Books, Books, Books

Dear Diary,

Last week in Cultural Issues and Diversity we talked a little bit about culture and language. Our professor read from a children’s book called ‘If the world was a village’, which put some of the world’s prominent cultures in your backyard. It really got me thinking how little of other languages I know. Even Canada has two official languages and I can only speak one of them. It also got me to thinking about my time as a librarian, and the collections of children’s books I helped develop with culture inclusiveness in mind. The phrase, ‘If the world was a village’ reminded me of a phrase I used to build a particular collection of children’s books. The phrase was ‘A smile is the same in every language’. This class has gotten me thinking more about that phrase. I’m not entirely certain that it remains true, when we consider that a small gesture can mean something different to even two people of the same culture. But back then the collection I was maintaining was created in mind to teach inclusiveness and friendliness between children. I had so many wonderful books in the collection, some about Native American culture, Jewish culture, African culture; the list goes on. There was one type of book however that was my absolute favorite. I had bundled an entire collection of books that had no print, only illustrations. The reason why I loved these books so much was that no matter who picked them up you could still enjoy them. For the exception of an individual who is blind, these illustrated only children’s books were the most inclusive book I had ever seen.

With a story told only in pictures you are free to infer what you think is going on. A child who cannot read English, or perhaps cannot read at all can still pull these books off the shelf and enjoy them. I also liked that a child who may not have someone to read to them can still pull these books from the shelves and independently enjoy them. Two people could read one of these books at the same time and take away a different experience. One of my favorites of the bunch was a book called ‘Chalk’, illustrated by Bill Thomson. Its illustrations were so beautiful and open to inference I wrote a small review for the book. After some time the author messaged me thanking me for taking the time to read and review his book, (which was a big thrill for little old me).

When I decided to pursue being a child and youth worker, I kept records of the collections I worked with. I am truly passionate about books and the healing power they can bestow children. I also think they can be wonderful tools to teach new and interesting things, like cultural differences. Reading to a child is a great way to introduce new ideas at an early start.

So books about let’s say, other countries and cultures, can help expose and intrigue a child early on. I’d like to believe that such books could help end prejudice and racism even ethnocentrism, but perhaps that is a little too advantageous of me. This class has also challenged me to seek out new titles that promote cultural awareness in an even more inclusive manor. I will continue to build my collection as a tool for me when I enter the field proper. Included in my blog today will be pictures of some of these titles I have already, and I encourage any reader to give them a look!

My own personal experience with cultural children’s books came from a book my mother read me as a child. The book was called, ‘Sooshewan: Child of the Beothuk’, by Donald Gale. It was the story of a young Beothuk girl and her coming of age journey. Her tribe community was facing a harsh winter and even the best hunters in the tribe were having difficulty bring in food. The community was facing starvation. Sooshewan was a very childish and selfish girl before her journey. One of her family duties was to look after her grandmother who was so ill she could not leave her bed. One day Sooshewan’s father, one of the great hunters of the village, decided to venture farther then the hunting parties had gone in order to bring home food. He was gone some time and when he did not return Sooshewan and her family began to worry. During her father’s absence Sooshewan’s grandmother passed away, and the community preformed her funeral rite. That night Sooshewan’s grandmother came to her in a vision and told her of the danger her father was in. Sooshewan knew how important her father was to her family and the community, if he was not found or food was not brought back, many more could be lost. So with her grandmother’s spirit guiding her she went out into the wilderness to search for her father. Her time in the wild strengthened her in mind and body. She would eventually find her father wounded and taking shelter in a crude hunting hut.

Using all she knew she helped nurse her father back to health and found food for her village. I can’t even remember the number of times I begged my Mum to read this story to me. I was always fascinated by it, and this story book is one of the reasons why Native American culture intrigues me still today. What stood out most to me then and now is the funeral for the grandmother. The whole community morns her lost but celebrates her life in one moment. She is lifted on a wooden pyre and all her belongings are laid out alongside her. Many of the possession she made herself. Then her body and belongings were burned so her spirit could be released to the sky. I remember thinking how beautiful the ceremony must have been in real life, and how much less sad Sooshewan’s people seemed. At the time I had been to a funeral for an uncle, and nothing about our funeral seemed joyful at all. There was one similarity though, after the burning Sooshewan’s community made a special meal which everyone shared. In the story food is scarce, but still even the smallest child partakes in this special meal. It reminded me of after the funeral, there was a meal where relatives all brought food for the family and food for guests. We all shared this food and talked about the deceased and their life. I guess if we look far enough back into any culture we can see the roots of where our rituals and traditions began. When I was little I liked to think that in some way this connected Sooshewan’s people and I together. I’m twenty four now, and I still feel the same way about the book now as I did then. Sooshewan and many other characters like her I feel inspired me to be who I am today, and it’s why I know for certain how positive and powerful books can be.

Chalk Book Trailer
A cute video of two girls showing thier Beothuk pride!