What's new and what's brown?Several picture books with beautiful brown characters have caught my eye recently; they are cute and appealing and the books are populated with POC. Sadly, they are not written or illustrated by POC. While I am pleased to see brown faces in the books, it is disappointing to see that white people continue to be the voice for all people. Green Pants by Kenneth Kraegel (Candlewick Press, 2017) is the story of a young boy with a penchant for green pants. When he is asked to be in a wedding and wear a tuxedo, he needs to do some serious soul-searching. I found the illustrations to be sweet and charming, and I especially enjoyed the natural hair on the bride. I Got a New Friend by Karl Newsom Edwards uses minimal text to tell the story of a girl and her dog. Similarly to Green Pants, race is not mentioned in the text. A brown girl and her dog enjoy their lives together, making messes and cleaning up, doing the things that kids and dogs do. No crisis, no racism, no history. Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall is a beautifully designed picture book about overcoming fear and getting out of one's comfort zone. Jabari jumps off the diving board at the swimming pool with support and encouragement from his father. Jabari is African American and the crowd at the pool is racially diverse. Cornwall uses collage and texture skillfully in this gorgeous book. I love that brown faces are shown in books that are not about suffering and being victims and struggling. I love that these books are set in our contemporary world, not in a historical setting. I am curious about how these Caucasian author/illustrators chose to depict POC in these books; were the manuscripts written with this detail in mind, or is this something that occurred at the urging of an art director or editor? Are brown authors and illustrators so difficult to find that publishers must rely on white people to make these books or is this simply a workaround that is more palatable to the heavily Caucasian publishing world? For next month's post and moving forward, please send me questions and topics that you would like to discuss that involve libraries, books, diversity, and the children's literature community. fifiabuillustration@gmail.com Fifi Abu spends her days surrounded by books that have already been created and the rest of her time writing and illustrating books yet to be born. She looks forward to a day when all children can see themselves reflected in the books they read. Ms. Abu holds a master's degree in children's literature and a master's degree in library science, is an active member of SCBWI and a Children's Book Academy graduate and is represented by Linda Epstein at the Emerald City Literary Agency. She is pleased to announce that she has been elected to the 2019 Caldecott Committee. www.fifiabu.com
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While writing my most recent manuscript, called Mama Wears a Hijab, I became particularly interested in the images of Muslims in picture books. How are they depicted? Do they exist at all? And who are the gatekeepers who decide what groups are seen in picture books and what groups remain invisible? I found images of Muslims in books that are intended to comfort non-Muslims about Muslims moving into their neighborhoods. I also found images of Muslims in books about Muslim holidays which also seem targeted at non-Muslims in an informational manner, educating readers about the customs of Muslims. The third category consists of books from religious publishers marketed toward Muslims only. These books would be unlikely to end up in a public school or public library and not be distributed in mainstream bookstores for mass consumption. So what this means is that Muslims exist in "window" books for non-Muslims to look at to learn about another culture, but Muslims do not generally exist in mainstream "mirror" books for Muslim children to see themselves reflected. The We Need Diverse Books http://weneeddiversebooks.org/ movement calls for the representation of more types of people in children's literature and more types of people creating the books. The goal is inclusivity and a chance to hear the stories of a broader group of people. What I am seeking is a depiction of Muslims not as "other," but as real people, with multidimensional lives. To not exist only to educate non-Muslims, but to appear in picture books in their own right. Many books that have Muslim characters are very serious, almost humorless, didactic and heavy. Can a Muslim character be cute? Can they be silly? Can they exist in a plot line that is not about being Muslim? Two recent examples of appealing and cute Muslim characters are Who We Are! All About Being the Same and Being Different written by Robie H. Harris and illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott (2016, Candlewick Press) and the 40th anniversary edition of All Kinds of Families, written by Norma Simon and illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen (2016, Albert Whitman & Company). While both of these books are focusing exclusively on different types of people and families, they do not depict Muslims as "other." The illustrations in both books are sweet and appealing, and there is no conflict. Nobody needs to be schooled on the fact that Muslims are people like anyone else, the illustrations depict this in a very natural and satisfying manner. In All Kinds of Families there are women wearing hijabs at the ice skating rink, no explanation or apology needed. The scene is about ice skating and nothing else, and the subtext is that all types of families enjoy lacing up their skates and hitting the ice. Similarly, in Who We Are! Muslim families are depicted in seven spreads. The characters are just as sweet and charming as all of the other families that Ms. Westcott has included in these scenes, with no explanation required about who these people are and why they are there. They belong, just like everybody else. But I want more. I want a cute, funny, feisty girl like Fancy Nancy or Eloise who will appear on retail swag like other wildly successful picture book characters. A little girl whose mother is wearing a hijab or a dupatta or a chador. A little girl who will be a mirror for Muslim girls and a mirror for non-Muslim girls. Not a window, because a window indicates otherness. A mirror because despite all of the painful and chaotic things that are happening on this planet right now, we are all part of the same family. For next month's post and moving forward, please send me questions and topics that you would like to discuss that involve libraries, books, diversity, and the children's literature community. fifiabuillustration@gmail.com Fifi Abu spends her days surrounded by books that have already been created and the rest of her time writing and illustrating books yet to be born. She looks forward to a day when all children can see themselves reflected in the books they read. Ms. Abu holds a master's degree in children's literature and a master's degree in library science, is an active member of SCBWI and a Children's Book Academy graduate. by Kirsti Call Echo by by Pam Muñoz Ryan, is one of those books you can't put down. Ryan masterfully interweaves magic, pain, and hope with historical fiction in a way that resonates deeply with . The book is an incredible tribute to the power of music and how it spreads hope and healing. My 3 oldest kids devoured this book after I told them how good it was. Their thoughts are below: James Call, 14 years Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan is an incredible book. It starts out with a very intriguing prologue that makes you wonder whether the book is fantasy or realistic fiction. There are three parts to this book, and each part has it's own story and main character. All of those characters have one thing in common. They all love music and play the same harmonica, a harmonica that has a special ability to make them and others feel happiness and hope. The first character finds it in an abandoned attic, and because he works at the harmonica factory in Germany, he ships it to the Americas. The second character buys it from a music store, and later gives it to charity. The third character has a teacher that gives everyone in the class harmonicas, and she gets the special one. Overall, Echo has very good character development and a great plot. I would definitely suggest this book to anyone who can read. (It won a Newbury Honor Award). Naomi Call, 12 Years Echo, by Pam Munoz Ryan, is an enjoyable book. It is well written, and very unique. Echo is all about the power of music. I love music, and that was something that I really liked about this book. The harmonica helps each of the characters with something different. One character that resonated with me was Mike. Mike plays the piano and takes good care of his little brother Frankie. I also play the piano, and have three younger siblings. This is a lot of sorrow in this book, but it’s also hopeful. As an avid reader, I would highly recommend Echo to anyone. Sydney Call, 10 years Echo is a great book that has three different people in it: Friedrich, Mike and Ivy. Each person has the same magic harmonica and all of the stories are happening around a war but in the end all of the characters get together. Ivy is my favorite character. I like the part when she says: "Your fate is not yet sealed. Even in the darkest night, a star will shine, a bell will chime, a path will be revealed." I really loved this book. I highly recommend that you read it. We all give this book 5 stars! If you haven't already read it, now's the time to go to the library or your local bookstore and check it out! What have you read lately that resonated with you? Kirsti Call is a homeschooling mom of five. Her debut picture book, The Raindrop Who Couldn't Fall, came out December 2013 with Character Publishing. Her family band, Calling Out, plays songs written by her children. She contributes to Writer's Rumpus, and Institute of Children's Literature. She co-coordinates Reading for Research Month, a challenge for picture book writers who use mentor texts to improve their writing skills. If you visit her house, you’ll likely find her reading or writing. You can find out more about her at www.kirsticall.com.
We celebrated Chinese New Year early by reading two books that open a window into Chinese culture. Naomi, James and Sydney each share some thoughts on these books below. Review by Naomi Bowls of Happiness, written by Brian Tse, Illustrated by Alice Mak, and translated by Ben Wang. Bowls of Happiness is published by China Institute, a company dedicated to supporting Chinese culture and Buddhist philosophy. It's about a little girl named Piggy. Her mommy made her a beautiful porcelain bowl. The book explains how Chinese porcelain bowls have a lot to do with the rituals and traditions of Chinese culture. I learned quite a lot, including the fact that yellow porcelain bowls were only for the emperors in the Forbidden City. Bowls of Happiness was very enlightening and I loved to learn so much about Chinese culture and porcelain bowls. One part of this book that I really liked was the illustrations. There were many illustrations and images of traditional porcelain vases and bowl patterns. This is a vase that shows an imperial kiln. The imperial kiln is where the entire process of porcelain production is documented, from the selection of the materials, to the production of molds, to the application of glazes and polychrome, the firing process, and court officials approving and collecting the works. Overall, I learned a lot from this book and would recommend it to anyone who would like to learn more about Chinese culture and porcelain bowls. Review by James What was it like Mr. Emperor? by Chiu Kwong-chiu was very enlightening. I learned a few things about China and the emperors. Such as, the last emperor of China was throned when he was only three! Then he only reigned for 3 years, and then got kicked out of the palace. He was also interested in western culture. It was a little slow, but there were a few interesting facts. The grammar mades no sense, but it was translated from Chinese, so you have to cut it some slack. Overall, If you are interested in Chinese culture this book is for you. And Sydney wanted to add: "I noticed that a real authentic book from another culture can be very different from the books I'm used to. I learned that princes had to go to school from 5 am to 3pm and they only get 5 days off in the whole year. I also learned what an Eunuch is and that the color yellow is only for emperors. You should read this if you're interested in China!" So, if you're looking to learn more about the forbidden city and China, definitely read these books. They're packed with information, bright lovely illustrations and they are written in a way that makes a different culture more real. What could be better than that? Kirsti Call is a homeschooling mom of five. Her debut picture book, The Raindrop Who Couldn't Fall, came out December 2013 with Character Publishing. Her family band, Calling Out, plays songs written by her children. She contributes to Writer's Rumpus, and Kids are Writers. She co-coordinates Reading for Research Month, a challenge for picture book writers who use mentor texts to improve their writing skills. If you visit her house, you’ll likely find her reading or writing. You can find out more about her at www.kirsticall.com
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