Individually, I looked at each book and sincerely thought I had found a beautifully, well written and well thought out piece of work. Some of these authors have personally asked me for blog reviews which for the most part, I complied. Now before I show you the examples, I feel that I should add a disclaimer. Please, no more children's books putting little black girls on time out. I don’t want to see any more little black girls being punished. Yeah, there may not be a lot of books that depict this scenario but I want to make sure I don’t see anymore. I don’t want you to read these books thinking about how you need to change your behavior out of fear you may be put in the “quiet chair.” It really irks my nerves. What does this say to the little reader about the types of treatment she can expect? I buy these books because I want to uplift and encourage you. The little black girl wants to play with a phone? Time out. The little black girl gets in the way? Time out. The little black girl makes a mess? Time out. The more I think about it, the more I’m certain that I haven’t found one single example of a book featuring other ethnicities and where the kids are put on time out. When I do find one, I don’t want to see the little girl get put in the “quiet chair” or the “time out chair” or told to get out because she’s getting on someone’s nerves. Thanks to the internet and especially Instagram, there are a lot more resources to find books with characters that look like you (shout out to Here Wee Read who has one of the most comprehensive blogs about children’s books out there). When I do find out about a new book with a black girl, I buy it immediately. Remember here, where I told you the statistics about how only a small number of children’s books have characters of color? There is even a smaller amount featuring protagonists that are Black girls. But do I want to see little brown children get punished in books I buy for you? No. All children have to be disciplined at some point. And it also means that when you are acting in a way I don’t approve, I tell you. It means that I explain to you my preference versus what you may see when we are out around other people. However, it does mean that I talk to you. But that does not mean you are constantly in time out. It’s important to me that you know how to act in public as well as be considerate of others. In the book… You put the little girl on time out?ĭon’t get me wrong, as my child you of all people know that I do not like misbehaved children. That’s right, this beautiful brown cutie-pie did something wrong and now needs to sit in time out. The illustrations are gorgeous, the story line is cute, and then all of a sudden… TIME OUT. Picture this… I find a beautiful book with a gorgeous black girl as the lead character. The books aren’t recently published but they all have a black girl as the main character. Lately I’ve noticed subliminal messages in children’s books.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |