For Librarians

The Liberation of Lefties

By Susan Koehler on January 22, 2025 / Articles, Book Lists, Diversity, Fiction, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, kidlit

I grew up as the youngest of five very ordinary children. Well, we each had our individual personalities, preferences, and idiosyncrasies, but we were mainstream in the obvious ways — like being right-handed.

So, when my niece’s son turned out to be left-handed, it was a source of great curiosity and excitement in the family. This trait was viewed as unique. Cool. Special. And then his sister turned out to be left-handed as well. Then two of my three grandchildren turned out to be lefties. The excitement was almost too much to handle!

A Book Called Lefty

With love for so many lefties, you can imagine my delight when I learned about the book Lefty: A Story That is Not All Right (Union Square Kids, 2024), with words by Mo Willems and pictures by Dan Santat. Oh, how I smiled. Well, the work of these two creators often makes me smile, but this was different. This book evoked images of some children who are very dear to me, so I smiled for a really long time. In fact, I’m still smiling.

The book opens with a question: “Did you know there was a time when you could get into trouble…really, really big trouble…for being left-handed?” The question is being asked by a left hand, held puppet-style, who happens to be speaking to a right hand.

The right hand is incredulous, as many young readers might be. But the book goes on to explain that left-handedness was once feared, maligned, and viewed as something sinister…because it was a variation from the norm.

While that might sound crazy to children who are free to use the hand that feels naturally dominant, it wasn’t that long ago when people were still forcing children into right-handedness. I remember this happening to a few friends from my childhood. The rationale was that life would be easier for them as a right-handed person.

To my horror, I later discovered that in some communities, left-handedness was interpreted to be a sign that the child had been “touched by the devil.” When I first started teaching, I actually had students who referred to a left-handed classmate as “evil-handed.”

According to a 2015 Time magazine article entitled “How Lefties First Gained Acceptance,” the association of evil with left-handedness goes back to the Middle Ages. (Believe me, I did NOT start teaching in the Middle Ages. These attitudes hung around for a LONG time.) The article goes on to identify some very famous and highly-regarded southpaws, including Leonardo da Vinci, Marie Curie, Bill Gates, and Barack Obama.

A book like Lefty can be very powerful in helping us normalize a trait that, according to the National Institute of Health, has belonged to 10% of the population dating back to the time of Neanderthals. This made me wonder….Are there middle grade books that celebrate left-handedness? Yes, there are! Here’s a sample of some literary lefties middle grade readers can enjoy.

Middle Grade Books Featuring Left-Handedness

The Left-Handed Shortstop (Yearling, 1989) by Patricia Reilly Giff

When fourth-grader Walter Moles is assigned the role of shortstop in the big rivalry game, he’s overcome with the fear of failure. After all, there hasn’t been a left-handed shortstop since 1892! This book was published just a couple of years after one of my students was referred to as “evil-handed.” I hope that in its time, it found its way into the hands of some kids who needed it.

Choosing Up Sides (Viking Books for Young Readers, 2000) by John Ritter

Lefty Luke Bledsoe discovers that he has a talent for pitching. It’s the first time he’s felt good about being left-handed. That’s because Luke’s dad is a pastor who believes that the left hand is the side of Satan. This award-winning book evokes empathy for lefties as well as for those who struggle to balance family expectations with personal passions.

The Clue of the Left-Handed Envelope (Simon and Schuster, 2004) by George E. Stanley

Left-handedness is right there in the title. It’s a clue to solving the mystery of who sent Amber Lee Johnson an anonymous letter. This chapter book is the first in a mystery series that will delight young readers while building a bridge to longer texts.

Little Lefty (Bella Rosa, 2009) by Matt Christopher

Despite his small size, Bill Bailey can throw harder than anyone else on the team. He’s encouraged when he hears stories about “Little Lefty,” a small pitcher who made it into the big leagues. However, a freak accident puts Bill Bailey’s dream in jeopardy. Matt Christopher has pulled many reluctant readers into the world of books with his sports stories, and it’s great to know that this one features a left-handed protagonist.

The Left-Handed Fate (Henry Holt & Co., 2016) by Kate Milford

Lucy and Max try to end the war between their home country of England and Napoleon Bonaparte’s France. But then the plot thickens when their ship, The Left-Handed Fate, is taken by the Americans. Some exciting historical fiction with a twist of left-handedness makes for a highly engaging story. (And for some added trivia, Napoleon Bonaparte happened to be a lefty.)

Literary Liberation

How lovely to live in a time when lefties are liberated! And how wonderful to know that literature can build a sense of belonging by featuring characters and situations that help us become comfortable with our differences. In a world that finds solace in sameness and order in the ordinary, may we continually look to literature as a means of dispelling fear and building empathy.

Do you know of other middle grade books that feature left-handedness? Please share them in the comments! And remember to share all of these books with young readers who might identify with the characters, grow in empathy, or just simply enjoy a good book.

Diversity in MG Lit #50 December 2024

By Rosanne Parry on December 18, 2024 / Articles, Diversity, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers

Friends, I started writing these Diversity in MG Lit posts six years ago in the fall of 2018. Today marks my 50th post. I wanted to reflect on how far we’ve come and where we might best spend our energy in support of diverse books in the future.

The Cooperative Children’s Book Center has been carefully and exhaustively compiling data on the racial and cultural composition of children’s book characters and children’s book authors and illustrators. Their data shows broad and consistent advances in the number of children’s books both by diverse creators and about diverse characters. The improvement has been particularly strong for Black, Asian, and Latine creators and characters. Each of those categories include more than 10% of the children’s books studied. Indigenous American, Pacific Islander and Arab titles saw a doubling over the last six years though the overall numbers are lower than 10%.

Equally encouraging is the recognition diverse titles receive. Taking the window of 2018-2024, all the National Book Award winners but one were diverse. And in the ten years before that (2007-2017) six of the ten winners were Black, Indigenous, or Asian.

The American Library Association has many book awards meant to elevate diverse books and their creators. But if we only look at the Newbery Award which does not make race or ethnicity of the author a qualification, all but one of the Newbery medals from 2018 to 2024 went to diverse authors–86%. Each Newbery committee can select as many as 5 honor books in a year. There were 26 honor books and 77% of them went to diverse authors.

This is all very encouraging and has come about due to the efforts of groups like We Need Diverse Books which formed to address this issue in 2014. It’s worth remembering that teachers, librarians, and independent booksellers have been pushing for greater diversity for many decades before social media brought the issue to wider attention.

We have much to celebrate as we complete the circle of another year. And yet there has been a dramatic rise in book banning and virtually all of it targets books for young readers by diverse creators and about the diverse experience. The LGBT+ experience has been a particular target of book banning.

Many anticipate that these bans will increase as the Trump administration takes office. Some states, most recently New Jersey, have passed laws to prevent book bans. Local action does seem to be the most effective deterrent. Book banning is broadly unpopular even among conservatives. And most book banning attempts ultimately fail, though not without causing disruption and heart ache. For my part I plan to pay close attention to my local school board and encourage my state representatives to enact anti-book ban legislation.

I have a far bigger concern than the bans though. Most diverse books are bought by teachers for their in-class collection or by librarians for school and public libraries. The children who need diverse books the most rely almost entirely on these free access opportunities. However, school and library funding has been decreasing for years. The most diverse communities have little or no access to an independent bookstore leaving them only the smaller inventory at big box stores. For example, I work at a medium-sized indy in Portland. Our middle grade section holds hundreds of individual MG titles. By contrast the local Target typically has no more than 30 MG book choices.

In some ways because book bans are emotionally-laden events, they distract from a far more dangerous agenda. Project 2025 would destroy public education as we know it. Among many objectives, it calls for the elimination of Title 1 funding and Head Start programs. Those programs make literacy possible for millions of low income and mostly diverse children. If those children never learn to read, it will not matter how many diverse books we create for them.

So although I will gladly continue to trumpet the arrival of new diverse books for middle grade readers, the lion’s share of my attention will go toward protecting public education and public libraries for all children. Our teachers and librarians and all of our children have never needed our support more.

Revitalizing the Culture of Reading

By Susan Koehler on July 25, 2024 / Articles, children's bookstores, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, kidlit

Picture a 12-year-old. It’s 8 p.m. on a school night. Homework is finished, responsibilities have been fulfilled, and it’s wind-down time. What will they choose to do with this time? According to current surveys and sales records, it’s unlikely that this young person will be picking up a book to read.

“Is There a Reading Recession?” This is the title of a recent article shared on the Scholastic Blog. It echoes the concerns expressed in a previous Mixed-Up Files post about “The Middle Grade Slump.” A documented decrease in middle grade book sales is a symptom. The real issue is the sharp decline in the amount of reading that kids up to the age of 18 engage in for pleasure.

Maybe reading for pleasure is a thing of the past. It’s a hobby. There are other hobbies. Reading is just a skill-set learned in school, right? Wrong. The benefits of reading for pleasure are broad and well-documented. Reading for pleasure builds empathy, social adjustment, and self-esteem. Research has shown that reading for pleasure boosts academic achievement and is associated with overall success in life.

However, according to a National Literacy Trust survey, children’s engagement and enjoyment in reading are the lowest they’ve been in two decades. What can be done to reverse this trend? We need to revitalize the culture of reading, and it’s up to adults to lead the way.

Parents

Parents are the most important stakeholders in creating a culture of reading. From the earliest ages, before children have even developed language, books should be shared. Sharing a book between parent and child enriches children in multiple ways. It builds vocabulary, introduces children to concepts of print, and creates a positive emotional climate around reading. As children age, even if they can’t remember these shared experiences, they are stronger readers who maintain the positive feelings developed in that early emotional context.

Even when children begin to read independently, it’s important to continue to read TO the big kids. When adults read aloud, they model prosody, which is the rhythm and intonation we use to be expressive with language. They model respect for the act of reading and appreciation for books. Children’s vocabulary and comprehension skills are built through listening, and the positive emotional climate around the act of reading is nurtured and sustained.

Visiting libraries and bookstores sends an unspoken message that books have value and that reading is part of your family culture. Parents are the most crucial influences in creating a culture of reading, and by reading to, reading with, and reading alongside children, parents demonstrate a dedication to and appreciation for reading.

Teachers and Schools

As a veteran teacher, I can personally attest to the importance of classroom libraries, shared read-alouds, and a dedicated time for daily individual reading. However, increased demands on instructional time creates overburdened schedules, and current concerns over book challenges have created a culture of fear in many schools.

Most educators understand that teaching reading skills must go hand-in-hand with fostering reading engagement. Literacy-rich environments are necessary in order for students to develop as readers. But teachers can’t do this alone. Parents and administrators must support immersive literary atmospheres in classrooms.

Classroom libraries should be well-stocked with a diverse selection of genres and reading levels so that students can identify their own preferences as readers. Virtual and in-person author visits generate great hype around books and should be scheduled throughout the year. Grants, partnerships with independent bookstores, and relationships with businesses and community organizations can help fund author events.

Finally, teachers who develop a positive climate around books are those who model a love of reading. They read aloud to students daily and build connection and community through literature. They talk about reading, discuss books they love, and provide recommendations based on students’ individual interests and preferences.

Librarians and Booksellers

Let’s create some hype around books! The July 8, 2024 issue of Publisher’s Weekly showcased the activities of some forward-thinking booksellers who have been successful at revitalizing reading among young patrons. Subscription boxes, themed dinners, and author visits have all proven effective in engaging young readers in the pleasure of reading.

Big box stores are now selling kids’ books, and the accessibility of literature at the same place where families might be shopping for clothing, school supplies, hardware, or groceries deserves attention. These stores should be encouraged to provide a wide variety of books for every age and type of reader.

Libraries can (and usually do) engage in programming designed to inspire a love of reading. Book clubs, community reads, and thematic events can draw young readers in and help them connect with literature. Reading aloud to the youngest readers while also providing a safe space for teen readers is a true balancing act. As showcased at the recent ALA conference, librarians are heroes, whether or not they wear capes.

It’s Time for Action

Let’s return to that 12-year-old. Maybe it’s laughable to assume that there’s any downtime. Between extracurricular activities, often-excessive amounts of homework, and the lure of ever-present electronics, even if there is downtime, why would a kid choose to read? Our culture has changed…but it’s not the kids who changed it.

The benefits of reading for pleasure are well-documented, and the trend away from reading for pleasure is not shifting toward the positive. It’s time to reverse the trend. A cultural revitalization that includes an appreciation for books and a habit of reading for pleasure is needed, and it’s up to the adults to make it happen.

For Librarians