Posts Tagged diverse books

Spread the Word!

By on July 8, 2019   /   Articles  

There’s an old adage in two of my favorite endeavors, science & baseball, that states, “The numbers don’t lie.” 

Data is collected, analyzed, and then used to draw conclusions that can be accepted or challenged. For example, if the baseball data shows 85% of the times I strike out it’s on low, inside curveballs, then I better learn to make contact on low, inside curveballs or my baseball-playing days will soon involve a whole lot of time riding the pine. 

The numbers don’t lie.

Of course, I can always ignore or skew the numbers to deflect the spotlight from the true conclusions. Sure, I might strike out on low, inside curveballs 85% of the time BUT 15% of the time I’m sure I strike out on TERRIBLE CALLS BY THE UMPIRE!!! The numbers are the same. The numbers themselves don’t lie. I just twisted them.

Last month, Sarah Park Dahlen, Associate Professor, MLIS Program at St. Catherine University, and illustrator David Huyck released the second version of their Diversity in Children’s Books infographic of children’s publishing data, the 2018 version. Their 2015 version was a game-changer in the diverse books movement. 

As far as what happened in children’s literature during 2018, the numbers don’t lie. Please take a few moments to study the infographic with an analytical eye to these important numbers.

Huyck, David and Sarah Park Dahlen. (2019 June 19). Diversity in Children’s Books 2018. sarahpark.com blog. Created in consultation with Edith Campbell, Molly Beth Griffin, K. T. Horning, Debbie Reese, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, and Madeline Tyner, with statistics compiled by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison: http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/books/pcstats.asp. Retrieved from https://readingspark.wordpress.com/2019/06/19/picture-this-diversity-in-childrens-books-2018-infographic/.

It is also said that a picture is worth a thousand words. If that’s true, then the Diversity in Children’s Books 2015 and 2018 infographics are worth millions and millions of words. The millions and millions of words of untold and underrepresented stories. As much as the infographic shows what’s there in children’s publishing, the weight of what’s missing permeates the image. 

Huyck, David, Sarah Park Dahlen, Molly Beth Griffin. (2016 September 14). Diversity in Children’s Books 2015 infographic. sarahpark.com blog. Retrieved from https://readingspark.wordpress.com/2016/09/14/picture-this-reflecting-diversity-in-childrens-book-publishing/ Statistics compiled by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison: http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/books/pcstats.asp Released for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license

Compare 2015 to 2018

2015 2018
White 73.3% 50%
Animals/Other 12.5% 27%
African/African American 7.6% 10%
Asian Pacific Islander/Asian Pacific American 3.3% 7%
Latinx 2.4% 5%
American Indians/First Nations 0.9% 1%

Small steps in the right direction? Perhaps (with emphasis on “small”). 

Are these small steps good enough? No. 

Meaningful change would have shown the 2018 books not being published in the “White” (-23.3%) category split into any or all of the other categories listed beside the “Animal/Other” (+14.5%) category. It doesn’t. To my thinking, the 2018 data represent manuscripts likely submitted after the 2015 infographic was published. A period of acquisitions far after the beginnings of the We Need Diverse Books Movement. There should have been a greater general awareness of acquiring diverse titles in this time period leading up to the 2018 publication window.

We can do better. 

But how? We don’t publish books. Most of us aren’t in the acquisition process or in any position to make these direct decisions. What we can do, especially as readers, writers, librarians, and scholars, is this:

Be a fan. 

Read, purchase, gift, discuss, and celebrate quality and representative diverse books. Ask your library and/or bookseller to order specific diverse titles you enjoy or want to enjoy. Find a way to put quality diverse kids’ books into the hands and minds of kid readers. Spread the word of your fandom with others and help diverse books find their landing space. Cultivate your own literary table where all are not only welcome but can share in the meal as well.

Here’s another way to spread the word. Infographic cards! Thanks to the fine folks at Teaching for Change for making these cards available so it will be easier to share the Diversity in Children’s Books 2018 infographic to classrooms, libraries, conferences, workshops, and anywhere children’s literature is consumed, discussed, or produced with. Below is the link to request cards from Teaching for Change.

Diversity in Children’s Books Graphic Distribution

Also, if you wish to help defray the costs of printing The Diversity in Children’s Books 2018 infographic cards, there’s the opportunity to help them out through a donation.

Personally, I plan to dig deeper into the numbers as I study the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s data for 2018 and pay attention to the conversation taking place discussing the data behind the 2018 infographic. I encourage and challenge you to join me in this endeavor. My goal is to understand the numbers to a higher degree in hopes to be a better global citizen, especially in one of my favorite neighborhoods on the planet, the kid lit community. 

Thank you for considering your support of these important and worthy causes aimed to make our world a better place, one book at a time. 

Reading is a superpower! 

The numbers don’t lie…

Back to Top

THE LOST GIRL by Anne Ursu & New Information

By on April 17, 2019   /   Articles, Diversity  

There’s much to love about Anne Ursu’s latest middle grade book, THE LOST GIRL. The shifting relationship of twin sisters, Lark and Iris, who are reluctantly being pushed toward independence. How the separation upsets the balance in both their lives. The odd new shop in town with its mysterious secrets. Lark and Iris finding new connections through activities and friends. All these things combine to make a beautiful and fantastical contemporary middle grade novel…with ravens!!! MG fans, read this book!

As a parent of fraternal twins, this book appeals to me on many levels. All that wonderful stuff pales in comparison, though, to what hit me on a two-and-a-half page stretch of THE LOST GIRL. The monumental turn which stuck in my craw and won’t go away starts on page 150.  Iris asks her mother a question as her life spirals beyond her comfortable and normal level of control.

(Iris) “I have another question.”

(Mom) “Shoot.”

(Iris) “Is there stuff you learned at school that you found out later wasn’t true? Like everybody believed one thing and they were wrong?”

There it is. The monumental question in this wonderful book I can’t get out of my head. How do we react when the knowledge previously learned and the things considered truths are no longer true? When new information upsets our apple cart of truths, what’s the next step?

The question made me think of the shifting truths in nutrition, the environment, climate change, food security, health, education, and politics, to name a few. In science, we deal with changing information daily. New discovery and fresh inquiry push science forward. New knowledge replaces old knowledge. But this is not always universally accepted. As in other walks of life, the birth of new knowledge and its acceptance is not a smooth process. It’s sometimes hard for the “old guard” to accept the new knowledge and move forward. They often don’t have the desire, the energy, or the resources to shift thinking and move from the mapped and paved superhighway of their past knowledge base onto the bumpy and shifting ground of new discovery.

The mother in THE LOST GIRL answers that there were things she learned which are now considered wrong.

  • Pluto as a planet
  • Brontosaurus
  • Pterodactyls
  • How margarine was so much better than butter but one day became “…basically death on a stick.”

Iris is confused by this revelation as her whole world seems to be knocked off balance and laments to herself, “It would just be nice to be able to believe in the things she did know.”

The new information problem in my head drifted to art, reading, and writing, especially the endeavors aimed at children. New information about past and present children’s literature may lie at the core of the biggest kidlit issues of our generation. Representation. Diversity. Criticism/Backlash. Misinformation.

Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop proposed the idea of “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Doors” in her classic 1990 paper. Dr.Bishop presented the need to increase diverse choices and voices in our children’s literature universe to give children from diverse and marginalized backgrounds a mirror to see themselves represented and provide a window for others to see into their existence.

How many times in the past several years have we heard about problematic children’s literature and/or problematic creators? At least a few times, right? Hopefully, we are paying attention to these conversations and criticisms happening all around us. The struggle with new information is real and presents challenges almost daily in this information age. We must learn to analyze, accept, and adapt to new and different information.

With apologies to Dr. Bishop, I would like to add another function to the mirror. A mirror for us to analyze ourselves as adult creators and gatekeepers. We need to study our own beliefs toward new children’s literature information. Do we hold onto problematic children’s literature with clenched fists because it is dear to our heart? Do we study the facts and make informed decisions about problematic books and/or problematic creators? Do we ignore the issues because a book or a creator holds such a revered place in our own formation?

Honestly, I do not know the answers. These are individual questions we must ask ourselves. We have to decide whether to accept the new information or turn a blind eye. We have to decide how new knowledge affects our view of the problematic content as we move forward. We need to do the best we can and when new information arises, be willing to adjust.

The goal is to try and get things right in a constantly changing world by making informed decisions via a willingness to keep learning and relearning. Nothing is ever truly written in stone. Knowledge changes. Process information with an open mind.

As I’ve soapboxed before, the single greatest skill our young people will need in the digital age is the ability to sift through the mountains of data and the wave of available information to determine the truths. (Or the truths at that particular time?)

Perhaps Iris’ mom has the best advice about dealing with an ever-evolving knowledge base:

(Iris) So what do you do?”

(Mom) I guess… we just do the best we can with the information we have, you know? And stay open to the idea that there’s a lot we don’t know.”

Do the best with the information we have. I like that.

Wield knowledge wisely and to great benefit. It’s okay to be wrong IF you learn to be right.

Knowledge is powerful, not power.

Thank you, Anne Ursu, for THE LOST GIRL. It is a very good book. Also, a debt of gratitude for those two-and-a-half pages. They raised a deep question that wormed its way into my brain and won’t let go. THE LOST GIRL made me think and that’s one of the greatest gifts a story can give.

 

Note: Below is a link to the replay of the 2019 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture presented on April 13, 2019 by Dr. Debbie Reese, host of the  American Indians in Children’s Literature web site and blog. It was an exceptional presentation about diversity, representation, and the #DiversityJedi in children’s literature. 

An Indigenous Critique of Whiteness in Children’s Literature replay from Wisconsin Public Television.

 

 

Back to Top

Writing and Illustrating Muslim characters in children’s literature: Interview and Giveaway with Author Saadia Faruqi and Illustrator Hatem Aly

By on August 10, 2018   /   Author Interviews, Book Lists, children's bookstores, Common Core & NGSS, Cross-Curricular, Diversity, Fiction, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers, Giveaways, independent bookstores, MUF Contributor Books, New Releases, Publishing & Promotion, STEM, Writing  

I am thrilled to interview Author Saadia Faruqi and Illustrator Hatem Aly and discuss their new book – Meet Yasmin!  Saadia and Hatem talk about their experience developing a story with a Muslim main character and why diversity in children’s books matters.

 

Saadia, Yasmin is a brave girl who has a big imagination and loves adventure. Why is it important for you to write/illustrate the story of an empowering ethnic minority character?

 Saadia: So far we’ve seen brown characters mostly in issues books. They typically face a problem – or issue – that directly relates to their identity. For instance a Muslim main character facing Islamophobia, or an African American main character experiencing racism. Although I do believe that those sorts of books are helpful to our understanding of critical social and political issues, it also means that minority groups are otherized further, they’re seen as different, or only viewed in the context of that issue. Yasmin is the antidote to this problem: a Muslim girl in America, a brown first generation American, who is perfectly normal and average, facing all the issues every child her age faces, and having the same happy disposition we expect to see from all our children. It was really important to me not to make Yasmin or her family “the other” – someone different because of their skin color or their religion or ethnic background. There is a sort of empowerment in that normalization that only minority groups can truly understand.

 

Hatem, was it important for you to take the author’s background into consideration while creating the illustrations in the book?

Hatem: It is important, However, I didn’t have to work so hard on being familiar with Saadia’s background since I can relate to many elements of her background already being brought up in Egypt and Yasmin’s family seems so familiar to me in a broader sense. I did work on bringing up some Pakistani visual elements but illustrating Yasmin went organically harmonized with the author’s experience and my own as well.

 

In the recent times, literary agents and publishing houses for children and young adult books have made an open call for submissions from Muslim authors and illustrators. Can you explain why it matters to include diverse characters in children’s and young adult literature?

 Saadia: It’s really crucial to have as much diversity in all sorts of literature, not just in terms of characters but also stories. I actually come from an adult literary background, and I see the same calls for diversity in that age group as well, and it warms my heart to witness these changes in publishing. The reason this matters so much is two-fold (and something we in kidlit talk about constantly): mirrors and windows. My children need a mirror. They need to see themselves reflected in the pages of the books they read. Growing up in Pakistan I didn’t have that. I read exclusively white stories, by white authors, and my worldview was shaped with an extreme inferiority complex because of that. I don’t want my children to have the same, and I know nobody else does either. Also, other children need windows. They should be able to read and enjoy books that show a different sort of family than theirs, a different culture than theirs. This is the only way we can have a younger generation that’s more empathetic and understanding and aware than our previous generations were.

Hatem: It is critically necessary to show diversity in literature of all ages and to express a wider range of life elements in people’s lives. In my work I sometimes pay attention to some things that bothered me as a child but also that I found intriguing. For example, I remember almost all comics and story books took place in a sort of a suburban –house per family- neighborhood and I felt strange finding nobody living in an apartment like myself and most of the millions of people in Cairo alone or at least everyone I know. So I felt alienated but amused from a distance longing for something I can’t define. It seemed to me there was a generic way of living that needs to be challenged and I couldn’t put my finger on the issue exactly until I was older. It’s important for children to see themselves and to see others as well in books.

 

How can parents, librarians, and readers help support books like Meet Yasmin?

 Saadia: The key is not only to read the book but to discuss it. You could use the back matter which has some really good discussion guides for students, and there is also an educator’s guide for teachers. Finally, and for me most excitingly, Capstone has some very cool downloadable activities based on Yasmin, which kids are going to love. I encourage parents, librarians and teachers to take advantage of those as much as possible.

Hatem: The best thing is to read the book, and share it with others! Personally I feel that the most powerful way is to read it to students or story time at public libraries as well as parents to their younger children. I find that helps building bonds between children and books.  I love libraries, so I ask everyone to walk into their local public library and suggest that they buy a few copies for their shelves. Most libraries have book suggestion tools for their patrons, either online or in person. The same goes for your child’s school library.

 

Who are your personal author/illustrator idols?

 Hatem: It’s more of an emergence of inspiration fueled by a mix of interesting people. Many names come to mind, and many I will forget. Some whose work I enjoy and admire are Bill Watterson, Tove Jansson, Maurice Sendak, Jon Klassen, Luke Pearson, Marc Boutavant, Sempé, Zep, Jillian Tamaki, Lynda Barry, Vera Brosgol, Hayao Miyazaki, Naoki Urasawa, Edward Gorey, Kate Beaton, Carson Ellis, Oliver Jeffers and many more.

Saadia: Some of my favorite writers are my own peers, because I believe writing is best done as part of a community. In early reader and picture books I admire Hena Khan who’s been a trailblazer as far as Muslim representation in kidlit is concerned, and really carved a space not only for herself but for others as well. In terms of illustrators, I’m actually a big fan of Hatem Aly, haha! I feel very blessed that he’s part of Team Yasmin because it’s so important for me to have a person doing the art who really understands what it means to be Muslim, and first generation, and sometimes “the other”. He really gets my stories in a way that I think another illustrator wouldn’t have, and I’m very grateful for that.

 

What can readers take away from Meet Yasmin?

Saadia: Readers will enjoy seeing themselves in Meet Yasmin, even if they are very different in superficial ways to Yasmin and her family. Yasmin is literally the every-girl, and her family is the same as every other family. With everything that’s going on politically in our country at the moment, I hope that Yasmin can help readers understand that Americans come in all colors, and that there’s beauty and worth in diversity, despite what they may hear in the news sometimes.

Hatem: I believe that readers will have fun with Yasmin and recognize similarities despite some superficial differences. They will be inspired to be curious, creative, and believing in themselves all the way even if things go wrong sometimes. There are a lot of lessons a child can learn, but there’s also a lot of entertainment which is so important to develop in this age group of readers.

 

For more about Saadia and her work, visit her website. You can also connect with her on Twitter.

For more about Hatem and his work, visit his website. You can also connect with him on Twitter.

Thanks, Saadia and Hatem!

 

Want to own your very own copy of Meet Yasmin? Enter our giveaway by leaving a comment below! 

You may earn extra entries by blogging/tweeting/facebooking the interview and letting us know. The winner will be announced here on Wednesday, August 15, 2018 and will be contacted via email and asked to provide a mailing address (US/Canada only) to receive the book.

 

Back to Top