Boy Meets Boy

Instead of just putting my whole questioning the text paper on Boy Meets Boy on here, I'll just sum up what I wrote about.

My main question was...

Do you think this book portrayed the characters as well rounded people as opposed to focusing on their sexuality and is this important in GLBTQ literature?

I talked a lot about how David Levithan (the author) did a good job presenting his audience with well rounded characters instead of just focusing on their sexual preference. I also brought up the fact that this book seemed a little unrealistic in my eyes. This kind of scene would never happen in my high school but I think it's a nice refresher to see that EVERYONE in this book is accepted for who they are, no matter what their sexuality may be. I think Levithan creates this society to show us how things can be.

I also focused on identity. This was part of creating well-rounded, relate-able characters. I feel like as children grow up they learn who they are as individuals and through that create their own identity. I think the main character Paul helped other characters, like Tony become more comfortable with who he is and in the end gave him courage to come out to his parents. I think this can also give the readers courage to stand up for themselves and feel comfortable in their own skin.

Overall, I think this was a good, refreshing book with a new outlook that really made me think about how our society views and treats GLBTQ people.

Confessions of a Closet Catholic

Acceptance is a major theme in the book Confessions of a Closet Catholic. Justine is eleven years old, going on twelve and couldn’t be more confused with who is she as an individual. She definitely doesn’t feel accepted by her family. “One thing that gets me mad about my family is that they never take me seriously. That’s just one thing. I made a list once of all the things that get me down about my family. It’s pretty long, but here’s the top five: 1) My mother loves my sister more than me. 2 My dad loves my brother more than me. 3) My mother loves her miniature poodle, Bijoux, more than me. 4) Mom is tall, thing, blond, and beautiful. (So is Helena. I got the short, brown and dumpy genes. Why?! 5) Nobody in my family takes me seriously” (Littman, 9). Most young girls this age are going through this exact identity stage. They don’t like who they are and they want to change it. Justine is almost jealous at the fact that her friend Mac is catholic. At one point in the book, her friend Mac had left a silver cross necklace at her house and instead of returning it back to Mac, Justine lied and said she didn’t see it. “I put on the necklace, and feel a familiar pang of guilt. I haven’t worked out if it’s because I lied to Mac or whenever I put it on, I picture the look on Bubbe’s face if she ever saw me wearing it” (Littman, 12). This is the point in the novel where it describes her ‘closet confessions.’ She confesses her sins in her dark closet with a teddy bear. She’s pretending to be someone she is not. “I pretend I look like a nun, instead of an eleven-going-on-twelve-year-old Jewish girl with a dinner napkin on her head” (Littman, 11).

Justine’s family is considered to be “twice a year” Jews. I have heard this term before and I consider myself to be a “twice a year” catholic. It’s interesting to hear Justine say that one of the reasons why she wants to be catholic is because “Catholic families are more normal than Jewish ones.” (Page 21). I don’t necessarily agree on any level with what she said, and I actually don’t think does either. She kind of contradicts herself later on by saying that, “There aren’t that many of my friends’ moms with whom I can imagine sitting around on my bed having hot chocolate and cookies. I can’t even imagine doing it with my mom, because I’d be so worried about spilling my drink or getting crumbs on the bedspread. But it seems cozy and natural doing it with Mrs. Weinstein and Shira” (Littman, 62-3). Well, if she can be this comfortable with Shira and her mother, why are Catholic families more normal?

I’m kind of glad the term “twice a year” Jew came up in this book. Not only can I relate to this term, but it also gives me more connections to the book. I am both, Catholic and Jewish because my mom is Catholic and my dad is Jewish. It has always been this way. I feel like I am both, a “twice a year” Catholic and “twice a year” Jew. But does this mean that I am not accepted into the church or synagogue less than everyone else? I don’t think so.

I think it’s hard for anyone to find their own identity and I think what Justine is going through is completely normal. She doesn’t feel comfortable with her religion or her family. The one person in her family that she is afraid to tell the truth about her feelings about religion is her Bubbe. And in the end, her Bubbe is the only one in her family that understands what she’s going through. “I decided to give up being Jewish for Lent” (Littman, 103). Her mother screams and yells back at her while her Bubbe stays calm and responds with, “‘Adele, leave her,’’It’s not such a big thing. All children go through a time of questioning. It’s natural. Actually, I think questioning is a sign of intelligence” (Littman, 103-4). It isn’t until the end of the book when she receives the Star of David necklace from her Bubbe that she feels accepted, whole and complete.

Coretta Scott King Award

Purpose –
The Coretta Scott King Award “promotes understanding and appreciation of the culture of all peoples and their contribution to the realization of the American dream.” This award “encourages the artistic expression of the African American experience” through the arts. This award was first designed to commemorate both the lives of and also work of both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King.

Selection Criteria –
Must portray some aspect of the African American experience, past, present, or future.

Must be written/illustrated by a African American.

Must be published in the U.S. in the year preceding presentation of the Award.

Must be original work

Must be written for a youth audience in one of the three categories:
Preschool–grade 4
Grades 5–8
Grades 9–12

Must meet established standards of quality writing for youth which include:
Clear plot
Well-drawn characters which portray growth and development during the course of the story
Writing style which is consistent with and suitable to the age intended
Accuracy

Particular attention will be paid to titles that seek to motivate readers to develop their own attitudes and behaviors as well as comprehend their personal duty and responsibility as citizens in a pluralistic society.

Illustrations should reflect established qualitative standards and
“heighten and extend the reader's awareness of the world around him. They should lead him to an appreciation of beauty. The style and content of the illustrations should be ... neither coy nor condescending ... Storytelling qualities should enlarge upon the story elements that were hinted at in the text and should include details that will awaken and strengthen the imagination of the reader and permit him to interpret the works and pictures in a manner unique to him.”—Cianciolo, Illustrations in Children's Books (p. 24.25)


Sponsor –
The Coretta Scott King Award was first established in 1969 and later in 1979 expanded to not only includes African American authors but also African American illustrators. The American Library Association (ALA) recognized this award in 1982. The other sponsors of this award include the Johnson Publications in Chicago, IL, the World Book, Encyclopedia Britannica and also Book Wholesalers (BWI).

Selection Committee Qualifications –
Members of the ALA may become a member of EMIERT (Ethnic Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table). Members generally include librarians, library employees or library organizations, and any individuals who are interested in supporting the work of EMIERT.

Present/Past Award Winners:
2007 Winner: Copper Sun by Sharon Draper
2007 Winner for Illustration: Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom Illustrated by Kadir Nelson written by Carole Boston Weatherford
1999 Winner for Illustration: i see the rhythm by Toyomi Igus, illustrated by Michele Wood
1998 Winner: Forged by Fire by Sharon Draper
1997 Winner: Slam! by Walter Dean Myers

Citing:
http://www.ala.org/ala/emiert/corettascottkingbookaward/corettascott.htm
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/coretta.html

Insider/Outsider Debate

These four articles that we read for this week were very interesting to say the least. Each author had a somewhat different perspective on multicultural literature which really opened up my eyes and realized how much multicultural literature can encompass. They all made very distinct, clear and informative points about multicultural literature and also the insider/outsider debate.

What I got out of reading these articles is that Harris and Sims Bishop focus on race when talking about what multicultural literature encompasses whereas Shannon says that focusing just on race is too limiting. Although, both Shannon and Harris make a statement explaining that culture and multiculturalism includes many things. "Culture is a design for living - ways of acting, believing, and valuing; it's a shared set of ideas, behaviors, discourses, and attitudes which internally and externally define a social group. Culture, then, is not limited to race because it includes, region, gender, language, ethnicity, economic class, and other social markers which can demarcate a social group from others" (Shannon, 68 CP). Harris goes on to talk more about what exactly multiculturalism encompasses. "I choose to focus on the multi-ethnic component, but I acknowledge and analyze nearly every group identified as multicultural. I state explicitly that multiculturalism incorporates several aspects of difference, (race/ethnicity, gender, class, sexual orientation, religion, language, geographic location, ect.)" (Harris, 78 CP).

I think that an insider author would give a different, in some cases, better approach to a story because they simply have lived the life of that character. On the other hand, Harris makes a good point. "They may not belong to the same ethnic group as the characters in the story, but may be in the same social economic status or have other connections with the characters. These connections enable them to engage in the story and empathize with the characters" (Harris, 92). I think it would be great for children to be able to pick up a book and be able to recognize a part of them in one of the characters. I believe that an insider author would be able to make these connections a little easier than outsider authors for the main fact that they have experience in the culture. Sims Bishop made a good point when she said "The reference to 'varying degrees of success' does forecast my conclusion that white writers frequently bring to their fiction about African-American culture as do writers who know it from the inside because it is the way they have been acculturated" (Sims Bishop, 73CP).

Overall, these articles just made me realize that maybe an insider author would have an upper hand when talking about multicultural literature.

Getting To Know Me

Hi Everyone. Sorry it has taken me forever to get this thing up and running. One piece of advice...Don't start your year off by being sick!!

Anywho...About Me! Well My name is Lauren Cooper and I am a senior majoring in Elementary Education with a concentration in Language Arts. My love in life is children, they always have been. I started working with kids when I was 11 years old by babysitting. I have worked with children in many environments, such as, working in a pre-school, daycare, nanny'ing, working at a camp...the list goes on. I can't wait to start student teaching next year!

What else is there to know about me?! I am extremely outgoing and love to have fun. I am constantly laughing or making others laugh. I am very much a girly-girl. I like to spend my time hanging out with my friends, going shopping, listening to music, watching tv and movies...of course that's all in my spare time when I'm not busy with school and teaching! This year I will be working in a third grade classroom at a school in Holt, which I am ecstatic about!! I start this Tuesday and couldn't be happier! I have worked with younger kids, like kindergarten and first grade so this should be a good change and also a challenge.

I look forward to reading most of the books in this class. The list seems pretty interesting and it definitely has diversity which I love.