#ReadYourWorld: Celebrating Children, Diversity and Humanity
“Our mission is to not only raise awareness for the kid’s books
that celebrate diversity, but to get more of these of books into classrooms and
libraries.”
Hello,
everyone. Ms. Brigid here, from Merit School of Music in Chicago, IL. Thank you for joining me. I’m starting off 2015 by promoting
books and multicultural literacy through the 2nd annual Multicultural
Children’s Book Day (MCCBD), #ReadYourWorld.
Co-founders Valerie Budayr from Jump Into a Book, and
Mia Wenjen, from Pragmatic
Mom write, “Despite census data that shows 37% of the US
population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published
have diversity content. (We’re) on a mission to change all of that….to not only
raise awareness for the kid’s books that celebrate diversity, but to get more
of these types of books into classrooms and libraries....Our
young readers need to see themselves within the pages of a book and experience
other cultures, languages, traditions and religions within the pages of a book.”
Young readers won’t find access to these books,
however without adult help – from parents, caregivers, teachers, librarians and
booklovers - and bloggers! That’s where I come in. I’m one of over 150 bloggers writing posts on a multicultural
book this month! On January 27, 2015,
all contributing bloggers – and their book reviews – will be linked together on
the MCCBD site for a multi-faceted gala reveal.
MCCBD is
also partnering with First
Book to create a Virtual
Book Drive for the event, and with The Children’s Book Council to offer readers quality resources. Be there or be ☐. No worries, however, the
resource will be archived on the MCCBD website for all eternity…or until the
internet ends, whichever comes first!
I was delighted to be matched
with Meera Sriram, an author born and raised in India, now living in the U.S. In
our introductory emails, Meera wrote, “When I decided to
follow my heart and start writing for children, I really wanted to address the
void in the children's literature scene in India. I now have four books
published in India.” The book she chose to share was Dinaben and the Lions of Gir, co-authored by
Praba Ram. http://www.tulikabooksusa.com/Dinaben-and-the-Lions-of-Gir-978-81-8146-761-4.htm.
The book opens a window into the world of the
Maldhari community of Gujarat, India, some of who live in the Gir Forest. A bit
of backstory may be helpful: The Gir Forest is famous for being sole remaining
habitat for the Asiatic
lion, and the Gir
Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary were established for their protection.
No human activity is allowed in the National Park, and only the Maldhari, famous
for their dairy farming, are allowed to graze their cattle in the adjacent
Wildlife Sanctuary. The Maldhari and the lions have coexisted for centuries,
but the existence of both is challenged by other complex
issues.
In the first part of the book, the reader is
introduced to Dinaben and the world she occupies. Standing in her house between
suspended silver-colored water vessels, the richness of her clothing, and the
textiles of other Maldharis shown on the next page, stands in stark contrast to
a modest way of life.
Dinaben’s village is in the middle of the Gir
Forest, home to a vast array of plants, birds and animals – including lions!
The domestic cows and buffalos of the villagers also graze in the Gir. This can
cause problems: “Sometimes, there are accidents among animals and humans. Generally,
the Maldharis do not trouble the animals in the forest. They are busy with
their work.”
The last part of the book looks closer at what
Dinaben does during her day whlle her husband is busy with their cattle.
Dinaben also is responsible for churning
butter, making curd from milk, and making ghee, similar to clarified
butter. Her husband, as is the
custom, takes these products to sell. The book ends, "The Gir is Dinaben's home. It also belongs to the lions. So, let us help protect the forest."
What I liked:
-The book sheds light on a part of the world
and a way of life very different than what is generally known in the U.S. It is
also shows how rural people live and work (dairy farming) in relatable terms
for young children – with the additional bonus of lions in the neighborhood!
-The book’s photos document a wide variety of
animals and birds, most of them uncommon to North America.
-Text is straight-forward and bi-lingual. The
book I received had Tamil and English text, but is available in multiple languages,
including Hindi, Telugu, Gujarati, and others.
-Many pages include a charming line drawing of
a playful young lion, which adds a touch of whimsy to an otherwise strict,
non-fiction presentation.
-The “More about lions” at the end of the book,
offers kid-friendly information on lions in general, and clearly describes the
differences between Asiatic and African Lions.
What
I would have liked:
-More connection between the two stories.
-The development of a clearer message. The
ending, “….let us help protect the forest.” gives no clear directive or action
plan.
-People-animal conflict is alluded to, but in
vague terms. The photos could better support the text, “Sometimes, there are
accidents among animals and humans.” I can imagine the authors wanting to be
sensitive on this subject, given that the book is written for children 4+-6
years old. More information for the adult reader (me) would have been helpful,
perhaps as an afterword. That being said, the book is written for children
living in India, so perhaps the adults reading it there are already well
informed about Gir, the lions, and the Maldhari, in a way that I wasn’t.
-More, and larger photos of Dinaben and Maldhari
life. Captions of what is portrayed would have been helpful.
-I would like to know more about Dinaben – how
she felt about her life, the lions, or what gave her pleasure.
After I finished reading the
book, I wondered about what Dinaben wondered,
e.g., what did she think about her family, her life, and the lions. What
inspired her exquisite textile work? It also made me curious about the Asiatic lions, the Maldhari, and the
resettlement of families that took place when the preserve was created. I spent
hours searching the internet for articles and images on both subjects. Final
verdict: The book made me care about Dinaben and prompted me to go on a further
journey. I would share it with young children.
Connections:
Many ideas for pre-K and K family
and classroom connections come to mind. Some of the following activities were
suggested by my friend, Allison Ashley, who teaches at Covenant Nursery School.
1. Make butter.
2. Bring in ghee – widely available in grocery stores – and serve
it with crackers.
3. Explore lion lore, using the book’s “More about lions” pages. Play Saint Saen’s “The Royal March of the Lion”
from Carnival of the Animals, and invite the children to move like
lions, with the occasional “roar” thrown in.
4. Provide paper, glue, and brightly colored tissue paper for children
to make their own artwork inspired by Dinaben’s appliqué and stitched textile.
Talk about geometric and organic shapes, repeated patterns. Invite the children
to include family pets in their compositions.
5. Share Indian “nursery rhymes” or simple songs. Mama Lisa’s World is
a great place to start.
Day by day, more bloggers are
publishing their reviews, which can be found on MCCBD ‘s Twitter (https://twitter.com/MCChildsBookDay) or Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/MulticulturalChildrensBookDay). These links will not
work if you do not have an account. More information can be found on
MCCBD’s
paper.li, https://paper.li/MCChildsBookDay/1419776073#, an intriguing, new
(yes, another new thing) social media platform.
Multicultural
Children’s Books Day would not be possible without the help of MCCBD’s 2015 Sponsors:
- Platinum Sponsors: Wisdom Tales Press, Daybreak Press Global Bookshop,
- Gold Sponsors: Satya House, MulticulturalKids.com, Author Stephen Hodges and the Magic Poof,
- Silver Sponsors: Junior Library Guild, Capstone Publishing, Lee and Low Books, The Omnibus Publishing.
- Bronze Sponsors: Double Dutch Dolls, Bliss Group Books, Snuggle with Picture Books Publishing, Rainbow Books, Author FeliciaCapers, Chronicle Books, Muslim Writers Publishing, East West Discovery Press.
I am continually inspired by
The Children’s Music Network (CMN)
community. an international group of socially conscious musicians, educators,
librarians, families, songwriters and good people, who “celebrate the positive
power of music in the lives of children by sharing songs, exchanging ideas, and
creating community.” Please visit CMN, and find a gathering in your region.
©2015 Brigid Finucane *
847-213-0713 * gardengoddess1@comcast.net
http://prekandksharing.blogspot.com
http://brigidfinucane.blogspot.com
@booksinger1
BLOG HISTORY
Love the lions - thanks for sharing this wealth of information about a program of which I was unaware, Brigid!
ReplyDeleteCarole Stephens
Macaroni Soup!
Stay tuned, and follow the MCCBL link on the big day - January 27! It's going to be exciting!
ReplyDeleteWonderful blog as always Brigid. I had heard of the Gir forest but knew nothing tangible about it...wonderful to learn!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joanie. I encountered Maldhari (Rabari) in India while visiting Pushkar. The issue of displacement/resettlement is not at all resolved.
DeleteWhen I was a children's librarian 1965-74 we began to address the lack of diversity in the children's books available to us. It looks like things haven't improved much.
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing, Nancy. It's startling when one looks at the statistics, but they don't tell the whole story. There are LOTS more resources available now telling stories of those whose voices were silent...and MCCBD is doing a great job highlighting those who are "writing the change."
Deletehttp://prekandksharing.blogspot.in/2015/01/multicultural-childrens-book-day-lions.html
ReplyDeleteWow! What a wonderful story! I'll definitely look up this book for my boys!
ReplyDelete