin Forest by Helen Ward and Wayne Anderson

I love this book. I love this book. I love this book.
I love that it deals with isolation, and waste by consumption and creativity and making beauty out of trash. I love the art. I love the message.
Another book that looks at the fallacies of capitalism, and shows other ways to live in the world.
Beautiful.


The Dumpster Diver by Janet S. Wong, Illustrated by David Roberts

The art in this book is clever and compelling, and there is a nice diversity to the characters, though, per the usual format for most media, the main character is still a white man.
The story shows a group of folks who take items they find in the trash and create new uses for them.
The premise is great, but the ending bugs me a little. They had to come in with some final moral about how "re-using is great and all, but you probably shouldn't dig through the trash."
The main character gets hurt while dumpster diving, and so the kids go around and ask their neighbors for their unwanted items instead of dumpstering anymore. Great idea, except that I would bet if you went to Safeway and asked them for the bread they were about to throw away, they probably wouldn't hand it over. It isn't a reality to keep the waste of a capitalist system from reaching the trash cans, and I think that a little nod to why people are taught to (encouraged to) be so wasteful would have been interesting.
Either way, I think it is a cute book, that can bring up plenty of discussion about waste and re-use of things others call "trash."