By Courtney Gallant, Editorial Assistant Intern, Worlds of Words
Create. Play. Learn. Whimsical adventure comes to mind at these words, and that’s what greets patrons of a new exhibit of original art and picturebooks at Worlds of Words in the University of Arizona College of Education. The exhibit is free and open to the public who are encouraged to visit Create. Play. Learn. to see how children’s literature reflects these childhood activities.
As we discussed last week, the current emphasis in schools on developing emotional health in children prompted our selection of books. We chose books that center around emotions common to children (loss, fear, anger) but with a twist. The emotions act as a character in the story. Also important, the books tell stories of a child coming to grips with emotion. The focus is on the great story–not on a list of coping skills found in the end matter and meant to teach children and parents. This week, we discuss Orion and the Dark.
By Celeste Trimble, St. Martin’s University, Lacey, WA
I grew up on a steady diet of Island of the Blue Dolphins, Little House on the Prairie, Walk Two Moons, Julie of the Wolves, et cetera, stories with native content written by non-native authors. Before The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, I hadn’t read Cynthia Leitich Smith’s or Joseph Bruchac’s novels. But I had read Michael Dorris’ and Lousie Erdrich’s work for children, thanks to my love affair with Erdrich’s novels for adults. I hadn’t read any Indigenous Canadian authors writing for youth. Before The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, I offered my students and my children solely historical fiction about Indigenous identities and stories. Nothing contemporary, and so very little, sadly, Indigenous Own Voices.
The current emphasis in schools on developing emotional health in children prompted our selection of books. The four titles focus on emotions common to children (loss, fear, anger) but with a twist. The emotions are personified and act as a character in the story. Also important, the books tell a story of a child coming to grips with emotions. The focus is on the great story–not on a list of coping skills in the end matter meant to teach children and parents. This week, we are discussing Life Without Nico.
In this spicy picturebook biography, Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix, authors Jacqueline Biggs Martin and June Jo Lee and illustrator Man One celebrate immigrants and offer a love letter to the remix of cultures through food in Los Angeles. The first lines offer a promise of the zesty text to come. “Chef Roy Choi can chop an onion in an instant, carve a mouse out of a mushroom. He’s cooked in fancy restaurants, for rock stars and royalty. But he’d rather cook on a truck.” Continue reading
In this week’s MTYT, Holly and Marilyn discuss how different books with similar themes connect to one another in meaningful ways. When these connections are recognized, separate pieces of literature are able to be looked at together. This creates the opportunity for younger readers to further educate themselves on the different cultures within these books.
By Kathy Short, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Although the classics serve as the foundation of most secondary literature classrooms, their domination is challenged by the call for cultural perspectives that reflect the diversity of our global society. The classics are critiqued for their basis in Western mainstream perspectives, biases against women and people of color, and inclusion of dated language and confusing writing styles, such as obscure expressions and unfamiliar sentence constructions. In addition, few classics have teens as main characters, having been written for adult audiences, and so teens struggle to connect. Given that these canonical texts are usually mandated reading, one way that teachers can increase relevancy and globalize reading is to pair the required classics with young adult global literature. These pairings can bring more diverse literature into the curriculum and, at the same time, create a context for understanding the classic work and its relevance for middle and high school students.
This week we discuss Escape from Aleppo by N.H. Senzai as one of the books that present situations of pain and bravery. Each book we looked at this month offers surprises and controversy. Each is thought-provoking. As we said when we recommended Escape from Aleppo as our book of the month, the novel seems right out of the headlines.
by Kathy Short, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Our careful survey of global literature available for K-5 readers in the U.S. led us to concerns as well as possibilities. We searched for global literature that is currently in print and met our criteria for text complexity as well as usefulness within the school curriculum. This survey raised several concerns as well as provided possibilities for engagements with readers, especially around paired books.
As Marilyn and Holly share their thoughts on books that present situations of pain and bravery as young people learn to negotiate the difficulties of life, they consider The Book of Dust, Volume I, La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman. Like the books discussed previously, this book offers surprises and a bit of controversy. It is worthy of reading time, but waiting for the next book may be tough.
