Black Lives Matter

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

I usually use this space to write about children’s books and there are a ton of them waiting for me to write about. But, I need to share about a new book, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates that I finally finished reading this week. Coates, a black man raised in Baltimore, writes a letter to his son about growing up black in America.

This book is so profoundly sad and profoundly hopeful that I recommend it to all. It gave me, as a white woman, a clearer picture of what it means to feel neglected by the schools, supposedly put in place to educate ALL children. Coates writes, “I was a curious boy, but the schools were not concerned with curiosity. The were concerned with compliance.” At the same time, he was faced with the violence of the streets of Baltimore.

He describes seeing a boy of about 12 being teased outside a convenience store. Looking frightened, the boy finally pulls back his coat to reveal a gun. The teasing stops and for that day, the boy does not use his gun. But, as a young boy himself when he witnesses this, Coates is confronted with the reality of gun violence in his own backyard.

He descries the beatings from his father over seemingly small infractions, and how both his parents reiterate, either he will be beaten by his father, or he will be beaten by the police. To keep their boy safe, they discipline heavily. While he recognizes that he was beaten out of love, Coates still tells his son he was raised in a hard family and he had to learn how to love his own son in a different way.

And Coates describes how he feels to know that police officers all around our country are getting away with killing unarmed black men. Without going into details about the Michael Brown case, he does say, “Michael Brown did not die as so many of his defenders supposed. And still the questions behind the questions are never asked. Should assaulting an officer of the state be a capital offense?”   So many of us are quick to judge, but if that were our son, our brother, our nephew would the answer be the same? While most accounts show that Brown was not innocent, did he deserve to die? Coates recounts several instances of similar injustices. His writing is more organized and more profound than mine so I hesitate to say too much here as I can only take away from what he has to say, not add to it.

My sadness comes in the aftermath of the riots in Baltimore last April, and with the knowledge that the schools and the streets of this beleaguered city have not changed much since Coates was a boy here in the 1980s. But, my hope comes from the fact that in spite of the poor schools and because of the persistence of his parents, Coates has grown into a eloquent and profound writer who can lead us to truly know one another. I am not sure if Coates’ intention in writing this letter to his son is to educate those of us lucky enough to be born white. Whether or not this is his intention, he has succeeded in helping me to see so many things more clearly.

For anyone who does not understand why “Black lives matter” is an important rallying cry that should not be diluted by, “All lives matter” I recommend that you read Between the World and Me and any of Coates’ writing you can lay your hands on. While we know intellectually that all lives do matter, we, as a nation, still do not live/act/believe that black lives do matter. Coates will help you see the truth of this by exposing his own fears for himself and for his son. No one should have to live in fear because of the color of his skin. As a nation and as a city, we can do better.

Picture books for fun in the fall

It's time to get back to blogging. Here are a plethora of books to read this fall, some more exciting than others. Be sure to comment on the post and you may be selected to receive a free book!

One Family by George Shannon, Pictures by Blanca Gomez

A counting book with a twist, from a family of one to a family of ten each page focuses on a different number, a different family and a few items to count. “One is five. One bunch of bananas. One hand of cards. One family.” Each family is represents different nationalities, hair color and skin tones, with some families clearly showing interracial and intergenerational groupings. A great concept book for those who are just beginning to develop one to one correspondence.

My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay

by Cari Best, Pictures by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Zulay is blind and walks with a cane. She tells her own story from her perspective and never vocalizes that she is blind. This is inferred through the use of the cane and the braille throughout the classroom and training she gets with her walking stick. In order to run in the race on field day, Zulay has to train on the track and feel comfortable moving forward without an adult to guide her. With practice, she succeeds. A few notes: Zulay is African American, her best friends are white, Asian and African American and the classroom where she goes to school is populated with brown, black and white children. While this refreshing to see, it unfortunately does not represent the majority of schools that kids attend in America today. Zulay is good in math, so while she needs help with moving around, she is able to help one of her friends who is not so good in math, a nice model for talking about kids with disabilities. Overall, this book is a great representation of how to write about a child with a disability without becoming overly sentimental or didactic.

Sleepless Knight by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold and Alexis Frederick-Frost

Told in the form of a comic book or short graphic novel, the sleepless Knight packs his bags for a camping trip, sure not to forget his favorite “Teddy.” But, after the adventure, setting up camp and gorging on marshmallows, he is unable to find Teddy. His trusty steed is sound asleep and no help at all, but a local rabbit leads him to a bear’s den knowing that the bear inside totally matches the description that the knight has given. Use your imagination to visualize the ending! The crude cartoony drawings would be simple to reproduce and the frontpiece gives simple directions for replicating the horse and the knight. Some jokes will go over the heads of the little ones reading the story, but will keep adults interested to the end.

Special Delivery by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Matthew Cordell

 Sadie is trying to deliver an elephant to her Great-Aunt Josephine “who lives almost completely alone and could really use the company.” Once she realizes it will not be possible to do this through the post office, she decides to try other methods of transportation, including a plane, an alligator, a train and an ice-cream truck. Through it all, the elephant follows blithely along. Cordell’s illustrations are pen and ink sketches with watercolor washes. While they look hastily done, the facial expressions and attention to detail are exquisite. Be sure to check out the elephant’s face as Sadie takes off in the airplane leaving her pilot friend behind! Stead’s work has previously been described as whimsical and this book fits that pattern. Sadie is determined to get the elephant to her Great-Aunt and does fulfill her goal.

Naptime with Theo and Beau by Jessica Shyba

Photos of two-year old Beau and the family’s new puppy Theo in multiple configurations and permutations are the bulk of this book. As Shyba explains in the endnotes, Theo started napping with Beau the day he was brought home from the shelter and has been doing so ever since. Simple text accompanies the pictures that will capture the hearts of young and old.

Orangutanka: A Story in Poems by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Renee Kurilla

A book of Tanka poems about orangutans, as explained in a forward. Tanka is a form of Japanese poetry that  follows a pattern of five lines that are short, long, short, long, long. A great way to introduce poetry to your child and then encourage them to write some Tanka poems. Who doesn’t love orangutans? More information on orangutans is also included in the end notes.

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

From the island of imaginary friends comes Beekle, the one who is never chosen. So Beekle sets out to find his child, the one who may be imagining him, but doesn’t know it yet. Searching through the streets and byways of New York city, Beekle finally finds Alice and they had many fine adventures together. The winner of the Caldecott Medal for 2015, Santat fills the pages with darkness and light, moving from the monochromatic sea and the inside of a subway car to the frenzied primary colors of an amusement park or maple tree in the fall with bright red leaves with an orb of yellow in the background. He turns the concept of an imaginary friend on its head and leaves us with a child who does the unimaginable.

Tractor Mac Series by Billy Steers

Tractor Mac is a personified bright red tractor with googly eyes in place of headlights. Throughout the series other characters make regular appearances like, Tucker Pickup, Fetch the dog, and Sibley the horse. Farmer Bill and his niece Daisy are the only humans to be given names, but they do not normally play a large part in any of the stories. Tractor Mac stories are written with a message: Even when you don’t win, you are still able to do good for others (You’re a Winner); Your real family consists of those you spend your days with (Family Reunion); Small steps can get a big job done (New Friend). With eight books already in the series and four more to come, these staid stories are appalling appealing to the four year old grandson.