Sadly this is my last entry for Literature for Children and Adolescents. I know you are all tearing up right now, but you can make it, life will go on. Anywho for my last entry, week 9- Multicultural literature. Now in case there are people who do not know what this refers to, it refers to literature about and written by those not Caucasian.
African American literature has its beginnings in oral tradition. It includes folklore which is told in both poetry and contemporary stories. It wasn't until 1828 that the first collection of African stories were published in French for Europeans by the French Commandant of Senegal. The stories that were discussed in chapter 11 expressed some of the greatest values of humanity: love of beauty, humor, imagination, courage, work, and perseverance.
Latino Literature is also called Hispanic literature but Latino is more commonly used because it is considered more respectful. Although the Latinos make up the largest minority group in the United States, there are fewer books written about them than other minorities. The books that are written depict people of Mexican or Puerto Rican heritage and these books go out of print faster than books on other cultures. The cultural areas for Latino literature comes from Mexico, South America, Central America, Cuba, and American Southwest. Its folklore has roots in the pre-Spanish cultures of the Aztec, Incans, and the Mayans.
Asian American literature has very few highly recommended books for children, although the stories from many Asian countries reflect great creativity and traditional values. Some of the Asian countries which have provided us with fantastic literature are China, Japan, and Vietnam. One of the popular ways to tell a story in Japan was kamishibai. This was done by a man who had around four stories which he told using illustrated cards and a boxholder that resembled a stage. The front of the box was open and the cards were pulled sequentially from the box. Once a card was pulled, the text of the story written on the back of the card was read.
Now for my personal favorite (sorry I'm biased)- Native American or Indian Literature. Many Native American stories are written by Native Americans themselves, other stories are written by those who have extensive knowledge about the Native culture. Many of the stories also have beautiful illustrations. Unfortunately, there are not enough stories out there with Native American main characters. Native literature shows that the Natives had tales long before settlers ever touched this soil. They had great oral traditions which many of have been lost. Most of their history is speculative and written by Europeans, so it is mostly incorrect. Their traditional literature is an excellent way to identify and understand tribal traditional values and beliefs.
Sadly many of these minorities are greatly stereotyped. African Americans are depicted as physically unattractive, dependent upon whites for any good they hope to acquire, and are required to select life goals that benefit black people. Native Americans are shown as cruel and savage, and inferior, childlike, and helpless. I only hope that more people will open their minds and read literature about other cultures. Maybe that will help discourage the stereotypes that have done such harm to so many cultures.
My recommendations for multicultural literature would be any of the Brer Rabbit stories retold by Joel Chandler Harris. These stories are written in heavy dialect, so take your time reading and enjoying them. I read about the "tar baby" and that is my favorite of the stories. Brer Rabbit uses his wit to outsmart the other creatures and even uses trickery on them; it makes for a very amusing tale. A Native American story that I loved as a child was The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. This is the story of a young Plains Indian boy who try as he might, could not do the things the other boys could do. The tribe's shaman assures the boy that he has a special gift, and the boy realizes that he wishes to paint. But, he wishes to paint the sky and he cannot find the colors to match the beauty of the sky. One night a voice directs him to a special place where he discovers paintbrushes filled with the colors of the sky (at dawn and dusk). I hope you enjoy these as much as I have.
It's been fun you literature fans, and now we must say goodbye. Keep reading and keep dreaming. Where would we be without dreams? In a very depressing place, that's where. Stay true.