The Pearl in the Shell: Author's Notes in Multicultural Children's Literature.
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| Title: | The Pearl in the Shell: Author's Notes in Multicultural Children's Literature. |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Perini, Rebecca L. |
| Source: | Reading Teacher. Feb 2002 55(5):428-431. |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 4 |
| Publication Date: | 2002 |
| Document Type: | Guides - Classroom - Teacher Journal Articles |
| Descriptors: | Authors, Childrens Literature, Elementary Education, Multicultural Education, Reading Comprehension, Teaching Methods |
| ISSN: | 0034-0561 |
| Abstract: | Notes that an increasing number of contemporary multicultural children's books aid readers' text comprehension with an author's note, foreword, or afterword. Describes ways teachers can use these author's notes, and ways to make the most of this author information. (RS) |
| Entry Date: | 2002 |
| Accession Number: | EJ640659 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Url: https://content.ebscohost.com/cds/retrieve?content=AQICAHj0k_4E0hTGH8RJwT4gCJyBsGNe_WN95AvKlDbXJGqwxwFfRAnqO7lzDbGFJI8N-5ykAAAA4TCB3gYJKoZIhvcNAQcGoIHQMIHNAgEAMIHHBgkqhkiG9w0BBwEwHgYJYIZIAWUDBAEuMBEEDIidOkg0y008_SHdqAIBEICBmWmDpqfZeY--6DqabAWIBYqQNF3jjNMLr7T9FW2wzITFbP9u6cnlLI6tjjvbcPo2DYQPvjMjX_zNZPTCudOip6P-ZxJirfNBgO8px807_HSxpKYNjTN0yh1mbMhQQne9ZcSmRdrRoz-9-TxjI6gQx_3ebb1Uu8_yo0j-4-z6gO8reI3U2sI-dLnLwcN3231hmRIWH6l6kOuFwA== Text: Availability: 1 Value: <anid>AN0005982149;ret01feb.02;2002Apr29.12:40;v1.8</anid> <jsection id="AN0005982149-1"> Teaching Ideas</jsection> <title id="AN0005982149-2">THE PEARL IN THE SHELL: AUTHOR'S NOTES IN MULTICULTURAL CHILDREN'S LITERATURE </title> <p>Multicultural children's books have the potential to support diversity in the curriculum, to inform children, and to raise consciousness about cultural issues and perspectives that largely have been ignored in schools (e.g., Harris, 1991; Reese, 1996; Tatum, 1997). Sharing children's books with students can provide opportunities to make explicit and call into question the traditional, prevailing beliefs and views people hold of themselves and of others.</p> <p>The social, cultural, and political value of culturally conscious children's books makes them both appealing and potentially controversial. Definitions and critiques of multicultural literature are contingent not solely on literary characteristics, but also on the purposes it aims to serve (Cai, 1995; Cai &amp; Sims-Bishop, 1994; Harris, 1991). Cai and Sims-Bishop (1994) explained that the term multicultural literature implies a goal to challenge the existing canon by expanding the curriculum to include literature by and about members of a wide variety of cultural groups. This could combat intolerance and foster a sense of inclusion, possibly changing education and classroom instruction.</p> <p>In these ways, children's books potentially serve what Takaki (1999) saw as the intentions of multicultural scholars to engender a pluralistic society in which all people aim to understand and respect one another's cultures while recognizing the shared histories and experiences that unite us. Cai (1998) confirmed that "multicultural literature is an important component of the multicultural education movement and a tool that can be used to achieve its goal: diversity and equity in education" (p. 318). What makes a book "multicultural" depends largely on how it is used with children and perceived by children--two conditions that teachers are in a position to influence.</p> <p>The potential role of multicultural literature in classrooms emphasizes the need for teachers to be critical and deliberate in the selection and use of books and materials. The extent of preparation and support teachers receive toward this end--in the form of formal teacher education, professional development workshops, funding for classroom materials, and advocacy of alternative teaching methods--varies considerably. Hence, the onus often rests with teachers to seek out the information and materials necessary for carrying out effective instruction while meeting the needs of a diverse student body.</p> <hd id="AN0005982149-3"> Author's notes in multicultural literature </hd> <p>Sharing multicultural children's books in culturally conscious ways, for the purposes of multicultural education described earlier, requires knowledge and understanding of the issues, people, or places presented in the books themselves. An increasing number of contemporary multicultural children's books aid readers' text comprehension with an author's note, foreword, or afterword. Such information can promote more insightful and thoughtful use of the books by teachers (and readers in general) who otherwise lack the personal experiences, knowledge, and comfort level that equip them to present the book in a culturally conscious way.</p> <p>With emphasis on African American literature (for a variety of literary, scholarly, and personal reasons), the next section describes how many authors include information to support the cultural, social, and political themes of their books. (All of the books I mention are included in the Sidebar.) Much information regarding the lifestyles, circumstances, and histories of people of color in the United States, which is seldom found in mainstream school curricula or texts, appears in author's, illustrator's, or publisher's notes (e.g., Bill Pickett: Rodeo-Ridin' Cowboy, The Great Migration). The historical tradition and evolution of a folk tale may be described (e.g., The Hunterman and the Crocodile), or the significance of the geographic setting of a story explained (e.g., The Hired Hand, I Have Heard of a Land). The relationship of the author to people depicted in the book is sometimes revealed (e.g., All Around Town, Ma Dear's Aprons), or the process of gathering and compiling information to authentically portray a person or characters is shared (e.g., All Around Town, At Her Majesty's Request). The following brief excerpts help demonstrate the enriching, even provocative, nature of author's notes.</p> <p>Andrea Pinkney's (1996) fictional account of Bill Pickett: Rodeo-Ridin' Cowboy includes an afterword and gives us this information:</p> <p>More About Black Cowboys: America's history is rich with heroes. Cowboys...are perhaps the most celebrated of all American legends. Nearly thirty-five thousand cowboys drove cattle when the Old West was in its prime. About one in four of these pioneers was African American. (Afterword)</p> <p>Pinkney continues, describing the westward migration of African Americans (freed and enslaved) and whites before and after the U.S. Civil War.</p> <p>Walter Dean Myers shares thoughts in an afterword that seem to be clearly personal, but meaningful to African Americans as a group too. In Now Is Your Time! The African American Struggle for Freedom he asks the reader "Who are we really, we who call ourselves African Americans?" then proceeds with a powerful response to his own question. Being similar to the notes in Patricia McKissack's Ma Dear's Aprons, and in many multicultural books, Myers's afterword expresses the personal connection that members of a racial or cultural group may feel with a book that reflects their own history, experiences, language, or traditions.</p> <p>Authors and illustrators often implicitly convey a social or political message within the context of the story (e.g., Working Cotton, Pink and Say, Smoky Night). Other books make explicit statements within the narrative (e.g., First in the Field, From Slave Ship to Freedom Road). Julius Lester confronts readers with a social and racial message in From Slave Ship to Freedom Road. Describing the middle passage enslaved Africans were forced to travel (many died along the way), Lester says that "It is difficult to imagine times and places long past. We must try if we are to redeem those times and ourselves" (p. 9). Prior to this, a foreword describes Lester's ongoing need to write about slavery:</p> <p>Art and literature ask us to step out of our skins and put on the skins of others. [We] ask of you what we asked of ourselves as we sought to come to terms with a historical experience whose legacy continues to affect us all. (Foreword)</p> <p>In addition to sharing his personal feelings and motivation, Lester attempts to reach both African American and white readers through his note, clearly stating a purpose for us as we read. Lester also seems to be providing some explanation for readers who tend to question the value of continuing to learn and talk about slavery in North America.</p> <p>Notes inserted by authors supply facts and do so in a manner that reveals a wealth of information regarding an author's background and intentions in creating a book. As the quote above suggests, literature gives us an opportunity to "put on the skins of others." Fortunately, author's notes often help us try on the skins not only of those portrayed in books, but of the authors too.</p> <hd id="AN0005982149-4"> Teacher use of author's notes </hd> <p>Supplementary notes set a person, place, or event in a social, cultural, historical, and political context-information that supports the use of a book for multicultural education. The extent to which author's notes enhance the multicultural themes of books depends on how teachers use and merge the information with the books during read-alouds with students.</p> <p>Observing teachers sharing author's notes of African American and multicultural books to varying degrees (and seemingly for different purposes) during read-alouds with their students amplified my initial interest in these notes. Some brief descriptions from my observations (in public elementary schools in central Virginia from 1998 to 1999) introduce my suggestions for further extending or cultivating the use of author's notes to involve children more deeply in related subject matter and themes.</p> <p>Another time and place. I observed two teachers reading aloud from Patricia McKissack's Ma Dear's Aprons. One began by telling her students that she was going to "read a little bit of the author's note to figure out when this book takes place"-the early 1900s; another began by checking the author's note and explaining that the story takes place not long after the U.S. Civil War. Such clarification regarding time and setting of the story, provided only in the author's note, is critical in building students' understanding of history. Recognizing time and setting is important in African American history in particular, because children tend to learn about African Americans as slaves and possibly as uncommon heroes during the Civil Rights era. Yet all children need to recognize the varied, dynamic experiences of African Americans, and of all Americans, over time. Books such as Ma Dear's Aprons, I Have Heard of a Land, Bill Pickett, The Great Migration, and many others with supporting author's notes can help fill in the gaps between the often sensationalized and diluted, though no less important, slavery period and Civil Rights era.</p> <p>Race and economics. The first teacher I described sharing Ma Dear's Aprons continued reading the author's note, which expresses McKissack's affectionate tribute to domestic workers of the period. The teacher then summarized for her students by saying that "Ma Dear was a maid, she didn't make much money, and it was hard work because they had no washing machines and dryers like we do today." Illustrations and text within the story clearly depict Ma Dear delivering fresh clean laundry to a white woman at her "large mansion" and receiving a quarter in exchange.</p> <p>When the reading is enhanced by the author's information, what could be viewed and shared as a seemingly lighthearted, sentimental story about a boy and his Ma Dear becomes an opportunity to address particular aspects of African American history and culture and issues of socioeconomic difference and stratification. Teachers can ask students to consider the value of domestic labor and back-breaking work, to examine what kinds of work opportunities have existed for African Americans over time and why, and to then consider access to equal work and pay and how all of these factors are tied to race.</p> <p>Race and geography. As a teacher introduced Robert San Souci's The Hired Hand, she shared information from Jerry Pinkney's artist's note, which follows the author's note about the origins of this particular folk tale. Pinkney explains the initial challenge of setting a story that takes place at a black-owned sawmill in the slave state of Virginia in pre-Civil War days. Teachers should prompt student inquiry about why this would present a dilemma for the illustrator. Pinkney goes on to explain his ideas for the story setting and how he resolved the dilemma through research that led to the discovery of a Virginia mill town established by antislavery Quakers in the 1700s. Again, further investigation into the significance of place and the role of Quaker people is warranted--by teacher and students. The places Pinkney describes also should be identified on a map to support students' placement of the story in a real setting and to incorporate the geography that is critical for understanding racial, social, and political lines of the period.</p> <p>Pinkney's short discussion also draws attention to the importance of authenticity of illustrations in multicultural literature--ensuring that illustrations realistically represent people, places, and times in accordance with authentic text. The significance of the book's illustrations and setting may have been easily overlooked without his accompanying note.</p> <p>Cultural intersections. One teacher read aloud Red Bird, a book about a modern-day Native American girl, and began with the afterword, explaining to her students, "I'm starting at the back of this book because sometimes it's better to hear this kind of information before you find out what happens in the story." This supplemental information could help the students comprehend the story. Reading part of the afterword, the teacher then restated it:</p> <p>They [Nanticoke Indians] wanted to keep their own identity, keep their own culture, wear their own clothing, have their own laws, speak their own language, but the Europeans who were coming here wanted to tell them what to do and where to live.</p> <p>The story does not explicitly address oppression of cultural identity and refers once to things that took place "Long before the white man came...." The author's note prompts attention to the notion of cultural identity and the complexity of the particular group of people portrayed in the book.</p> <p>Jane Yolen's Encounter includes an afterword discussing the author's motivation for writing about Native Central Americans' first encounter with Columbus and white European Americans. Coupled with Red Bird and its author's note, Encounter provides an excellent opportunity for teachers to guide students through exploration and inquiry about the issue of Native American identity and culture and the implications of the arrival of European Americans. The addition of texts depicting particular Native American nations in the past as well as in contemporary settings and clothing (e.g., Pueblo Boy: Growing Up in Two Worlds), as Red Bird does, could support children's developing understanding of Native Americans over time and as they live today. The author's note in Red Bird also provides geographical background, explaining that the majority of Nanticoke live in Delaware, something also made apparent through details of the story itself. Native American groups, whenever possible, should be identified by their tribal name and indigenous lands; doing so helps students recognize Native Americans as more than a mysterious, savage group of nameless people who lived long ago in a vague faraway place. Fortunately, in more recent literature such cultural characteristics are often made clear by authors in their notes.</p> <p>One book can't do it all. To emphasize what I hope has been demonstrated already--compiling sets of books with related themes, settings, and author's notes that complement one another provides a larger picture and more thorough examination of the cultural group and experience depicted in any one book. Literature provides a means for presenting multiple interpretations and experiences surrounding particular events or dates; simultaneously, it can support awareness of the diversity within any particular racial or cultural group, as well as of the similarities between groups. This can most readily be achieved through the thoughtful selection of sets of multicultural books.</p> <hd id="AN0005982149-5"> Cultivating the pearl: Making the most of author information </hd> <p>Author's, illustrator's, and publisher's notes provide a starting point for educators to explore culturally diverse issues and perspectives, which is something educators must do to be prepared to meet the needs of all children in schools. Attending to such notes can help teachers determine which themes or elements of a book warrant greater attention in order to extend the learning that takes place during and beyond a shared read-aloud. Furthermore, the author's note may help guide teachers to select related resources and better prepare themselves to address unfamiliar themes and topics.</p> <p>I believe authors aim to guide our purpose in reading and sharing their books with children through the information provided in their complementary, often personal, notes. Authors and illustrators share with us their pearls of wisdom, experience, and inspiration; they give us the opportunity and responsibility to sense and share broader learning experiences than we could through a story alone.</p> <hd id="AN0005982149-6">Children's books</hd> <p>Bunting, Eve. (1994). Smoky night. Ill. David Diaz. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace.</p> <p>Diakite, Baba Wague. (1997). The hunterman and the crocodile: A West African folk tale. New York: Scholastic.</p> <p>Dingle, Derek T. (1998). First in the field: Baseball hero Jackie Robinson. New York: Hyperion.</p> <p>Johnson, Dinah. (1998). All around town: The photographs of Richard Samuel Roberts. New York: Henry Holt.</p> <p>Keegan, Marcia. (1991). Pueblo boy: Growing up in two worlds. New York: Cobblehill Books.</p> <p>Lester, Julius. (1998). From slave ship to freedom road. Ill. Rod Brown. New York: Dial.</p> <p>McKissack, Patricia C. (1997). Ma Dear's aprons. Ill. Floyd Cooper. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster.</p> <p>Mitchell, Barbara. (1996). Red Bird. Ill. Todd Doney. New York: Lothrop, Lee &amp; Shepard.</p> <p>Myers, Walter Dean. (1991). Now is your time! The African American struggle for freedom. New York: HarperCollins.</p> <p>Myers, Walter Dean. (1993). The great migration: An American story. Ill. Jacob Lawrence. New York: HarperCollins.</p> <p>Myers, Walter Dean. (1999). At Her Majesty's request: An African princess in Victorian England. New York: Scholastic.</p> <p>Pinkney, Andrea D. (1996). Bill Pickett: Rodeo-ridin' cowboy. Ill. Brian Pinkney. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace.</p> <p>Polacco, Patricia. (1994). Pink and Say. New York: Scholastic.</p> <p>San Souci, Robert D. (1997). The hired hand: An African American folk tale. Ill. Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial.</p> <p>Thomas, Joyce Carol. (1998). I have heard of a land. Ill. Floyd Cooper. New York: HarperCollins.</p> <p>Williams, Sherley Anne. (1992). Working cotton. Ill. Carole Byard. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace.</p> <p>Yolen, Jane. (1992). Encounter. Ill. David Shannon. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace.</p> <ref id="AN0005982149-7"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" type="bt"></bibl> <bibtext>Cai, M. (1995). Can we fly across cultural gaps on the wings of imagination?: Ethnicity, experience, and cultural authenticity. The New Advocate, 8, 1-16.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" type="bt"></bibl> <bibtext>Cai, M. (1998). Multiple definitions of multicultural literature: Is the debate really just "ivory tower" bickering? The New Advocate, 11, 311-324.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib3" type="bt"></bibl> <bibtext>Cai, M., &amp; Sims-Bishop, R. (1994). Multicultural literature for children: Towards a clarification of the concept. In A.H. Dyson &amp; C. Genishi (Eds.), The need for story: Cultural diversity in classroom and community (pp. 57-71). Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib4" type="bt"></bibl> <bibtext>Harris, V.J. (1991). Multicultural curriculum: African American children's literature. Young Children, 46, 37-44.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib5" type="bt"></bibl> <bibtext>Reese, D. (1996). Teaching young children about Native Americans (Report No. EDO-PS-96-3). Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Children's Research Center. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 394744)</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib6" type="bt"></bibl> <bibtext>Takaki, R. (1999). A different mirror: A conversation with Ronald Takaki. Educational Leadership, 56, 8-13.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib7" type="bt"></bibl> <bibtext>Tatum, B.D. (1997). "Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?" and other conversations about race. New York: Basic Books.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By Rebecca L. Perini</p> <p></p> <p>Perini teaches with the Center for Education at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania (One University Place, Chester, PA 19013, USA). E-mail: rebecca.l.perini@widener.edu.</p> </aug> |
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