GLBT Literature Overview

I have taken a particular interest in this subject because the issue hits very close to home for me. I have a family member that is lesbian and recently adopted a child. Due to my father’s attitude toward the gay community, we no longer have much connection with that side of the family. I think about the little girl quite often and can’t help but wonder what will happen once she starts school. As everyone knows, children are often relentless when it comes to bullying in school and anything that set’s someone apart in any way will be a target for ridicule. After reading the article, I feel that students would think twice about taunting a student with GLBT parents if they were told the truth about GLBT culture and realize that it is just another way of life. Growing up, I had never been told about the GLBT culture and did not really know what “being gay” meant and I feel children should be exposed to diverse literature at an early age.

Hero and Daddy’s Roommate are both Lambda Award Winners for Children/Youth Literature. The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans is not an award winner but unique in its own way. It incorporated gay and lesbian parents into a variety of fairytales that children are sure to enjoy. I feel that books such as The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans and Daddy’s Roommate are a great way to introduce the topic to younger students to this difficult topic. Unfortunately, the GLBT culture makes many people uncomfortable and as a result, the topic gets avoided all together. These two children’s book will expose children to the topic and help them to understand that “being gay” is just a way of life for some people.

Hero is an excellent book for older students to read and a great way to jumpstart a conversation about homosexuality. Although the main character in the book is gay, his emotions and experiences are something that almost everyone can relate to: finding oneself and being comfortable with who you are, desire for acceptance, and the constant chore of trying to live up to your parents standards. Moore does not seem to sugar coat anything in the novel and I was turned off to the book at first. However, I came to appreciate his bluntness and respected him for incorporating different aspects of the gay culture.

I was pleased at the amount of books that I was able to find relating to the GLBT topic and had a hard time choosing what books to include. Although there are numerous books written about this topic, locating the books was slightly harder. I had to order most of the books off the internet and was saddened at the fact that local book stores did not even carry the books. I look forward to reading more books by these authors and seeing what other authors have to offer.

Daddy’s Roommate – Michael Willhoite

This picture book is about a young boy whose parents get divorced and his father moves in with another man. The child does not really understand and his mother tells him that his father is gay. The author of this book, Michael Willhoite, a prolific author of children’s books dealing with the topic of GLBT, also wrote “Daddy’s Wedding”, and “Belinda’s Bouquet”. This is one of the first picture books to feature a gay dad and even after nearly two decades in publication, it is still among one of the most challenged books in the United States according to American Library Association. Personally, I found it to be an excellent piece of children’s diverse literature because it approaches the topic in a positive manner and the simplistic language and illustrations will engage younger children. Many of our course readings have argued that children need to have characters in literature that they can relate to and this book has that. This book presents the idea of gay parenting in a positive and accepting manner. The mother even explains that “being gay is just one more kind of love”. She does not try to him his sexuality and it upfront and honest with her son. “Books with gay and lesbian characters represent an aspect of the real world” (Schnall) and Daddy’s Roommate portrays being gay just another way of life. Gay parenting is a reality in this country and books such as this make it easier for parents to introduce GLBT issues.

The Duke Who Outlawed Jellybeans – Johnny Valentine

Johnny Valentine is another important author of books dealing with GLBT issues. In addition to this book, he has also written “The Day They Put a Tax on Rainbows”, “One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads”, and “The Daddy Machine”. This book is a collection of fairytales that not only address gay parenting, but also race and gender issues. For example, one character is not allowed to become an Eaglerider because she is a girl, and the illustrations show characters of different races. While the gay or lesbian parents do not play a huge part of the story lines in each tale, I see this as a positive aspect in regards to books for children. The readers should not be overwhelmed with the topic and subtlety is necessary when dealing with such a sensitive issue. Gay and lesbian parents are just a part of the story, not the story itself. A quote that I once read stated that being gay “… is a fact, and it must be defended and represented as a fact” (Levithan). The gay and lesbian characters in this book are presented in a positive manner and seem to be proud of who they are. They state their homosexuality as a fact of their identity and do not try to conceal it. The characters openness would help readers to understand that being gay is nothing to be ashamed of and is simply part of who they are. The idea that this book is a collection of fairytales will also help encourage students to read them.

Hero – Perry Moore

Perry Moore is best known for his work as executive producer of The Chronicles of Narnia. Hero is about Thom, a high school basketball star that does not quite fit in: he does not have many friends, his dad is a disgraced superhero, he has his own superpower that he wants to keep secret and, to top it off, he is gay. Since his father does not agree with superpowers or being gay, is forced to lead a double life. He tried to find who he really is, yet had to hide many aspects of himself from his father and peers in order to be accepted. Since Moore is gay himself, many of Thom’s experiences are based in part on things he went through when he was younger and his real life dad was inspiration for the father in the book. Although the plot is mainly fictional and seems to be a teen version of X-men, the struggles that the characters encounter are completely relatable. One article stated that “…gay and lesbian characters are frequently depicted as guilty, ashamed, bitter, desperately unhappy individuals…” (McLean). I agree that gay and lesbian characters need to be portrayed as comfortable with who they are and confident with their sexuality. Unfortunately, being embarrassed and ashamed is a harsh reality for many people today. The novel tells the story of Thom becoming comfortable with who he is and how he overcame his insecurities. All readers, gay or straight, will be able to relate to this book.

While I do find this to be a great piece of diverse literature, there are some things in my research that I do not agree with. This novel is a Lambda Award Winner for Children’s/Young Adult Literature. I feel it is very deserving of the award but age appropriateness is an issue. While the length of the book alone would stop me from placing it on an elementary classroom shelf, some of the content of the book is highly inappropriate for younger children. Students need a higher maturity level to truly appreciate the novel. Some other critiques of the book I also do not completely agree with. One critic stated, “Moore created a world that is painfully homophobic, one that may have been a reality several decades ago, but seems out of place today.” As much as I want this statement to be true, I truly feel that it is not. While I do think that today’s society has become more accepting of the GLBT culture, I strongly feel that we have a long way to go and, unfortunately, much of society is still “homophobic”. Although this is Moore’s first novel, it will not be his last. He is currently working on a sequel to Hero and a big screen version of the book is in the works.

Exploring Literature with Gay and Lesbian Characters in the Elementary School - Scholarly Article

The article describes how two teachers attempted to bring GLBT literature into their elementary classroom. Neither of the teachers are insiders to the issue, but they each seem to have a strong desire to expose children to diverse literature. I found this scholarly article particularly interesting because it described the positive outcomes that can result from presenting elementary students with GLBT literature. Unfortunately, educators rend to downplay, or more often, completely ignore controversial issues as a way of protecting their students. In reality, avoiding these topics, such as GLBT, does more harm than good. The article also emphasized that it is important to learn the perspectives and attitudes children have about these issues and not to guide their thoughts or correct their misconceptions. When the students were allowed to express their ideas about the term “gay”, the teachers realized that students used the term gay as an insult to how they dress or making fun of a person just for being different; the term was never used as a reference to their sexuality.

Introducing these subjects into the classroom can be a tricky task. Simply handing students diverse literature and telling them to read it is not an effective way exposing students to these issues. Educators must integrate the topic within the current curriculum. The teachers in the article brought us GLBT within the family and relationships unit and seemed to give the students something to connect with. After the students read these books, they were surprisingly open about the issue and could even identify with many of the characters because they had friends and relatives who were gay or lesbian. They didn’t see homosexuality as wrong, just different. Students do have knowledge of homosexuality and it is important for them to have accurate information. The longer students do without actually learning about the topic, the longer the students’ think of this literature as inappropriate and their attitudes toward GLBT characters (and even people in real life) remain the same.

Bookstore Experience

As everyone knows, we need to bring in some books dealing with out topic for our final project. Instead of just ordering them on-line, I decided to try some of the bookstores back home and around Lansing. Considering GLBT is a touchy subject, I did not expect to find them in the small bookstores back home but I wanted to give it a shot anyways. I didn't expect to find the books but I also wasn't expecting the reaction I got from the store owners. At the first store, I told the owner I was looking for a book titled, "Daddy's Roommate". She gave me a puzzled look and asked what genre is was and I replied that it was a children's book on the topic of GLBT. She gave a slight roll of the eyes and said "Oh. We don't have anything like that here", then just walked away. I got a similar reaction from the other bookstore I tried back home. He simply said "I don't carry books like that." The owners actually seemed offended that I would ask for such a book and made no attempt to provide me a way to find the books. I understand that it is a small town and I love it dearly, but sometime I feel that they need to join the 21st century.
I had a little more success when I tried some stores in Lansing. Although none of the stores had the books I was looking for, they all seemed willing to help me find them.
I also went to Everybody Reads to look at their selection of books and was so impressed by what I found. There were books for almost every issue and I gain so much respect for the store. If you haven't been there yet, I highly, highly recommend it.

Books by Celebs

It seems that every week, someone finds another outrageous book by some celebrity. To me, it seems most of these books only got published because the author was famous in one way or another. This got me to thinking that not all books by celebs can be bad and there has to be some good literature out there. In my search, I was surprised to find several books written by Maria Shriver that all got raving reviews. There were three book that I found with topics that some people might find helpful for their final project topic. "What's wrong with Timmy?"- helps guide a response when children notice that someone looks different. "What's heaven?- which gives families a staring point to discuss the difficult subject of death. And "What's happening to Grandpa?"- which touches on the subject of Alzheimer's Disease. All three books seemed to have great reviews (but I am unsure as to how reliable these reviewers are). It's good to know that will all the "no-so-good" literature out there by celebs, there is some good out there as well.

Article reflection

While I truly enjoyed the book, the articles from this week really got thinking about some things. Simi Linton's article on "Claiming Disability" was incredibly powerful. I knew that there are a lot of terms to refer to people with disabilities, but I never realized how many different connotations these words had. It made me realize that some words that I thought were more politically correct were actually slightly offensive. After reading the article, however, I was left slightly confused. I don't really know what terms are appropriate and I am now more self-conscious on the terms that I do use. According to the text, it seemed like all terms were slightly offensive in one way or another and now I really do not know what is ok and what is not.
The article on Children's Literature Collection also gave some great tips on books to use in the classroom. Rolling Along with Goldilocks and the Three Bears seems like it would be a great book to have in a lower elementary classroom. Since it is a story that the students would already be familiar with, I feel that they would be more receptive to the story and it might be able to grab their attention.

The Pura Belpre Award

When & Why it was Established:
It was established in 1996. It was established to give recognition to a Latino/Latina author/illustrator who excelled in the portrayed the Latin culture in a children’s book.
The Selection Criteria:
What books: books written about Latin culture
What authors: Latino/Latina authors
What illustrators are eligible? Latino/Latina authors

Who Sponsors this award:
This award is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children and the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking

Who is on the selection committee:
The selection committee is a group of six individuals throughout the country. Some of the selection committee was simply librarians from different states. One of the women was actually the Latino Children's Literature Consultant in California.

Examples of who has won:
• Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
o Gave an accurate portrayal of the Latin culture without using any stereotypes or bias to her culture. It was enjoyable and gave an insight to the Latin world, without throwing too much culture in your face
• Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida by Victor Martinez
o This book meets the criteria as it is written by a Latin author and gives an exciting and accurate portrayal of the culture. This book not only includes issues that only affect the Latin community, it covers problems that children/young adults of all cultures would face.
• First Day of Grapes by L. King Perez. Illustrated by Robert Casilla
o This book’s portrays the lifestyle and home life of a typical Latin family and the struggles of a young boy in his new town. This book describes the life of a migrant family and gives an accurate portrayal of the culture and its people.

Bronx Masquerade

This book was definitely not what i expected it to be, but I really enjoyed it and I think my future students would feel the same way. What i really liked about the book was the face that each student got to give their own story, and descriptions were not just given by other students. For example, Porscha was described as this crazy girl that will beat anything up that look at her wrong. But she is then given a chance to tell her side and find out that the story is a little bit different than people say. I think this is a great way to show students not to believe everything they hear and to not pass judgement so quickly. They will learn that every student has a voice.
I also liked the "Ain't I Fine" article. I never really stopped to think about different codes of communication. Ironically, I started reading "Sam and the Tiger" in my field placement the other day before reading this article. I was pleasantly surprised when this article talked about the book. I was only able to skim parts of the book, but it had very bright pictures and definitely grabbed my attention. I did happen to read the part about the sunglasses and I found it quite funny because his parents' comment is totally something that my parent would have said to me. My family is incredibly sarcastic and we joke around with eachother all the time. It was not until reading the article that this banter was actually a common African-American communication code known as signifying. Although neither I nor my family are African-American, I was able to relate that particular part of the story to my own ways of communicating to my family and helped me to enjoy the book even more.

Random

This completely unrelated to what we have been talking about but I did not know where else to write about this and figured since I had a blog, I might as well use it. I was watching TV last night and a commercial came on about registering to vote. With the election coming up, this wasn't surprising. However, the commercial separated voters by their racial classes. Pictures and images came across the screen that would say, "7 million African-Americans are not registered. 3 million Asian-Americans are not registered..." (these numbers aren't the accurate ones because I could not remember the real ones, but you get the idea). After the commercial ended, I was a little taken back by it. I was not necessarily offended by it, but I did not understand why they would divide people up in that manner. I could see if they divided it by age groups or something (ex. "18 million college students are not registered), but the racial division surprised me a little. Am I being over sensitive to the issue, or does someone else see this ad as a bit strange?

Insider/Outsider Debate

This is definitely a question without an easy answer. Before beginning this unit, I felt that the best (and most accurate) tales about other cultures were best told from an insider. They can contribute their personal life experiences and portray event from their perspective. As I thought more about the question, however, I am beginning to see the other side as well. Although "inside" authors avoid stereotypes of their culture, they might possibly support the generalization of another. If an author does their research about a particular culture and avoids these generalizations, there is nothing stopping an "outsider" from writing an excellent piece of multicultural literature. Unfortunately, many "outside"authors do not do this, making "insider" literature seem that much better.
Although all of the articles were enjoyable, I seemed to connect with the last artice by Cai the most. This article really got me thinging about multiculturalism in general, not just multicultural literature. I started thinking about what kind of things I will include in my classroom and became overwhelmed almost immedately. How can I tell superficial literature from more in-depth material? Children seem to love reading the superficial stuff, but should I not include it in my classroom simply because they do not deal with deeper cultural conflicts? I'm sure that these are not easy questions to answer but I really have no idea how to figure them out.

A little bit about me

Well Hello! My name is Stephanie Albrecht. I am a senior at Michigan State University and I am having the time of my life. I am majoring in elementary education with a focus in language arts. East Lansing and MSU's campus are the exact opposite of where I grew up and I love it. I love the people, the places, and everything the town has to offer. I'm a pretty busy girl but in my free time I love to watch movies and just hang out with friends. I have 3 older sisters that all live out of state. I do not get to see them very often and I miss them like crazy. I have met so many great people up here but they can never replace my friends and family back home.
After this year, I will officially be done with my under-graduate career, which is a terrifying concept to me. My student teaching will hopefully be in the Lansing area and I hope to a permanent teaching job somewhere in Michigan.