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Re: Social Justice and Class
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From: Sheila Welch <sheilawelch_at_juno.com>
Date: Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:23:24 -0500
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Hello,
This is an interesting topic, and I am looking forward to the discussion. I've been thinking about the books I read as a child and how they might have helped open my eyes to how less fortunate other children lived. Several that come to mind are: The Yearling, Only the Strong, and Lassie Come Home. In each of these, I met young characters whose families were struggling with making enough money to survive, and I felt an emotional connection that may have influenced me a lot. I was also fortunate to have a mother who told many stories of her childhood days when an orange was a treasured Christmas gift, three to five girls slept in one bed, and their mother wore their father's old shirts and shoes.
Although there are children's writers today who have experienced poverty and class discrimination, I think many of them are minorities. Walter Dean Myers is an example of a powerful writer who doesn't flinch when depicting the lives of his characters. In general, it seems to me that white poverty is usually shown in the South. Two recently published novels, Myracle's Shine and Wiersbitzky's The Summer of Hammers and Angels both feature relatively poor characters who live in small southern towns. Connor's Waiting for Normal takes place in a small town, as I recall, but I can't remember if it was in the South. Historical fiction and fantasy are where today's kids usually read about poverty and class issues. Of course, there are many books that I haven't read, so it'll be great to learn about more during this discussion.
Sheila Waiting to Forget October, 2011 namelos
On Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:04:39 -0500 Megan Schliesman writes: I agree that books depicting working class and poor families are not nearly as prevalent as middle class families (or, these days, fantasy novels), and yet when I really start looking at contemporary children's literature through this lens, I'm always surprised at the great books (especially novels; less so for picture books) I can identify that may not be specifically about class and economic issues but that nonetheless provide a strong portrayal of working class and economically struggling realities.
So I don't necessarily think books that portray working class or poor families are taboo; I do think the best writers stay true to what they can write about authentically, whether they have known economic hardship firsthand or have the insight and imagination to place their characters in that reality and do the work necessary to treat it with veracity.
Here are a few of my favorites, but I could come up with quite a few others:
Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead Sprout by Dale Peck Creature of the Night by Kate Thompson Please Ignore Vera Deitz by A.S. King Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers Lucky for Good by Susan Patron
(I'll add that Suzanne Collins's "Gregor" fantasy series offers a poignant look at the economic struggles of Gregor's family in the overland world of New York City).
I think what is far less prevalent--and perhaps somewhat taboo--are books that directly confront class conflict, or rather, conflict between characters of different classes. Books such as Jacqueline Woodson's "I Hadn't Meant To Tell You This" or her "Maizon" series and Helen Frost's "Hidden" offer rich explorations of the lives of their characters and the challenges they face: all offer a contrast between characters of different classes struggling--for reasons that include and go beyond class--to find common ground. (Just as I was sending this I saw Lyn had posted noting that she is seeing more books addressing class differences--so good to know.)
Additionally, I wish there were more books showing characters of color living middle class lives. I think too often children's and young adult literature equates being black or Latino or American Indian--among the far too few books there are--with being poor. And absolutely the economic reality of poverty among too many people of color should be visible in children's literature. But it should not be the only reality reflected. (Yes, that's a bit of hyperbole.)
Megan -- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Date: Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:23:24 -0500
This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand
Hello,
This is an interesting topic, and I am looking forward to the discussion. I've been thinking about the books I read as a child and how they might have helped open my eyes to how less fortunate other children lived. Several that come to mind are: The Yearling, Only the Strong, and Lassie Come Home. In each of these, I met young characters whose families were struggling with making enough money to survive, and I felt an emotional connection that may have influenced me a lot. I was also fortunate to have a mother who told many stories of her childhood days when an orange was a treasured Christmas gift, three to five girls slept in one bed, and their mother wore their father's old shirts and shoes.
Although there are children's writers today who have experienced poverty and class discrimination, I think many of them are minorities. Walter Dean Myers is an example of a powerful writer who doesn't flinch when depicting the lives of his characters. In general, it seems to me that white poverty is usually shown in the South. Two recently published novels, Myracle's Shine and Wiersbitzky's The Summer of Hammers and Angels both feature relatively poor characters who live in small southern towns. Connor's Waiting for Normal takes place in a small town, as I recall, but I can't remember if it was in the South. Historical fiction and fantasy are where today's kids usually read about poverty and class issues. Of course, there are many books that I haven't read, so it'll be great to learn about more during this discussion.
Sheila Waiting to Forget October, 2011 namelos
On Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:04:39 -0500 Megan Schliesman writes: I agree that books depicting working class and poor families are not nearly as prevalent as middle class families (or, these days, fantasy novels), and yet when I really start looking at contemporary children's literature through this lens, I'm always surprised at the great books (especially novels; less so for picture books) I can identify that may not be specifically about class and economic issues but that nonetheless provide a strong portrayal of working class and economically struggling realities.
So I don't necessarily think books that portray working class or poor families are taboo; I do think the best writers stay true to what they can write about authentically, whether they have known economic hardship firsthand or have the insight and imagination to place their characters in that reality and do the work necessary to treat it with veracity.
Here are a few of my favorites, but I could come up with quite a few others:
Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead Sprout by Dale Peck Creature of the Night by Kate Thompson Please Ignore Vera Deitz by A.S. King Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers Lucky for Good by Susan Patron
(I'll add that Suzanne Collins's "Gregor" fantasy series offers a poignant look at the economic struggles of Gregor's family in the overland world of New York City).
I think what is far less prevalent--and perhaps somewhat taboo--are books that directly confront class conflict, or rather, conflict between characters of different classes. Books such as Jacqueline Woodson's "I Hadn't Meant To Tell You This" or her "Maizon" series and Helen Frost's "Hidden" offer rich explorations of the lives of their characters and the challenges they face: all offer a contrast between characters of different classes struggling--for reasons that include and go beyond class--to find common ground. (Just as I was sending this I saw Lyn had posted noting that she is seeing more books addressing class differences--so good to know.)
Additionally, I wish there were more books showing characters of color living middle class lives. I think too often children's and young adult literature equates being black or Latino or American Indian--among the far too few books there are--with being poor. And absolutely the economic reality of poverty among too many people of color should be visible in children's literature. But it should not be the only reality reflected. (Yes, that's a bit of hyperbole.)
Megan -- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
---Received on Fri 04 Nov 2011 12:23:24 PM CDT
