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Social Justice & Class in Children's & Y.A. Books
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From: Cathy Camper <cathyc_at_multcolib.org>
Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:22:36 -0800
I would like to do a shout out here for some more recent books. In general these are for middle school and up:
*Trash,* by Andy Mulligan 3 homeless street kids solve a mystery in an unnamed country kinda-sorta based on the Philipines. Raphael, Gardo and Rat live on a giant trash heap, and pick trash for a living. They discover a bag that it turns out the cops REALLY want. The more determined the cops are to get the bag, the more the kids are determined not give it up, and to determine the real meaning of the bag. What makes this book great is how the kids manipulate the system to work for them, despite all the odds stacked against them. If you like Deb Ellis, take a look at this...warning there is some extreme violence.
*Tell Us We're Home* by Marina Tamar Budhos 3 immigrant girls from very different backgrounds, whose mothers are all domestic workers in a small New Jersey town, bond when one girl's mom is accused of stealing from her employer. What is it like to go to school with kids who's house your mom cleans? Raises lots of class issues and issues around immigration.
*Hurricane Song* Paul Volpone Miles, a sophomore in high school is forced to stay in the Superdome when Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans. Why are all the people seeking refuge black, and the people in charge white? Why is help so long in coming?
*Diamonds in the Shadow* by Caroline B. Cooney An upper middle class family sponsors an African refugee family of four, sharing their home, food and time with them, only to discover the horrors of a civil war and blood diamonds don't disappear by changing continents. This book is gripping suspense, and does a great job of comparing the gap between what war-shocked immigrants have experienced, in comparison to life in the U.S.
*Going Going* Naomi Shihab Nye - a rare novel for younger kids, about activism. Florrie and her friends decide to protest the coming of big box stores, and to support local and family run businesses instead.
Some Nonfiction titles: *What the World Eats* - photographer Peter Monzel Color photos show portraits of families from all different countries, and the foods their family eats in a week. It's interesting to compare who has more packaged or processed foods, who has more or less food, who eats better and who eats worse. Lots of good statistics too.
*Peace: 50 Years of Protest* by Barry Miles Though most of us are taught the history of wars, less is know about the peace movement. This book (published for adults, but very usable with high school kids) traces the history of peace activism from the 50's up until recent times, and includes information about pacifism around the world.
Finally I want to give a big shout out for small presses, independent publishing and even self published items like zines, for publishing what other big presses won't want to, or won't dare to. For LGBTQ kids, for kids of color, for kids with alternative viewpoints, it's important to include alternative press publications. Here's three that caught my eye:
Recently PM Press published* Ivy Homeless in San Francisco* by Summer Brenner. Ivy and her dad are homeless and struggle to stay together, when a friendly dog leads them to an elderly couple that befriends them and eventually helps them find a home. Though the book is sort of half social justice, half imaginary/adventure) its one of the few kids' books of fiction that even talks about homelessness.
*a + e 4ever *by Ilike Merey (Lethe Press) is a genderqueer graphic novel, about the friendship of Asher (a) a beautiful boy who is bullied by both family and peers, and Eu (e) a lesbian Goth punk who also feels like she never fits in to the high school mainstream.
*American Muslim Teenager's Handbook* - Dilara Hafiz This book is by young American Muslims to help Muslim teens cope in a mostly non-Muslim environment. But it's also a wonderful guide for non-Muslim kids who just want to know more about the religion in a very non-stuffy way.
Hope this helps and please look these books up!
*Cathy Camper* School Corps Librarian Multnomah County Library Phone:503.988.6012 Fax: 503.988.5441
***cathyc_at_multcolib.org*** **
*www.multcolib.org* * Follow us on Facebook and Twitter facebook.com/multcolib twitter.com/multcolib
*
Received on Tue 15 Nov 2011 02:22:36 PM CST
Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:22:36 -0800
I would like to do a shout out here for some more recent books. In general these are for middle school and up:
*Trash,* by Andy Mulligan 3 homeless street kids solve a mystery in an unnamed country kinda-sorta based on the Philipines. Raphael, Gardo and Rat live on a giant trash heap, and pick trash for a living. They discover a bag that it turns out the cops REALLY want. The more determined the cops are to get the bag, the more the kids are determined not give it up, and to determine the real meaning of the bag. What makes this book great is how the kids manipulate the system to work for them, despite all the odds stacked against them. If you like Deb Ellis, take a look at this...warning there is some extreme violence.
*Tell Us We're Home* by Marina Tamar Budhos 3 immigrant girls from very different backgrounds, whose mothers are all domestic workers in a small New Jersey town, bond when one girl's mom is accused of stealing from her employer. What is it like to go to school with kids who's house your mom cleans? Raises lots of class issues and issues around immigration.
*Hurricane Song* Paul Volpone Miles, a sophomore in high school is forced to stay in the Superdome when Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans. Why are all the people seeking refuge black, and the people in charge white? Why is help so long in coming?
*Diamonds in the Shadow* by Caroline B. Cooney An upper middle class family sponsors an African refugee family of four, sharing their home, food and time with them, only to discover the horrors of a civil war and blood diamonds don't disappear by changing continents. This book is gripping suspense, and does a great job of comparing the gap between what war-shocked immigrants have experienced, in comparison to life in the U.S.
*Going Going* Naomi Shihab Nye - a rare novel for younger kids, about activism. Florrie and her friends decide to protest the coming of big box stores, and to support local and family run businesses instead.
Some Nonfiction titles: *What the World Eats* - photographer Peter Monzel Color photos show portraits of families from all different countries, and the foods their family eats in a week. It's interesting to compare who has more packaged or processed foods, who has more or less food, who eats better and who eats worse. Lots of good statistics too.
*Peace: 50 Years of Protest* by Barry Miles Though most of us are taught the history of wars, less is know about the peace movement. This book (published for adults, but very usable with high school kids) traces the history of peace activism from the 50's up until recent times, and includes information about pacifism around the world.
Finally I want to give a big shout out for small presses, independent publishing and even self published items like zines, for publishing what other big presses won't want to, or won't dare to. For LGBTQ kids, for kids of color, for kids with alternative viewpoints, it's important to include alternative press publications. Here's three that caught my eye:
Recently PM Press published* Ivy Homeless in San Francisco* by Summer Brenner. Ivy and her dad are homeless and struggle to stay together, when a friendly dog leads them to an elderly couple that befriends them and eventually helps them find a home. Though the book is sort of half social justice, half imaginary/adventure) its one of the few kids' books of fiction that even talks about homelessness.
*a + e 4ever *by Ilike Merey (Lethe Press) is a genderqueer graphic novel, about the friendship of Asher (a) a beautiful boy who is bullied by both family and peers, and Eu (e) a lesbian Goth punk who also feels like she never fits in to the high school mainstream.
*American Muslim Teenager's Handbook* - Dilara Hafiz This book is by young American Muslims to help Muslim teens cope in a mostly non-Muslim environment. But it's also a wonderful guide for non-Muslim kids who just want to know more about the religion in a very non-stuffy way.
Hope this helps and please look these books up!
*Cathy Camper* School Corps Librarian Multnomah County Library Phone:503.988.6012 Fax: 503.988.5441
***cathyc_at_multcolib.org*** **
*www.multcolib.org* * Follow us on Facebook and Twitter facebook.com/multcolib twitter.com/multcolib
*
Received on Tue 15 Nov 2011 02:22:36 PM CST
