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Mixed Heritage Families
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From: Marianne Halpin <mhalpin>
Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 13:02:02 -0800
In my dissertation I am investigating the ways in which mixed heritage authors of literature for children promote creative identity construction for both mixed heritage children and all children.
I have found several books that have images of mixed heritage people, but they are, as Junko suggests, difficult to find in libraries. Search terms in library catalogs are often not consistent, publishers are usually not the large houses, the books are less publicized, and larger book suppliers like Baker & Taylor, Ingrahm, or Follett often do not stock the titles. With a small run and modest sales, as we all know, the books go out of print quickly. Independent bookstores, unless they have a specific clientele, find it difficult to stock them.
In an effort to keep my study a manageable size, and to draw from my experience as a mother of mixed heritage children (European and Japanese) my particular study focuses on mixed heritage authors with one Japanese parent.
Some books about families I recommend are Igus, Toyomi (1996). Two Mrs. Gibsons San Francisco: Children's Book Press Little, Mimi Otey (1996).Yoshiko and the Foreigner.Farrar Straus & Giroux Aoki, Brenda Wong (1998). The Queen's Garden. audio tape
Often, young colleagues from a mixed heritage organization I belong to say the first and sometimes the only book they remember seeing when they grew up that reflected their experience was Allen Say's How My parents Learned to Eat.
I also belong to a listserve of about 500 other non-Japanese women married to Japanese men, most of whom live in Japan. I have been participating in a discussion about children's literature that reflects dual heritage children's experience. Many have responded that they have no knowledge of any children's books in Japanese with images of dual heritage people. One person said she remembers one about a child in the Philappines with a Japanese father, but has forgotten and her library resources can't find it. Significantly, our definitions are not parallel. The women do not discuss their children as biracial, but either bicultural or of dual nationality. Race is not the topic. Nationality and culture identity are the topics.
May I ask if anyone has knowledge of any book written for children or young adults that includes images of mixed heritage people with one Japanese parent?
Thank you!
Marianne Maruyama Halpin Program Chair, Reading the World, USF San Francisco Day School, Head Librarian mmhalpin at sbcglobal.net mhalpin at sfds.net
Marianne Halpin, Head Librarian San Francisco Day School 350 Masonic Avenue San Francisco, CA 94118 mhalpin at sfds.net
(415) 931$22 FAX (415) 93153
Received on Fri 15 Nov 2002 03:02:02 PM CST
Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 13:02:02 -0800
In my dissertation I am investigating the ways in which mixed heritage authors of literature for children promote creative identity construction for both mixed heritage children and all children.
I have found several books that have images of mixed heritage people, but they are, as Junko suggests, difficult to find in libraries. Search terms in library catalogs are often not consistent, publishers are usually not the large houses, the books are less publicized, and larger book suppliers like Baker & Taylor, Ingrahm, or Follett often do not stock the titles. With a small run and modest sales, as we all know, the books go out of print quickly. Independent bookstores, unless they have a specific clientele, find it difficult to stock them.
In an effort to keep my study a manageable size, and to draw from my experience as a mother of mixed heritage children (European and Japanese) my particular study focuses on mixed heritage authors with one Japanese parent.
Some books about families I recommend are Igus, Toyomi (1996). Two Mrs. Gibsons San Francisco: Children's Book Press Little, Mimi Otey (1996).Yoshiko and the Foreigner.Farrar Straus & Giroux Aoki, Brenda Wong (1998). The Queen's Garden. audio tape
Often, young colleagues from a mixed heritage organization I belong to say the first and sometimes the only book they remember seeing when they grew up that reflected their experience was Allen Say's How My parents Learned to Eat.
I also belong to a listserve of about 500 other non-Japanese women married to Japanese men, most of whom live in Japan. I have been participating in a discussion about children's literature that reflects dual heritage children's experience. Many have responded that they have no knowledge of any children's books in Japanese with images of dual heritage people. One person said she remembers one about a child in the Philappines with a Japanese father, but has forgotten and her library resources can't find it. Significantly, our definitions are not parallel. The women do not discuss their children as biracial, but either bicultural or of dual nationality. Race is not the topic. Nationality and culture identity are the topics.
May I ask if anyone has knowledge of any book written for children or young adults that includes images of mixed heritage people with one Japanese parent?
Thank you!
Marianne Maruyama Halpin Program Chair, Reading the World, USF San Francisco Day School, Head Librarian mmhalpin at sbcglobal.net mhalpin at sfds.net
Marianne Halpin, Head Librarian San Francisco Day School 350 Masonic Avenue San Francisco, CA 94118 mhalpin at sfds.net
(415) 931$22 FAX (415) 93153
Received on Fri 15 Nov 2002 03:02:02 PM CST
