Comments on: On Reading: Whitewashed

By: Zetta Elliott

Zetta Elliott — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:11:51 +0000

@Tina: I agree, Tina–I couldn’t afford to buy books as a child, so the library was crucial for me…and there were maybe two books on the shelf that had children of color on the cover. Libraries are vital in promoting all kinds of diversity…

By: Zetta Elliott

Zetta Elliott — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:10:26 +0000

@Annette W: Thanks, Annette. Now that I live in Brooklyn, I often wonder who I might have become had I grown up in a diverse environment. In a way, I think Keats' depiction of the city led me here...

By: Tina

Tina — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:33:25 +0000

This is such a well-written article. I am so happy to read it. I think it’s not just about having ethnic characters or white characters in every novel, althoug we need more stories showing a variety of friends of different skin tones, but it’s about having a diverse set of stories in our libraries for children. We need stories about different countries, different regions, different people, different traditions, and so on. There should be no surprise when we get to heaven that there will be all colors represented.

Thanks for writing this piece. It’s wonderful.

By: Annette W

Annette W — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:25:09 +0000

Great thoughts. I notice when our books have a child of color…it’s too rare, unfortunately. And I was introduced to Keats when we got the Little Drummer Boy…and I did notice his dark skin, but thought it very appropriate, being around Jesus and all.

I will say that I also notice when books/cartoons/tv make a “rainbow” of characters.

I am thankful my children know people…and our friends… don’t just come in a peachy cream color…I didn’t know that for years. My school, public, didn’t have anyone different from me until high school.

By: Zetta Elliott

Zetta Elliott — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:59:24 +0000

Thanks for your comment, Dawn, and for your commitment to keeping classroom materials diverse. Thanks also to Jennifer for the opportunity to share my thoughts on this important topic. The marginalization of PoC in children’s literature is an uncomfortable topic for many, but future generations are relying on us to stand up for what’s right.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:31:22 +0000

Thanks so much for your essay here, Zetta. As a preschool teacher in a university lab school setting, year after year I had classes of students from all over the world, native speakers of a wide variety of languages, and I too often found it challenging, or practically impossible, on my library visits to find books that represented the definite diversity of my students. I appreciate you sharing your perspective here, and this is a topic that needs to continue to be talked about by those of us who want children’s literature (and all other genres as well) to represent and portray the many, many different people, cultures, lifestyles, and experiences of the world.

By: open society « Fledgling

open society « Fledgling — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 13:01:16 +0000

[...] but I’m grateful that some bloggers work by a code of decency and civility. Stop by 5 Minutes for Books; I was asked to contribute a guest post on race and representation. You can find another great [...]