Ask a Librarian with Fifi AbuAt the April 8th Color of Children's Literature Conference in New York, Cynthia Leitich Smith spoke about her experiences breaking into the writing world as a native author over 20 years ago. The general attitude in publishing was "We already have one." in response to the thought of signing a Native American author. One was enough. Perhaps one was almost too many. And that one author was generally male. There is a quota, apparently, on POC taking seats at the white publishing table. Hearing other authors and illustrators of color speak on April 8th made it clear that despite all of the lip service about diversity, the old rules are still in place. And there is something that feels very calculated and staged going on as the call from publishers for submissions from POC occurs. I've seen agents make graceless cattle calls on social media "Hey, does anyone know any Muslim illustrators?" Widely casting their net while loudly broadcasting the fact that despite the constant inboxing of queries and connections to everyone in the entire publishing industry, no one knows an actual Muslim. Admitting to the world that publishing is such an exclusively caucasian world that no one in it can even make a referral. Because of external pressure, publishers are attempting to make a gesture toward diversity. But due to the exclusionary nature of the industry, the people who have been invisible are not people that publishers have relationships with. I had a recent experience with an art director who was interested in discussing my Muslim-themed work. He was trying to place me in an imprint that deals exclusively with POC. That was the only place he could see me having value. The only place I belong. I politely listened to everything that he had to say, but inside I was shouting "I can do other things! I can draw cats going dancing! I've got a dog who bakes cakes! I've got a book about mothers!" It was clear that I was only being considered because the publisher would be able to check a box. I was useful for one type of book and one imprint, but not as a general author/illustrator. I would prefer to be be seen as a whole person, not as a two-dimensional marketing ploy. I love the idea of diverse books being created by a wide range of diverse people. But even more, I love the idea of the white publishing world seeing POC as a valuable part of the general talent pool. 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. She is pleased to announce that she has been elected to the 2019 Caldecott Committee. www.fifiabu.com
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Ask a Librarian with Fifi Abu I was disappointed to read an essay posted online recently by a white male author/illustrator about how to handle the demands of "We Need Diverse Books" without losing any business. That's right. His essay about his experience with including diversity in his books is about how to do it properly so as to not lose any business to authors and illustrators who are people of color. "Sue me for being selfish." he actually writes at one point. He is quite proud of himself for having "worked in" some Spanish, a wheelchair, and a girl wearing a hijab. Then he blames WNDB for requiring that he do so. When his agent urges him to cool it on awkwardly checking off boxes in his work to indicate diversity, he "was pretty pissed off." He creates a list of books made by people who are not the same race as the characters in the book they made in order to argue his case with his agent. Sadly for him, his agent lets him know that each of the books on his list was actually made by a POC the same race as the characters depicted in the book. Oops. Instead of admitting that his agent is right, he reaches out to a friend in the industry who tells him that his inclusion is coming off as a bit forced and inauthentic. This upsets him. But then he realizes that the most important thing is getting published, so he decides to whiten up his characters. "Plain old" is the term he uses to indicate whiteness, the natural default for characters. He seems angry at WNDB for tricking him into thinking that he needs to include brown people in his work. He then writes about talking to two POC in the industry who stress that the industry desperately needs more POC on the creative side as well as the editorial side. He then states that he would prefer to make the books himself, rather than have POC make them, because he wants to make the money. That's when "Sue me for being selfish." comes in. This essay is so incredibly inappropriate and completely off the mark. He never mentions the reason why WNDB exists, only his desire to find workarounds so that he will not lose any business to authors and illustrators of color. His sense of entitlement has him thinking that not only should he get book contracts for projects depicting white people, he deserves to get the contracts for books depicting brown people too. His annoyance at being told that he wasn't doing it well is evident, and instead of taking the advice being given to him, he chooses to argue because he can't possibly imagine that he is wrong. I've heard similar things from Caucasian people in my critique group, proudly showing one page of brown people in their portfolio to satisfy the call from WNDB. I've seen well-executed inclusive books made by white people and very clunky inclusive books made by white people. What never seems to cross anyone's mind is that maybe it's time for white folks to stay in their own lane and let POC tell their own stories. 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. www.fifiabu.com That time of year again: the unbearable whiteness of the CaldecottWhen this photo popped up in my "On This Day" category on Facebook recently (I'm the blur on the left), I was brought back to the excitement of sitting in a packed room last January at the American Library Association Midwinter Conference, hearing the winners of the Youth Media Awards announced. The drama of having a picture book win the Newbery Medal (Last Stop on Market Street illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Matt de la Peña) had the crowd squealing in a way only a roomful of giddy librarians can squeal. And the racially diverse list of Caldecott Honor books (Trombone Shorty illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Troy Andrews; Waiting by Kevin Henkes; Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement illustrated by Ekua Holmes, written by Carole Boston Weatherford; Last Stop on Market Street illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Matt de la Peña) had the crowd howling and cheering with delight. We were satisfied. The committees had been willing to think outside the box. People of color had been recognized for their beautiful illustration work in books that depicted people of color in a variety of historical and contemporary settings. It didn't take long for murmurs of dissent to be heard. The Horn Book Blog invited readers to share their reactions to the books that were honored: _http://www.hbook.com/2016/01/blogs/calling-caldecott/tell-us-what-you-think-of-the-winners/ "In my opinion, judges are going a little too far showcase diversity. How likely is it that, out of everything released in 2015, 3 of the 5 winners happen to have non-white protagonists? I just picture a bunch of smug white librarians patting themselves on the back for these picks." - Telly "I agree that diversity trumped quality this year. I’m disappointed and frankly dismayed. I’m now less inclined to tell students that an award is given for quality. I plan to develop some lessons comparing and contrasting the winners vs the contenders. Newbery may have jumped the shark." - ReNae Bowling "The idea that if an honored book is not by/about white people, and one does not oneself see its merits, then the committee members who spent all year reading and discussing books must have chosen “diversity over quality” is offensive, yes. What are the chances that 18 out of the last 20 Caldecott winners would be white? Yes, the fact that rather than celebrating the winners, people are *complaining about their diversity* is a sign that there is still a lot of work to be done." - Sarah "...there are always books of “serious quality” that don’t win an award. What is the point of opining that the committee did so deliberately in favor of “diversity”? The point can only be to discredit the books that did win based on the diversity reflected in them, and the illustrators themselves. That is what is offensive." - Nina Lindsay "In this case, the comments about the committee choosing “diversity over quality” are what most concern me. I suspect this comment could never come from someone who has been on an ALA book award committee. The atmosphere in the judging is room is completely book-centric. It is ALL about the book, and if I remember correctly we didn’t even refer to the book creators by name that much. It’s detail, detail, detail; then pull back for a broader view or a read aloud; then more detail. Those of us in my year who were not up on Caldecott trivia were surprised afterwards to find out which honorees had never won before and which ones had. You develop a kind of tunnel vision that — in my opinion — serves the award well. But always ALWAYS you can count on comments afterwards that make assumptions. Because of the secrecy about what goes on in the room, we will never know. I think that speculations about what the committee was thinking are counterproductive. Now is the time to consider their choices and take a closer look at any choices that surprised us. AND we should go on blowing the horn for all the other great books published this year." - Lolly Robinson "I would also like to point out that the available pool of American picture books of quality published in 2015 (including the ones that rose to the top at Calling Caldecott) practically guaranteed that there would be significant diverse representation in the actual Caldecott choices. Look at how many of the books we discussed and celebrated on Calling Caldecott were by authors and illustrators of color: Christian Robinson, Jessixa Bagley, Ekua Holmes, Christopher Myers, Jason Chin, Carole Boston Weatherford, Kadir Nelson, April Chu, Rafael Lopez, Duncan Tonatiuh, Matt de la Pena, Ed Young, Jerry PInkney — and I’ve probably missed some people. Look at all the nonwhite faces: in MY BIKE; WAIT; WATER IS WATER; FLOAT; LEO; MY PEN; IN A VILLAGE BY THE SEA; LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET, FLOP TO THE TOP; etc. These books weren’t culturally specific. They were just matter-of-factly inclusive. Look at the books we all admired with specific diverse content: DROWNED CITY, DRUM DREAM GIRL; VOICE OF FREEDOM; etc. (And despite our attempts to discuss as many books as possible, unfortunately we didn’t even get to TROMBONE SHORTY…) So surely there were MANY more diverse picture books on the Caldecott table this year, making the “diversity over quality” argument difficult to defend." - Martha V. Parravano "The notion that three of five Caldecott mentions going to non-white illustrators means that the diversity fix was in reminds me of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s response to the question of how many female Supreme Court Justices will be enough. “Nine,” she said. Congratulations to all the honorees." - Roger Sutton "It’s always interesting and often troubling when diversity comes up in publishing discussions. I won’t dignify the “diversity trumps quality” remark with a response but I will say this: we need to make sure this windfall for diversity in awards (not just this set of awards but all kinds of awards) doesn’t make us complacent about the actual numbers of characters, books, authors, editors, agents and publishers in the biz who reflect the diversity of the population." - Gabrielle "I am here to argue that books should only be judged on their merits and distinguishing characteristics, and not on who created them. We all know America is a huge melting pot, and that diversity is here to stay. That said, ALA should probably discontinue the YMAs specifically for blacks, Hispanics, gays and the disabled. The Newbery and Caldecott committees are most certainly covering those bases quite well. Martha P. of the Horn Book very smartly pointed out the inherent flaws in Last Stop on Market Street (her review of 9/15) and mentioned the Caldecott committee is made up of librarians who notice detail. Evidently the committee members on neither the Caldecott or Newbery did, or this substandard, copycat (Keats) book would not have won a thing. These awards have become irrelevant and reflect political correctness at its worst. But thanks again, Martha, for your critical analysis." - Sarah Chuen "The truth is the ALA commitee for the Caldecott has often waded into the culturally hip or relevant waters of the moment. Note the 1970s field when native american and african cultures were in vogue, or Eve Bunting’s Smoky Night about the LA riots. Many iffy recipients in that bunch. I just think it’s absolutely silly to say that these things aren’t considered. I also don’t think diversity should be a ‘one of each’ type of approach. Ratios that fit the population should be diverse enough, or better yet, the population of picture book writers. Anything else is artificially achieving a desired outcome, like quotas. My problem is actually not at all with non-white artists getting awards, but that the committees invariably gravitate toward the most condescending and culturally charged content. Where are the picture books set in the relatively normal lives of upper middle class blacks and hispanics? It’s always about oppression, poverty, family legacy, urban sprawl, or direct books about cultural historical figures. I also think a lot of committee members from minority districts look at their time on the committee as an opportunity to showcase stories that their kids would identify more with. Last year’s Newbery winner ‘The Crossover’ was an egregious example. Anyway, I am completely allowed my view that the best picture books and childrens literature have not been served by these awards. And The Snowy Day is my favorite picture book." - Telly "Sorry, I’m new here, but I have a couple of questions, aimed particularly at Telly and CJ: 1 – CJ – do you really think that you’re only expressing your opinion that the most distinguished book wasn’t recognized when you accused the committee of putting diversity ahead of quality? 2 – Have either of you sat on the Caldecott Committee (or ANY major book award committee)? 3 – Do you have any familiarity of the criteria and procedures employed in evaluating the books for this award? 4 – How is culturally based content condescending? 5 – How is demanding depictions of middle class white people not doing exactly what you are criticizing – wanting a book to win on another merit than quality? 6 – Can you please provide some evidence to your claims? I’m a librarian – we like evidence (90% of people that write picture books are white, hmmmm? Where’s that statistic from?) 7 – Why do you feel the need to hide behind sock puppets? When you make an accusation that casts aspersions on people’s professional conduct in such a public forum (not to mention calling them “smug,” which is just mean), you should have the courage to name yourself and stand by what you say." - Renee Chalut "I do wonder if Last Stop on Market Street is showing the moral superiority of poverty. I just think that Nana’s positivity will only go so far as CJ begins to grow up." - Joan These comments range from painful and elitist to comfortingly righteous. What I see reflected here is the desire that Caucasians have to be the gatekeepers; they feel that they must control the achievements of POC. They get to decide which books created by POC are worthy of praise and are quick to insult these works as having received accolades purely as some sort of affirmative action. Because publishing (both the creators of material and the editorial people), librarianship and the Caldecott Committee and overwhelmingly white, they are the gatekeepers, deciding which books get published, reviewed, purchased by libraries, and given awards. The process mirrors our American culture, with the Caucasian group wielding the power and control and POC being policed and criticized with a different standard. Because white people feel entitled to these awards, they feel slighted when brown people receive them. They concoct reasons why the books were given recognition, because they cannot possibly fathom that a book created by a POC could be selected by a committee for recognition on its own merit. "I also think a lot of committee members from minority districts look at their time on the committee as an opportunity to showcase stories that their kids would identify more with. Last year’s Newbery winner ‘The Crossover’ was an egregious example. Anyway, I am completely allowed my view that the best picture books and children's literature have not been served by these awards. And The Snowy Day is my favorite picture book." - Telly So, Telly's a hater. And haters gonna hate. 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. www.fifiabu.com The power of identification: Latinos in picture books Almost 25% of American children are Latino, but books that depict Latinos comprise fewer than 3% of total books published for children. And out of that 3%, what images are we seeing? And who is creating these images? Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner (Dutton Children’s Books, 2003) has been the focus of many heated debates; he's a cat who fantasizes about being a Chihuahua and speaks in a made-up pidgin Spanish that could be described as mocking Mexican people in the tradition of characters such as Speedy Gonzalez, the Frito Bandito, and the Taco Bell Chihuahua. "Oh, my name is Skippito Friskito (clap-clap) / And I hunt for the dinosaur-ito (clap-clap) / With gigantico ears / That’s been buried for years / Under layers of sediment-ito.” (clap-clap)" Speaking English in an accent borrowed directly from Charo, Skippyjon sings about banditos, rice and beans, fiestas and siestas. This is what the white world of publishing has to offer? Books that depict Latino culture with stereotypical images and tell us that Mexican accents are hilarious?We can do better. Jalapeno Bagels by Natasha Wing, illustrated by Robert Casilla (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1996) does a nice job of depicting a mixed-race (Latino/Jewish) child who is not tortured by his ethnic background. Many books about racially mixed children show the child as teased by others, not fitting into either group, wishing he were one race or the other. Pablo is doing just fine, speaking Spanish and Yiddish and baking breads and pastries from both the Mexican and Jewish cultures that his parents bring to the family. Jalapeno Bagels has real recipes from the Los Bagels Bakery & Cafe in Arcata, California in the back and a wonderful glossary for all of the Spanish and Yiddish words used in the book. The illustrations are a bit staid for my taste, indicating to the reader that this is a serious topic. I would prefer something lighter and more celebratory, as the text is not about conflict, but about happily embracing the richness of the two cultures Pablo comes from. A much more joyful and celebratory book is Tito Puente: Mambo King by Monica Brown, illustrated by Rafael Lopez (Rayo, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2013). A gorgeous bilingual story about musician Tito Puente, Tito Puente: Mambo King truly exemplifies the mirror and window that a thoughtfully created Latino picture book can be. No one is being mocked or belittled, it's just a pure and beautiful story about a talented musician who followed his dream of leading his own band. Dream Drum Girl by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael Lopez (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015) is another incredibly beautiful book about a little Cuban girl who challenged the gender roles in 1930s Cuba and became the first female drummer in Cuba's first all-girl dance band. Stunning illustrations in acrylic paint on wood board show us the beauty of Cuba and the beauty of having a dream. Books like Dream Drum Girl show us that Latino stories are strong and beautiful and valuable and that we all have dreams. Mocking a race and a language dehumanizes and firmly places Latinos in the category of "other," while celebrating the dreams that all people have shows us that we share so much in common with each other. 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. www.fifiabu.com Mixed Messages: the depiction of racially mixed families in picture books Interracial marriage was not fully legal in the United States until 1967. A mere six years later came Arnold Adoff's groundbreaking picture book Black is Brown is Tan (1973, HarperCollins, illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully). When Arnold Adoff (Caucasian) married his wife Virginia Hamilton (African American) in 1960, their union violated segregation laws in 28 states. Black is Brown is Tan is a straightforward poem addressing the various skin tones in the family and has the refrain "This is the way it is for us, this is the way we are." The book was reissued in 2002 with new illustrations, also by Emily Arnold McCully. One thing that stands out to me about these illustrations is that the parents are not depicted as being physically close to each other. Only one image has them touching, and even when they are in bed, there is enough space between them to place another adult. Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match (Children's Book Press, 2011, illustrated by Sara Palacios and written by Monica Brown) is a bilingual book about a little girl who is Peruvian-Scottish-American. The story depicts her as someone who combines things in ways that other people do not, like making a burrito with peanut butter and jelly. Her own brother criticizes her mismatched clothing, although, presumably, he shares the same biological parents as Marisol. He is depicted as looking more typically Latino, while Marisol has dark skin and red hair, making her "mismatched." Because of the comments that people are making to Marisol, she tries to match. This is boring and makes Marisol unhappy. She decides to go back to her old ways and is once again happy. The conclusion of the story has Marisol adopting a puppy, seemingly a mixed breed puppy. "He's mismatched and simply marvelous, just like me." she says. I find the comparison of a biracial child to a mixed breed dog unsettling, paralleling the word mulatto. Mixed Me! by Taye Diggs (2015, Feiwel and Friends, illustrated by Shane W. Evans) is the story of a biracial child with an African American father and a Caucasian mother. It echoes many of the sentiments that were expressed in Marisol McDonald; kids tell Mike that his parents don't match. He introduces himself as "mixed-up Mike" at the beginning of the story and talks about people staring at his family. Being biracial is presented as a problem. At the end of the book, Mike says "I'm not mixed up, I just happen to be mixed." While I'm glad that he no longer sees himself as "mixed up," the messages delivered by Mixed Me! are quite negative and awkward. Lisa Brown's The Airport Book (2016, Roaring Brook Press) is the shining star out of this group of books that feature interracial families. It's very clearly a book about traveling by airplane, not a book about race. The racially mixed family is revealed on the title page, gracefully and unselfconsciously. We see a Caucasian mother, an African American father, and two brown children, packing for a trip. The entire book is filled with a wide variety of people, all ages, races, disabilities, body types and sexual orientations. It is one of the most flawless examples of inclusivity and diversity in recent publishing history. Race is not the subject, race is not the problem. There is no sense that Lisa Brown is being "charitable" by including these characters, these characters seem to exist organically. Obviously, Ms. Brown made all of the decisions about who to depict in The Airplane Book; it is not organic in the literal sense. The tone of the book and the depiction of a wide variety of people feels natural and beautiful and accurately reflects the diversity of people in our 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. www.fifiabu.com |
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