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Pushing Boundaries on Children's Literature: An Introduction to Crossover Picturebooks

1/19/2021

 

BY MEGHAN VALERIO & WILLIAM BINTZ

Recently, I (William) introduced crossover picturebooks in a graduate literacy course to students pursuing a reading specialization Master’s degree. All students were practicing teachers ranging from elementary through high school. Each week, I read aloud a crossover picturebook to introduce the class session. Selected picturebooks dealt with themes including death and dying, divorce, suicide, mental illness, physical disability, parent-child separation, and other life-changing and impactful events. One example is Dragon by Gro Dahle (2018). It tells the story of Lilli,  a young girl who is a child abuse victim by her mother.  Lilli regards her mother as a dragon because she is explosive, hot-tempered, and abusive. After reading, I invited students to share their questions and reactions to crossover picturebooks. Three questions and one reaction were particularly illustrative:
Book Cover: The Dragon
  • ​​Why did the author write a picturebook on this controversial topic? 
  • Who is the intended audience for this book?
  • What tensions or repercussions might teachers face if they read this type of picturebook?​
  • I had no idea these kinds of picturebooks existed. I feel a little conflicted. Teaching these kinds of books makes me nervous, but I’m excited to know more about them.
These responses inspired this blog post. They revealed teachers may not know much about crossover literature but are curious to know more about it.    

What are Crossover Picturebooks?

Crossover literature, or texts written for dual-aged audiences, is not a new genre, as many books could be considered crossover already. While picturebooks specifically might be enjoyed by both children and adults, crossover picturebooks, a subset of crossover literature, are written and illustrated intentionally for both children and adults, breaking conventional assumptions that books are intended for one age group (Falconer, 2008; Harju, 2009, Rosen, 1997).  Crossover authors communicate purposeful messages to both audiences equally (Harju, 2009). Narratives then are considered ageless and timeless, often portraying issues that might be deemed controversial including death, verbal and physical abuse, and divorce.

In a world where in-person and online book shopping and borrowing is organized by genre and age, this makes these “ageless” books complex. Consider first an adult purchasing a picturebook for themselves, and on the flip side, encouraging a child to purchase a book about abuse. Both instances could be questionable, even alarming to some. 

While there are truly designated texts for children, like aesthetic and sensory appealing babybooks (Kümmerling-Meibauer, 2015), crossover picturebooks defy traditional book categorizing norms, causing anyone interested to rethink what counts as children’s literature vs. adult. 

Children’s literature though is written and published by adults for children (Rosen, 1997). So really, is there such a thing as a true children’s book if the text isn’t written by children at all?

What Concerns Does This Raise?

Currently, we are conducting research on crossover picturebooks. Specifically, we are exploring teacher concerns on using this literature in the classroom. Based on this research, two major findings indicate that many K-12 teachers worry about the following issues:
FINDING
EXAMPLE
Feel uncomfortable with the idea of using literature, like crossover picturebooks, to teach controversial issues.
“I struggle with the idea of using literature to teach controversial topics.  Mostly it is because I want to teach in elementary, and you combine that and ESL learners and all the extra culture and language barriers and it could be very difficult” (elementary teacher)
Feel pressure from a variety of stakeholders.
“I will face a lot of pressure to use literature like this. Using these books to teach will put me in big trouble with the whole community members” (elementary teacher)
These concerns, and many others like them, are real for teachers. Traditionally, children’s literature is to be enjoyable not uncomfortable, entertaining not controversial. Crossover literature invites a different perspective and pushes the envelope on censorship and what constitutes taboo topics in classrooms. To help explore this further, we recommend the following resources. These resources include picturebooks and professional literature that have pushed our thinking about crossover literature. We hope they will push yours.

Picturebooks

  • Beaty, D. (2013). Knock Knock. New York: Little, Brown Books.
  • Dahle, G. (2019). Angry Man. New York: NorthSouth Books.
  • Erlbruch, W. (2016). Death, Duck and the Tulip. Auckland, NZ: Gecko Press. 
  • Fortes, A. (2008). Smoke. Pontevedra, Spain: OQO Books.
  • Garland, S. (1994). I Never Knew Your Name. New York: Ticknor & Fields. 
  • Gleeson, L. (2011). I am Thomas. Crows Nest, AU: Allen & Unwin.
  • Greder, A (2020). Diamonds. Crows Nest, AU: Allen & Unwin. 
  • Hathorn, L. (1994). Way Home. New York: Knopf Books. 
  • Lanthier, J. (2012). The Stamp Collector. Ontario, Canada: Fitzhenry & Whiteside. 
  • Marsden,, J. (2008). Home and Away. Sydney, AU: Lothian.
  • Ouimet, D. (2019). I Go Quiet. New York: Norton Young Readers.  
  • Ringtved, G. (2016). Cry, Heart, But Never Break. Enchanted Lion Books. 
  • Tan, S. (2003). The Red Tree. Sydney, AU: Lothian. 
  • Taylor, C. (1992). The House that Crack Built. Chronicle Books.   
  • Woodson, J. (2002). Our Gracie Aunt. New York: Jump at the Sun. ​​

Professional Literature

  • Evans, J. (2015). Challenging and controversial picturebooks: Creative and critical responses to visual texts. London, UK: Routledge. 
  • Druker, E., & Kummerling-Meibauer, B. (Eds.) (2015). Children’s literature and the avant-garde. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. 
  • Beckett, S. (2011). Crossover picturebooks: A genre for all ages. London, UK: Routledge.
  • Falconer, R. (2008). The Crossover Novel: Contemporary Children’s Fiction and its Adult Readership. London, UK: Routledge.
  • Kummerling-Meibauer, B. (2014). Picturebooks: Representation and narration. London, UK: Routledge.
  • Beckett, S. (1999). Transcending Boundaries: Writing for a Dual Audience of Children and Adults. Shrewsbury, MA: Garland Publishing.​

Editorial Note:
Valerio and Bintz will contribute a follow-up post next week. The next entry dives deeper into exploring Crossover Picturebooks by looking closely at one such book, discussing the benefits of using crossover picturebooks, and inviting a new possible stance on curriculum

References

Bishop, R.S. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom, 6 (3). 
Falconer, R. (2008). The Crossover Novel: Contemporary Children’s Fiction and Its Adult Readership. London, UK: Routledge. 
Harju, M.L. (2009). Tove Jansson and the crossover continuum. The Lion and the Unicorn, 33(3), 362-375. 
Kümmerling-Meibauer, B. (2015). From baby books to picturebooks for adults: European picturebooks to the new millennium. Word & Image, 31 (3), 249-264.
Rosen, J. (1997). Breaking the age barrier. Publishers Weekly. 243 (6).
Meghan Valerio is a doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction with a Literacy emphasis at Kent State University. Meghan’s research interests include investigating literacy and cognitive development from a critical literacy perspective, centering curricula to understand reading as a transactional process, and exploring pre- and in-service teacher perspectives in order to enhance literacy instructional practices and experiences.

William Bintz​ is
Professor of Literacy Education in the School of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum Studies at Kent State University. His professional interests include the picturebook as object of study, literature across the curriculum K-12, and collaborative qualitative literacy research. 

Supporting Visual Literacy with Born to Ride: A Story About Bicycle Face

9/29/2020

 

BY JENNIFER SUMMERLIN

Book cover: Born to Ride
The Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Committee (NCBLA) read and reflected on over 400 of the newest books (published in 2019) for readers in grades K-8. Committee members considered the following qualities for choosing the final 30 titles to make the NCBLA Notables 2020 list:
  1. appealing format,
  2. enduring quality,
  3. exemplary genre criteria,
  4. unique language, and
  5. encouraging active participation and engagement.
This post will feature one historical fiction picture book included in the 2020 Notables list, Born to Ride: A Story About Bicycle Face, written by Larissa Theule and illustrated by Kelsey Garrity-Riley. 


I will start by providing a brief summary, followed by corresponding primary source images and instructional strategies for maximizing text and supporting visual literacy. Coupling quality historical fiction texts with visual primary sources like infographics, charts, graphs, photographs, illustrations, or political cartoons affords opportunities to critically explore and unpack images, while building background knowledge and making connections to the text (Lent, 2016; Harris, 2010). 
​
Summary

This beautiful picture book features one strong-willed young girl, Louisa Belinda Bellflower, determined to learn to ride a bicycle. This story, set in Rochester, New York in 1896, tells of a brother and sister (Louisa and Joe) who, like other siblings, play and disagree. Although typical siblings, the difference is the topics of their disagreements, which tend to focus on the things boys can do that girls cannot. Louisa is discouraged from wearing anything other than a dress, limiting her ability to do cartwheels or learning to ride a bicycle (also off limits for girls). Louisa is determined to ride a bike, even if it means contracting “bicycle face,” a permanent result of scrunching your face and bulging your eyes while trying to balance the bike. Louisa Belinda Bellflower will not be stopped as she works to prove to her brother and boys everywhere that girls can and should ride a bicycle. 


Primary Visual Source

The Library of Congress website features a variety of visual primary sources depicting women as a collective part of the late 19th century bicycle frenzy. The bicycle, commonly referred to as the wheel, was an instrumental vehicle of progress for the women’s movement and their fight for voting rights. Globally, women began riding bicycles, finding new freedom in their mobility. With this increased transportation came a greater public presence of women, allowing increased likelihood of their voices to be heard. 

​Two primary visual sources are: The “new” woman and her bicycle by Frederick Burr Opper and Woman in a room with a bicycle saying to a man and child, “Sew on your own buttons, I’m going for a ride” photographer unknown. ​


Primary Visual Source: The “new” woman and her bicycle

Image of
Website:  https://www.loc.gov/item/2012648801/ 
Title: The “new” woman and her bicycle
By: Frederick Burr Opper
Publisher: NY: Keppler & Schwazmann, 1895 
    June 19.

Summary: 
This cartoon was printed on the back cover of the Puck magazine (v. 37, no. 954). The “new woman” stands at the center. The three mice at her feet demonstrate her new strength and lack of fear. This is in contrast to the smaller scene of the older woman in the bottom right-hand corner who stands on a chair at the sight of mice. The “new woman” is surrounded by a variety of women of all ages demonstrating the usefulness and freedom of increased mobility the bicycle provided.

Questions for Analysis:
  • What do you notice about the woman at the center of the picture?
  • Why do you think she is standing that way? What might her posture convey?
  • What do you notice about the surrounding vignettes?
  • At the bottom of the picture it says, “THE ‘NEW WOMAN’ AND HER BICYCLE—THERE WILL BE SEVERAL VARIETIES OF HER.” What do you think this means? Why do you think the illustrator would choose to say there would be “several varieties of her”?
​Text Connection:
Revisit the two-page spread immediately following the dedication page. ​​
Book illustration: village with cyclists
Ask students what they notice about this two-page spread.  The illustrations show men riding their bicycles, while the women and children were confined to their homes. Discuss connections between the two-page spread and the cartoon of the “new woman.” Text illustrations depict the various ways the bicycle assists with the men’s daily work.
​

End this discussion by asking the students to share their observations from the final two-page spread positioned right before the author’s note. The illustration mirrors the cartoon, but features women doing all of the same things the men can do with the assistance of a bicycle. Finally, ask the students what message they believe the cartoonist is trying to convey. 
Book illustration: village with cyclists
Ask the students how they think the illustrator came to create both of these two-page spreads. This allows an opportunity for shifting the discussion toward the time spent researching to develop a well-written and illustrated, accurate, and authentic historical fiction. ​​

Primary Visual Source: Woman in a room with a bicycle saying to a man and child, “Sew on your own buttons, I’m going for a ride”

Photograph: woman with bicycle
Website: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3a50886/
Title: Woman in a room with a bicycle saying to a man and child, “Sew on your own buttons, I’m going for a ride.”
By: Unknown
Date Created/Published: 1899, Stereo Copyrighted B. L. Singley

Summary: This printed photograph was doubled and placed on cardboard to create a stereo card for a stereograph machine. A stereograph machine was used to make pictures look three dimensional, similar to an old-fashioned view-master. To learn more about the stereograph, view the video at the What is a Stereograph?  webpage of Middlebury College's Museum of Art.

The image on the photograph is of a woman standing in her home with her bicycle beside her. Looking closely, you see she is gesturing for a little boy to take a piece of fabric or clothing from her. Art critics suggest the picture seems staged because the bicycle being held by the woman is very large and does not have the lower crossbar that is typical of a woman’s bicycle. Notice that the woman’s attire in the picture does not support riding a bicycle. However, as more women began using bicycles for transportation, changes in clothing, such as bloomers, allowed them to ride comfortably. Prior to these changes in clothing styles, women were pictured seated sideways to accommodate their long dresses.
​

Questions for Analysis:
  • How is this photograph different from the cartoon of the “new woman”?
  • What do the differences tell us about this photograph? What can we infer about the picture based on the differences?
  • What do you notice about the woman in this picture? Who, do you think, is the boy in the picture? Explain your thinking using specific details from the photograph to support your ideas.
  • What do you notice about how this woman is standing? What might her body language convey?
  • At the bottom of this photograph it says, “#332—“Sew on your own buttons, I’m going for a ride.” What does this caption reveal about the photograph?
  • How might the photographer feel about women’s inclusion in the riding movement? Explain your thinking.
  • Based on the photographer’s perception, who do you think might have taken the picture? Why?
Text Connection:
Revisit Born to Ride: A Story About Bicycle Face with students. Before rereading, ask the students to pay close attention to what the women are doing throughout the book. After reading, discuss all of the things the women are doing from the beginning to the end of the text. Begin a conversation about why there might be concern and discouragement from others (men and women) when it comes to women riding bicycles. Ask the students what connections they can make between the photograph and the text. To wrap up the conversation, ask students about potential origins of the “Bicycle Face” affliction. Share the author’s note, “About Bicycle Face” and “From Bicycles to Votes.” To conclude the session, have students work in pairs to complete T-Charts, transcribing their learnings with specific, supporting evidences.

References

​(ca. 1899) Woman in a room with a bicycle saying to a man and child, "Sew on your own buttons, I'm going for a ride"., ca. 1899. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2006683468/.

Harris, B.R. (2010). Blurring borders, visualizing connections: Aligning information and visual literacy learning outcomes. Reference Services Review, 38(4), 523-535. doi: 10.1108/00907321011090700 

Lent, R. C. (2016). This is disciplinary literacy: Reading, writing, thinking and doing…Content Area by Content Area. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin SAGE Publications.

Opper, F. B. (1895) The "new woman" and her bicycle - there will be several varieties of her / F. Opper. , 1895. N.Y.: Published by Keppler & Schwarzmann. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2012648801/.

Theule, L. (2019). Born to ride: A story about bicycle face. New York, NY: Abrams Books for Young Readers.
​Jennifer Summerlin is an Assistant Professor of Reading at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her research examines construction of knowledge among preservice teacher candidates, supporting literacy best practices within the P-12 classroom, and reading intervention. Jennifer is a member of the 2019 Notables Committee. She can be reached at jsummerl@uab.edu.

Educational Resources for Coretta Scott King Award-Winning Titles

5/7/2020

 

SUSAN POLOS

While there are many lists of award-winning books for young people online, there’s only one list of award-winning books that I know of that includes a discussion guide for each title: The Coretta Scott King (CSK) Book Awards.

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are awarded each year to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books that celebrate the African American experience. For more details about the history of the award, watch the embedded video produced by the Los Angeles Public Library. Coretta Scott King Book Awards jury members create discussion guides for these books, which are available online as educational resources.

The History of the Coretta Scott King Awards, Los Angeles Public Library
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards is an initiative under the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT) of the American Library Association (ALA). CSK Immediate Past-President Dr. Claudette McLinn notes that the Discussion Guides have been created since 2000, and currently all Discussion Guides from 2009 to 2019  are available on the CSK website.

Each Discussion Guide includes summaries, activities and discussion questions, as well as related CSK titles for that year’s CSK Author Award, CSK Author Honor Awards, CSK Illustrator Award, CSK Illustrator Honor Awards, and Steptoe Awards for New Talent (Author and Illustrator), as well as information about the year’s Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

Out of Wonder

For example, Ekua Holmes won the 2018 CSK Illustrator Award. That year’s Discussion Guide suggests an activity for Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets (written by Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth and illustrated by Ekua Holmes, Candlewick Press) that involves creating a collage and then writing a poem, as well as another activity requiring research. These projects can be as simple or complex as one chooses to make them.
Link to the CSK Book Awards 2018 Discussion Guide
From the CSK Book Awards 2018 Discussion Guide

Crown

For 2018 CSK Author and Illustrator Honor book Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut (written by Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Gordon C. James, a Denene Millner Book, published by Bolden, an Agate Imprint), a suggested activity is sharing a story of an “experience that made you feel special, valued, and ‘ready to take on the world.’” Other books listed allow readers to then compare and contrast Crown to similar books that also won CSK book awards.
Link to the CSK Book Awards 2018 Discussion Guide
From the CSK Book Awards 2018 Discussion Guide
The CSK Discussion Guides are not the only educational resources available on the CSK website. There are also resources from publishers (Lee and Low) and a link to TeachingBooks.net, a curricular resource for teaching young people’s literature. TeachingBooks was founded by Nick Glass, who is also a member of the CSK Book Awards Executive Committee and Chair of the CSK Membership Committee.

It’s worth noting that Glass is offering TeachingBooks’ “Book and Reading Engagement Kit: Home Edition” for free until September 15 for remote learning. TeachingBooks offers many resources for all CSK Award-winning titles, and these are included in the engagement kit.  The resources include original material, interviews, audiobook excerpts, pronunciation guides, interviews and book trailers.

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards website offers a wealth of online material for teaching even beyond the stated educational resources. Whether simply looking through the list of award winning books or reading about the history of the CSK Book Awards, there is so much to learn. And although the 2020 CSK Book Discussion Guide is not yet posted (as a jury member, I contributed to it and look forward to seeing it online), perhaps students might create their own guides to one of the winning titles, like New Kid by Jerry Craft (2020 CSK Author winner) or The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Kadir Nelson (2020 CSK Illustrator winner)

Editorial Note to CLA Members

In June 2019, the CLA Student Committee organized a Webinar featuring Jonda McNair titled 50 and Fabulous: The Coretta Scott King Book Award. The Webinar is part of CLA's library of Members-Only Content.

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