White Mind (continuing the conversation from "Coloring Between the Lines")

If you've read my "about" tab, you know that connecting with nature and with people of different cultures and backgrounds is important to me. Nature is all around us if we just pay attention. So is culture. Sure, I can travel overseas to experience another culture, but there are subtle cultural differences all around us. There are differences of culture from one family to the next. That's one reason I was required to live with three different families when I was a Rotary Exchange Student in high school. Living with one family would have given me a view of that family's culture. By living with three different families over the course of a year, I was able to experience the daily routines and rituals of three very different families.

Culture includes the way we portray ourselves to the world and the way the world sees us. The United States is a varied, dynamic, interesting country that benefits from the contributions of people of all races, religions, and creeds. The sheer variety of people who live here and govern via a democracy makes us unique.

Yet, in the children's books published in the US, the majority of children portrayed are white. When children of color are depicted, the stories frequently revolve around a white person and have people of color in the background. Or, the story revolves around race issues, rather than portray a child of color having every day experiences that don't revolve around race. Described another way- stories that give the readers a "slice of life".

I touched on this topic briefly last July but many others have written more eloquently than I on this issue. I encourage you to join the conversation. Or, at least read what others have to say.
Here are some places to start:

• Coloring Between the Lines: Reflections on Race, Culture and Children's Books by Anne Sibley O'Brien (My post is in response to this post)
• The Open Book (blog maintained by publisher Lee and Low).
• The Elephant in the Room a Publisher's Weekly blogpost by Elizebeth Bleumle
• Mitali's Fire Escape - "a safe place to chat about books between cultures"

Added 10/27: Also see Nikki Grime's blog post from today.

At a minimum, I hope these blogs will make you think. Then, as a parent or teacher, examine the books you choose for your kids or students. Do they reflect the diversity of people around them? Can children of color see themselves positively portrayed within the pages of those books?  (Booksellers, please also see Mitali Perkin's post for tips on selling multicultural books).

For a list of suggested titles, you can also visit Elizabeth Bluemle’s “A World Full of Color” list at LibraryThing.

Have you recently read a great children's book with a protagonist that is not Caucasian? Do you have any titles to suggest to us? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section.

A Beach Tail

In honor of summertime here in the northern hemisphere, I thought I'd mention a book I recently discovered- A Beach Tail by Karen Lynn Williams.

Taken from the author's, website: 

"Gregory and his father are spending a day at the beach. When Greg finds a stick and draws a lion in the sand, they name him Sandy Lion. "Don't go in the water, and don't leave Sandy," Dad says. Greg follows his father's advice. But he still manages to travel down the beach quite a way before he realizes he can no longer see the blue umbrella where Dad has settled on the dolphin towel.

Swish Swoosh! Greg's journey takes him past such landmarks as a jellyfish, a sandcastle, a ghost crab hole and more. How will he find his way back to Dad? Fortunately, he has his stick and Sandy's tail with him the whole way.

This rhythmic text is paired with Floyd Cooper's brilliant illustrations, revealing the trip down the beach entirely from a child's point of view. The art and text show a gentle father-son bond and reassures young readers even as they share Greg's moment of worry."

One detail that I especially love is that this book portrays an African-American father and son spending time together. Their race is not mentioned in the text, rather Floyd Cooper's lovely illustrations reveal this detail. Race is not the focus of the story as is the case in so many books about children of color in which the plot focuses on slavery, racism, the civil rights movement, etc. Those books are important, of course, but they need to be balanced with books like this one that portray a "slice of life" for people of color in which their race does not define the plot of the book.

For more on this topic, please check out  the Publisher's Weekly blogpost by Elizabeth Bluemle titled "The Elephant in the Room." You can also follow The Open Book, (children's book publisher Lee and Low's blog), and Coloring Between the Lines (Author/illustrator Anne Sibley OBrien's Blog).

As I think back on my years as a Grade 4 Teacher, I'm sure the books I read with my class were too heavily focused on social issues and not enough on "slice of life stories." I am much more aware of this issue now that I have kids of my own and I write for children, too. Plus, there are more good examples being published every day. I hope you'll support these books by purchasing them or checking them out of the library. As demand grows, publishers will seek more titles. (Two great publishers to check out are Lee and Low and Shen's Books).

Are you a teacher, parent, or homeschooler? Have you considered this point of view regarding books about children of color? Analyze the books you read with your kids. Are people of different races, ethnicities and religions represented? In those books you've read, is the character's race, ethnicity, or religion the defining characteristic? Can you recommend any good books to us?