Category: Professional Resources

Crossover Picturebooks: An Invitation to Shift Perspective and Think Differently About Childhood, Children’s Literature, and Curriculum

1/26/2021

By: William Bintz & Meghan Valerio

Picture books are for everybody at any age, not books to be left behind as we grow older. (Anthony Browne, 2019)

Diamonds (Greder, 2020) tells the story of Carolina, a young, White girl, curious about Mama’s new diamond earrings. She asks, How much do they cost? Mama doesn’t know, just a loving gift from her uncle. Where do diamonds come from? Mama doesn’t know, but thinks Africa. Carolina wonders why Amina, their maid, has no diamonds. After all, she comes from Africa. Mama quickly ends her questioning and leaves for an elaborate party. That night, Carolina dreams of Amina digging in a diamond mine, surrounded by intimidating gun-toting men who mistreat the miners. She also dreams, illustrated through a chronology of vivid black-and-white scenes, the journey of diamonds, progressing through a variety of people who take their profit slice. Then, the diamond earrings appear in Mama’s hands. Finally, Carolina awakens, crying, as if from a nightmare, but is comforted by Amina, not Mama.

This intriguing diamond industry story depicts the controversial journey of diamonds from source to customer, including the appalling conditions, black market, and blind ignorance of customers rich enough to purchase them. It is a disturbing and evocative depiction of how the diamond industry, historically and contemporaneously, feeds an insatiable appetite for diamonds, and in the process, also perpetuates inequality, conflict, and corruption. Metaphorically, this visually unsettling book removes the sparkle from diamonds.

Diamonds (Greder, 2020) is not a novel, short story, nor poem. It is a picturebook, with approximately 32 pages, minimal text (195 words), and single and double-spread illustrations. It is not, however, a traditional picturebook – it is a crossover picturebook (see Table 1 for more examples).

Crossover Picturebooks

Crossover picturebooks is a category of books that operate simultaneously in two age systems, child and adult (Shavit, 1986). These books are referred to as “dual audience books” (Falconer, 2008), “all-age books” (Evans, 2015, p. 10), “bridge books” (Rosen, 1997), and “kiddult” texts (Falconer, 2008). Harju (2012) captures a fundamental difference between traditional and crossover picturebooks:

Traditional reading boundaries exclude, segregating readers into distinct camps (e.g. literature for children vs. literature for adults). Crossover picturebooks, alternatively, offer an open invitation to story, attracting readers of all ages by reflecting a continuum of experience between child and adulthood (p.17).

Our first blog entry on January 19, 2021 acknowledged concerns over reading books on challenging or controversial ageless topics. There are, however, benefits to using these boundless texts.

Table 1. Crossover Picturebooks

Beaty, D. (2013). Knock knock: My dad’s dream for me. Little Brown Books.
Bunting, E. (2001). Riding the tiger. Clarion.
Disalvo-Ryan, D. (1997). Uncle Willie and the soup kitchen. Harper Collins.
Erlbruch, W. (2016). Duck, death, and the tulip. Gecko Press.
De Haan, 2003). King and king. Tricycle Press.
Franklin (2017). My daddy sleeps everywhere. Lionheart.
Hathorn, L. (1994). Way home. Knopf.
Laminack, L. (2018). The sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins. Peachtree.
Ringtved, G. (2016). Cry, heart, but never break. Enchanted Lion.
Tan, S. (2003). The red tree. Lothian.
Vigna, J. (1998). I wish daddy didn’t drink so much. Albert Whitman.

Benefits of Crossover Picturebooks

Crossover picturebooks invite teachers to shift perspectives and think differently about the nature of childhood and the purpose of curriculum.

In terms of childhood, crossover picturebooks posit that teachers Never Read Down, Always Read Up to children. Reading down sees the child as innocent and in need of protection; reading up sees the child as capable of understanding sophisticated topics (Dressang & Kotrla, 2009). Reading down suggests that limiting or eliminating access to controversial issues protects the innocence of children; reading up conceives the danger of withholding information from youth as exceeding the danger of providing it (Dressang, 1999).

Curriculum utilizing crossover picturebooks is rooted in an inquiry-based model. This model builds on curiosity and supports inquiry for teachers and students. Within this model, instruction based on crossover picturebooks:

Offers multiple layers of meaning for multiple audiences, e.g. students and teachers;
Invites students and teachers to collaboratively engage in the learning process, e.g. learn with and from each other;
Supports interactive and transformative instruction, e.g. Did students learn what I taught? vs. What did my students actually learn?;
Highlights reflection, e.g. How has our thinking changed about diamonds and the diamond industry? How are we better thinkers after reading this book?;
Encourages reflexivity, e.g. What new questions can we now ask that we couldn’t before reading this book?

A Concluding, But Not Final, Thought

Picturebooks are synonymous with children’s literature. But is this a necessary condition of the art form itself? Or is it just a cultural convention, more to do with existing expectations, marketing prejudices and literary discourse? There is no reason why a 32-page illustrated story can’t have equal appeal for teenagers or adults as they do for children (Tan, 2003, np).

We end with a concluding, not a final, thought, because we hope this post will start new conversations, not close them down. This thought is eloquently expressed by internationally renowned author and illustrator, Shaun Tan. Yes, picturebooks have been, and continue to be, synonymous with children’s literature. Is it time to shift perspective and think differently about this kind of literature? If so, we believe crossover picturebooks are a good conversation starter for readers of all ages.

References

Browne, A. www.tes.com, February 12, 2019.
Dressang, E.T. (1999). Radical change: Books for youth in a digital age. Wilson.
Dresang, E. T., & Kotrla, B. (2009). Radical Change Theory and Synergistic Reading for Digital Age Youth. The Journal of Aesthetic Education.
Evans, J. (2015). Challenging and controversial picturebooks: Creative and critical responses to visual texts. Routledge.
Falconer, R. (2008). The crossover novel: Contemporary children’s fiction and its adult
readership. Routledge.
Harju, M. (2012). Being Not Alone in the World: Exploring Reader Responses to Crossover (ca/thesisfile114287). [Doctoral Dissertation, McGill University].
Rosen, J. (1997). Breaking the age barrier. Publishers Weekly. 243 (6).
Shavit, Z. (1986). Poetics of children’s literature. University of Georgia Press. Tan. S. www.shauntan.net/images/whypicbooks.pdf.

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.

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:

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).

Online Resources for Diverse Children’s Literature

6/1/2020

BY GRACE ENRIQUEZ & DENISE DÁVILA

In the emergency shift to remote learning, educators and parents sought and found a plethora of video read-alouds and digital libraries of children’s books. This heartened us, as these resources offered access to reading material that many children wouldn’t be able to obtain otherwise.

Now that the school year is winding down, and the initial rush to cobble together online books has abated, we take a moment to reflect on the range of online books and resources available for children. Specifically, as educators committed to social justice, we wondered where we could turn to (a) continue sharing children’s literature with our students to support our goals of diversity, inclusion, and equity, and (b) learn more about recently published youth literature created by and for members of minoritized groups. It wasn’t surprising that what is currently available online reflects the massive gap in books about, for, and by diverse communities and underscores the greater need for more diverse books for children overall. In an attempt to close that gap and promote understanding about why diverse books matter--especially now during this global pandemic and in light of the systemic racism, police brutality, and health disparities that our country is currently facing--we have curated a list of online professional guides, blogs, conversations, and other resources.

WEBSITES, BLOGS, & PODCASTS - IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

A Diversity & Cultural Literacy Toolkit
"A list of recommended resources, including articles, videos, and other content, used in our various in-person and virtual training sessions and workshops on diversity and cultural literacy for librarians."

American Indians in Children's Literature
"Established in 2006, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical perspectives and analysis of indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books, the school curriculum, popular culture, and society."

Asian/Pacific American Libraries Association
“APALA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing leadership opportunities through informed dialogue that addresses the needs of Asian/Pacific American librarians and those who serve APA communities.”

The Brown Bookshelf
"A group of authors and illustrators who came together to push awareness of the myriad of African American voices writing for young readers."

CBC Diversity Committee
"The CBC Diversity initiative was founded in 2012, as part of the Children’s Book Council’s commitment to promoting diverse voices in literature for young people. We believe that all children deserve to see their world reflected in the books they read. We recognize that diversity takes on many forms, including differences in race, religion, gender, geography, sexual orientation, class, and ability."

De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children
"De Colores reviews and critiques children's and young adult books about Raza peoples throughout the Diaspora. "

Disability in Kid Lit
"Disability in Kidlit is dedicated to discussing the portrayal of disability in middle grade and young adult literature. We publish articles, reviews, interviews, and discussions examining this topic from various angles—and always from the disabled perspective."

I'm Your Neighbor
"I’m Your Neighbor is a project which promotes the use of children’s literature featuring “new arrival” cultures and groups to engage the entire community in a discussion of commonalities and differences. The project features a recommended list of books and an evolving list of engagement projects for educators, librarians, and community organizations who seek to build bridges."

International Children’s Digital Library
“A Library for the World's Children.”

Las Musas
"The first collective of women and non-binary (identifying on the female spectrum) Latinx middle-grade (MG), picture book (PB), and young adult (YA) authors to come together in an effort to support and amplify each other’s debut or sophomore novels in US children’s literature."

Latinxs in Kid Lit
"Exploring the world of Latinx YA, MG and children's literature."

Minorities in Publishing
"MiP is a podcast discussing diversity (or lack thereof) in the book publishing industry with other professionals working in-house as well as authors and those in the literary scene."

Mirrors Windows Doors
"An online magazine whose aim is to draw attention to the riches of children’s and YA books from across the world that highlight cultural and multi-cultural diversity."

More Diverse
A student-started database which helps readers find "diverse alternatives to standard texts."

The Pirate Tree
"A collective of children’s and young adult writers interested in children’s literature and social justice issues."

Reading While White
"Allies for racial diversity and inclusion in books for children and teens."

Rich in Color
"Rich in Color is dedicated to reading, reviewing, talking about, and otherwise promoting young adult fiction starring people of color or written by people of color."

School Library Journal - Diversity and Cultural Literacy Syllabus
Links to articles and other resources on reading and evaluating diverse literature.

Social Justice Books: A Teaching for Change Project
"The best selection of multicultural and social justice books for children, YA, and educators."

We Are Kid Lit Collective
"The We Are Kid Lit Collective works to create materials and opportunities to recognize the humanity of Indigenous and People of Color (IPOC) in youth literature."

We Need Diverse Books
“Our aim is to help produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people.”

Welcoming Schools
“HRC Foundation's Welcoming Schools is the nation's premier professional development program providing training and resources to elementary school educators to embrace all families, create LGBTQ and gender inclusive schools, prevent bias-based bullying, and support transgender and non-binary students.”

Grace Enriquez is a Professor of Language and Literacy at Lesley University and a past recipient of the CLA Research Award.
Denise Dávila is an Assistant Professor of Language and Literacy Studies at the University of Texas, Austin and a CLA member.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

The CLA Blog

Crossover Picturebooks: An Invitation to Shift Perspective and Think Differently About Childhood, Children’s Literature, and Curriculum

By: William Bintz & Meghan Valerio

Crossover Picturebooks

Table 1. Crossover Picturebooks

Benefits of Crossover Picturebooks

A Concluding, But Not Final, Thought

References

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

BY MEGHAN VALERIO & WILLIAM BINTZ

What are Crossover Picturebooks?

What Concerns Does This Raise?

Picturebooks

Professional Literature

References

Online Resources for Diverse Children’s Literature

BY GRACE ENRIQUEZ & DENISE DÁVILA

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By: William Bintz & Meghan Valerio

Crossover Picturebooks

Table 1. Crossover Picturebooks

Benefits of Crossover Picturebooks

A Concluding, But Not Final, Thought

References

BY MEGHAN VALERIO & WILLIAM BINTZ

What are Crossover Picturebooks?

What Concerns Does This Raise?

Picturebooks

Professional Literature

References

BY GRACE ENRIQUEZ & DENISE DÁVILA

WEBSITES, BLOGS, & PODCASTS - IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

Authors:CLA Members

Blog Editors

contribute to the blog

Archives

Categories

CLA

Resources

Children's Literature Assembly BreakfastExpert ClassOther CLA-sponsored SessionsArt Auction

Authors:
CLA Members

Children's Literature Assembly Breakfast
Expert Class
Other CLA-sponsored Sessions
Art Auction