Don't Judge a Book by Its Author

Park makes a valid point in her article about children’s books written by celebrities. Often times, books with famous names on the cover receive more attention than those that are written by more experienced, possibly much better writers. Due to this trend, it is imperative that those books get more attention before they are published. Unfortunately, it seems that publishers allow celebrity authors to publish their stories without much review. Rather than letting celebrities have an easier time getting their stories on the shelves, publishers need to pay special attention to ensure that the children’s books with famous names on the front are of the best quality because that is what their readers deserve.

It is important for children to read good books because it can inspire a love of reading that will last their whole lives. I know so many people who do not like to read and perhaps if they had been exposed to well written books as kids, they could benefit now from the knowledge and vocabulary book lovers have as a result of their lifetime of reading. Reading is not only relaxing, but it also teaches valuable lessons. For example, books like Esperanza Rising and Fresh Girl, as well as the other books from our class, teach us lessons of acceptance, overcoming obstacles, and finding inner strength. These lessons will be useful in our everyday lives. Children who begin to love reading at a young age are more likely to learn the lessons from books like these. The quality of children’s books, therefore, is vitally important.

I am glad that celebrities try to use their status as well known members of society to get parents to buy books for their kids, as well as to get more money, but I find it unfortunate that lesser known authors do not sell as well. After all, writers who create their stories for a living have more time to devote to their writing and therefore are likely to publish very good books. Hopefully, parents do not simply judge books by the names on their covers.

Looking at the Big Picture in Multicultural Literature

The Beach article explains the difficulties high school teachers face with teaching multicultural literature in their classrooms. Most students have trouble recognizing and understanding the larger concepts of race, class, and gender in the works they read, focusing instead on the characters as individuals. While it is important to be able to relate to characters on an individual level, it is important for the teenagers to learn about the big picture as well. Multicultural literature is supposed to open the minds and widen the horizons of its readers on both a large and small scale. If students only get the smaller concepts out of the multicultural literature they read in school, half of its value and purpose is lost. When taught correctly, students not only are able to recognize the larger social concepts, but also may undergo changes in their personal views and beliefs about those concepts. This article shows how, over time, students’ attitudes towards race, class, and gender change when their class discussions help them read and think more critically. Any of the multicultural literature we’ve read can be applied to this article. Each text should be taught and discussed thoroughly so the students who read these books can both identify with the characters and recognize the larger forces working in the text, relating them to the society within and outside of the novel.

Researching Death

For my research paper topic, I want to focus on how the death of one or both parents affects the growth and development of the young protagonist. Adolescents who have lost a parent are affected for life and not only have to overcome the obstacle of grief, but also have to face the obstacles that their parent’s death creates. These obstacles include losing someone on whom they can rely and look to for wisdom, trying to figure out who they are without having steady ground on which to stand, not being prepared for additional responsibilities, and having to mature faster than usual teenagers.

Protagonists with missing parents are common in adolescent literature. The stories I thought of that apply to this topic are the Harry Potter series, The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, and the majority of Disney Classics. Harry Potter lost both his parents at a very young age which caused him to have to spend his childhood in a cupboard being beaten by his cousin. Their deaths also prevented him from knowing that he was a wizard, who he really is, and the reason why he never felt like he belonged in the world he lived in. Harry has to find a different family, in the form of his school friends, and other sources of support.

In Sarah Dessen’s novel, the main character witnessed her father die and blames herself, in part, for his death. She and her mother never express their grief, hiding it beneath their seemingly perfect day to day lives. Her father’s death confines her to a life of studying for SAT’s on Friday nights, parting her hair in a perfect line down the center, and dating the safe, smart, unaffectionate guy that likes the mask she created and shows to the world. This teenage protagonist has to overcome the grief, difficult circumstances and unhealthy attitudes that are a product of her father’s death.

The Disney stories we are all familiar with center around characters who have one parent or less. Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Simba, Aladdin, Belle, and more live with less than both their parents. All of the journeys they take in their stories are affected in some way by the death of their parent(s).

I’m interested in this topic because I’ve seen it in a lot of my favorite stories (see list above) and the importance of family dynamics in literature has always been interesting to me. One question I have is why the death of one or both parents is so common, especially in Disney stories. Hopefully I will find the answer in my research for this paper.

Teaching Multicultural Literature

The Dong article makes many good points about the importance of not only incorporating multicultural literature into the reading list, but also changing the way literature is taught. The issue of how to read, understand, and discuss multicultural literature has been important in both this and my other classes. Books like Copper Sun and Esperanza Rising present perspectives that are not usually found in many middle or high school classrooms.

Some answers as to why this might be are found in the article. One reason is that teachers tend to teach books they are familiar with. Most of the books in high school curriculums have been there for many years. Teachers tend to be more comfortable teaching material they were taught during their secondary education. With the introduction of new material, teachers are entering unknown territory and may have some doubts. As Dong points out, some teachers “wonder whether their students can handle racial and cultural issues with maturity and respect. They are afraid that the racial tension imbued in these works may divide rather than unite a class whose students are increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse.” Teachers don’t want to take the risk that conversations might be less than smooth and easy. They underestimate their students when they assume that they can’t handle more mature topics. However, adolescents benefit from reading literature by a variety of authors from different backgrounds. Multicultural literature exposes readers to new ways of thinking about history as well as the modern world.

In my Ethnic American Literature class, English 353, we’ve been reading from an anthology of Native American women’s poetry and short stories. This anthology provides a new perspective that we are unaccustomed to reading. In the same way, Copper Sun gives a young African’s point of view of the slave trade. Esperanza Rising provides the perspective of a young woman being forced to leave the comfort of her home in Mexico to come work in the United States. Both novels give us two different and enlightening views of our own country. By reading multicultural literature, we become aware of the views of people who are different from us. The knowledge we receive about differing perspectives can help us relate to people in our own society.