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From: Debbie Reese <debreese_at_illinois.edu>
Date: Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:33:42 -0600
Still energized by my visit to Madison, and sending another post to CCBC-NET.
This one is still about the talk Janice and I gave, but it is also specific to the topic scheduled for the first-half of November (First Half of Month: Reviewers Choice? Reading (and Writing) Professional Reviews.)
During grad school, I reviewed for Horn Book. Most of my reviews were in the Guide, with only a few in the Magazine. Very early on, a review I did was rejected because I'd referenced the characters playing Indian as a problem. Horn Book, as you probably know, reviews books based on literary merit, not on "extra-literary" concerns of the sort that my work focuses on.
I was more than a little irked about the review being rejected, and developed a survey that I sent out to listservs. I was sure that librarians would want to know if any given book had stereotypes of American Indians in it. I didn't know about CCBC-NET then. Maybe it wasn't up yet. Child_lit was active then, and I sent my survey there. It culminated in an article that was eventually published in a Native lit journal.
The survey-story is funny now, but it scared me quite a lot when it happened. I was a new grad student, and new to the world of children's lit. I did all the things that you do to protect the identity of people involved in a study. I was naiive. I didn't realize how small the reviewing world was... I recall reading a response to that survey from Janice Del Negro. She said that the journal and editor my survey was about were Horn Book and Roger Sutton. I thought my future in this field was over. Since then I've come to know a lot of people in the field. I eventually quit reviewing for Horn Book. I needed time to work on my dissertation. I had also just gone thru another rejected review situation and decided to focus on my dissertation.
Way too often, the reviews of children's books with Native content are positive. When I look at the same book, focusing on the Native content, I find the books wanting in so many ways. Richard Peck's book is a good case-in-point. A terrific story, lot of fun, but for what reader? Not for me, a Native reader. Peck and reviewers love the playful way that he uses Indian bones, but it really REALLY bothered me.
Returning to something Janice Rice said on Thursday at our presentation.... She spoke about a 2008 book for librarians, for collection building. She said it had three books in it on American Indians, and that none of the three are by Native writers. She knew one of them and found it had many errors in it. She was surprised, given its 2008 pub date.
I've looked at that book now ("Core Collection for Children and Young Adults" by Rachel Schwedt and Janice A. DeLong, 2008) and absolutely concur with Janice's assessment. None of the books listed in it are by Native writers. Instead of Bruchac or Smith or Erdrich, the book recommends TOUCHING SPIRIT BEAR, a book I've critiqued several times, and, Sharon Creech's WALK TWO MOONS, a book that Oyate does not recommend. (I'm not keen on it either, but haven't written up my notes on it.)
Debbie
Visit my Internet resource: American Indians in Children's Literature
Debbie A. Reese (Nambй O'-ween-ge') Assistant Professor, American Indian Studies University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Native American House, Room 2005 1204 West Nevada Street, MC-138 Urbana, Illinois 61801
Email: debreese_at_illinois.edu TEL 217-265-9885 FAX 217-265-9880
Received on Sat 07 Nov 2009 02:33:42 PM CST
Date: Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:33:42 -0600
Still energized by my visit to Madison, and sending another post to CCBC-NET.
This one is still about the talk Janice and I gave, but it is also specific to the topic scheduled for the first-half of November (First Half of Month: Reviewers Choice? Reading (and Writing) Professional Reviews.)
During grad school, I reviewed for Horn Book. Most of my reviews were in the Guide, with only a few in the Magazine. Very early on, a review I did was rejected because I'd referenced the characters playing Indian as a problem. Horn Book, as you probably know, reviews books based on literary merit, not on "extra-literary" concerns of the sort that my work focuses on.
I was more than a little irked about the review being rejected, and developed a survey that I sent out to listservs. I was sure that librarians would want to know if any given book had stereotypes of American Indians in it. I didn't know about CCBC-NET then. Maybe it wasn't up yet. Child_lit was active then, and I sent my survey there. It culminated in an article that was eventually published in a Native lit journal.
The survey-story is funny now, but it scared me quite a lot when it happened. I was a new grad student, and new to the world of children's lit. I did all the things that you do to protect the identity of people involved in a study. I was naiive. I didn't realize how small the reviewing world was... I recall reading a response to that survey from Janice Del Negro. She said that the journal and editor my survey was about were Horn Book and Roger Sutton. I thought my future in this field was over. Since then I've come to know a lot of people in the field. I eventually quit reviewing for Horn Book. I needed time to work on my dissertation. I had also just gone thru another rejected review situation and decided to focus on my dissertation.
Way too often, the reviews of children's books with Native content are positive. When I look at the same book, focusing on the Native content, I find the books wanting in so many ways. Richard Peck's book is a good case-in-point. A terrific story, lot of fun, but for what reader? Not for me, a Native reader. Peck and reviewers love the playful way that he uses Indian bones, but it really REALLY bothered me.
Returning to something Janice Rice said on Thursday at our presentation.... She spoke about a 2008 book for librarians, for collection building. She said it had three books in it on American Indians, and that none of the three are by Native writers. She knew one of them and found it had many errors in it. She was surprised, given its 2008 pub date.
I've looked at that book now ("Core Collection for Children and Young Adults" by Rachel Schwedt and Janice A. DeLong, 2008) and absolutely concur with Janice's assessment. None of the books listed in it are by Native writers. Instead of Bruchac or Smith or Erdrich, the book recommends TOUCHING SPIRIT BEAR, a book I've critiqued several times, and, Sharon Creech's WALK TWO MOONS, a book that Oyate does not recommend. (I'm not keen on it either, but haven't written up my notes on it.)
Debbie
Visit my Internet resource: American Indians in Children's Literature
Debbie A. Reese (Nambй O'-ween-ge') Assistant Professor, American Indian Studies University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Native American House, Room 2005 1204 West Nevada Street, MC-138 Urbana, Illinois 61801
Email: debreese_at_illinois.edu TEL 217-265-9885 FAX 217-265-9880
Received on Sat 07 Nov 2009 02:33:42 PM CST
