CCBC-Net Archives
[CCBC-Net] Families and diversity
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Kathleen Horning <horning>
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 13:44:00 -0600
Valiska, thanks for your thoughtful reply! I, too, have heard similar sad stories about adults who must make rigid buying decisions based on the populations they serve. This strikes me more as a selection issue, however, rather than one of diversity. You can't choose to buy (or not buy, as the case may be) books that don't exist.
On the subject of family diversity, Vera Williams comes to mind as a picture book author/artist who realistically portrays different kinds of families ? single-parent, extended, multi-racial, etc. I remember once hearing her speak about
"More, More, More, Said the Baby," regarding the character Little Bird. She said she wanted to depict a child who slept on the couch rather than in a bed because she grew up sleeping on a couch and knew that lots of children do. It's a subtle detail that, I admit, I had never really noticed till she pointed it out. But I'll wager that it doesn't escape the notice of children who sleep on couches!
KT
Kathleen T. Horning, Acting Director Cooperative Children's Book Center University of Wisconsin-School of Education 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 North Park St. Madison, WI 53706
horning at education.wisc.edu Voice: 608&3721 Fax: 608&2I33 www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Tue 12 Nov 2002 01:44:00 PM CST
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 13:44:00 -0600
Valiska, thanks for your thoughtful reply! I, too, have heard similar sad stories about adults who must make rigid buying decisions based on the populations they serve. This strikes me more as a selection issue, however, rather than one of diversity. You can't choose to buy (or not buy, as the case may be) books that don't exist.
On the subject of family diversity, Vera Williams comes to mind as a picture book author/artist who realistically portrays different kinds of families ? single-parent, extended, multi-racial, etc. I remember once hearing her speak about
"More, More, More, Said the Baby," regarding the character Little Bird. She said she wanted to depict a child who slept on the couch rather than in a bed because she grew up sleeping on a couch and knew that lots of children do. It's a subtle detail that, I admit, I had never really noticed till she pointed it out. But I'll wager that it doesn't escape the notice of children who sleep on couches!
KT
Kathleen T. Horning, Acting Director Cooperative Children's Book Center University of Wisconsin-School of Education 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 North Park St. Madison, WI 53706
horning at education.wisc.edu Voice: 608&3721 Fax: 608&2I33 www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Tue 12 Nov 2002 01:44:00 PM CST
