I have said that when I was little I was an avid reader (of course), but interested as I was in the stories I read, my desire was that there be stories about us, as we are, as 'normal' people. I might now add, in relation to my last post, not necessarily quaint.
Fast forward to my MEd. Study, “I will
not look at books the same way again”: Teachers’ Feelings About the Use of
Caribbean Children’s Literature (2003). One of my quotes in the literature
was: Pugh (1988) cites Bill Martin Jr. “Without consciousness of how or why ...the reader is forever rummaging and scavenging through the pages for a glimpse
of self ...” Isn’t that what we do? And if we don’t, is it that we have no concept
of self? We do not expect to find ourselves
there. For our children, that would be a pity.

So I’m ambling through the book and something catches my eye on p.3, where the young hero describes his father, “He has dark brown skin like mine, piercing brown eyes, a bald head and a goatee . . . ”
Clearly I’ve misread it. . . .dark brown skin . . .I read it
again. Hmm. Then on p. 7 the young hero, along with his father, go to pick up
his sister. He says, “You would never believe she’s my sister . . . she takes after our mom who was white,
so Sadie’s skin is much lighter than mine. She has straight caramel-coloured
hair . . . .her eyes are blue. I’m serious. . . .”
By now I’m breathless. And so yes, I now realize that the
hero is indeed a child of colour; he is from a mixed race family. I say that calmly now, but then I just kept reading and rereading. Have I really found ‘myself’ in this boy, in
this book? Somebody wrote about us, as a hero, in a book which wasn’t identified as an African American, Black British or Caribbean
book? Somebody wrote about us in a ‘normal’ book!
I conclude that the writer must also be at least mixed race.
At least! I look him up. He is not. He is a normal Caucasian looking man. He
has written a number of books with a base of mythology, which fall into various
series. The Red Pyramid is from the series called the Kane Chronicles and has a lot to do with Egyptology.
Fascinating!


I agree with you that kids need to find themselves in books. It helps validate them. I loved the range of books you chose in which you saw yourself! Thanks so much for sharing at Multicultural Children's Book Day!
ReplyDeleteGreat points in this post - representation is so important. I appreciate your words, and your support of Multicultural Children's Book Day!
ReplyDeleteThank you, guys.
ReplyDelete