From: Barbara Jean Golden <bjgolden>
Date: Fri, 24 Nov 1995 18:38:27 -0800

Hello,

With all due resect to Ms Sims Bishop, I' d like to caution against using V. Hamilton's book, Plain City unless you are comfortable with issues of intermarriage and mixed race children. As much as I like Ms Hamilton's work, I have always been disappointed in her young adult literature dealing with interracial relations. In aWhite Romance, the young adults seem to decide that being with one of yur 'own' is preferable to taking a chance wigh someone of another race. Ms Hamilton's own life is so contrary to this that I question her inability to present an untroubled, unstereotypical view of interracial relationships.

It is important for new readers of this literature to understand that these stories do not necessarily represent the lives of average families of this type. This is why I feel the teacher/facilitator needs to be comfortable discussing issues of race and discrimination.

BGolden

------------------------------------ Barbara Golden Educational Policy Studies University of Wisconsin-Madison
Received on Fri 24 Nov 1995 08:38:27 PM CST