The power of picture books
Text by OLGA MUYS
School librarian on the benefits of reading progressive picture books
T
he reading circle. It’s a time-honored tradition that has been practiced for generations in elementary schools across the country. Every day, thousands of young students gather to sit criss-cross apple-sauce in the quiet of their school library to hear a story read aloud. Today, the reading circle has become a kind of battleground. As the children’s books read during this time become increasingly progressive, focusing on lessons and stories about diversity and inclusion, pushback to these books from conservative members of the American public have increased apace. With children’s books discussing the ideas of modern social activism being increasingly awarded and increasingly challenged by the public, I sat down with Jennifer Ford, the librarian at Walter Hays Elementary School, to discuss her thoughts on the importance of such themes being addressed within children’s literature. “I have always read books to students, even as a fifth grade teacher, and I’ve always used them as a way to portray lessons,” Ford said. “I think I’ve always had the lens of trying
22 April 2022
Art by XIAOHAN LI
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to read books to students that have something meaningful to teach them, particularly around issues of race, culture, tolerance, tricts in Texas each received more than 75 those types of things.” Though she’s always read books to her requests from the community to ban books students, Ford says she has begun to focus from their libraries within the first four more on themes such as voting rights, ac- months of this school year. For reference, tivism, and racial inequality in recent years. just one challenge was filed in those districts “Even [in] my own work for myself, within that time period last year. Ford says the opposite is actually occur[I’ve been] learning about race and what that means in society and being not a per- ring in Palo Alto. “I have actually never ever had a parson of color and what privileges I have and ent say anything negative about the books what responsibilities I have as well.” Ford says that picture books are a par- that I read to students; if anything they’re ticularly powerful tool for communicating very positive and very responsive,” Ford themes of social activism because of their said. “The kind of book bannings and challenges that are hapaccessibility for young pening in the rest of readers. books provide the US are not hap“I feel like pic- “Picture ture books provide us an avenue into talking pening here, thank goodness.” us an avenue into Ford also says talking about poten- about potentially difficult tially difficult situa- situations, and they make that young students in Palo Alto, despite tions, and they make being a generally them really relatable them really relatable.” diverse and well-edand understandable for students,” Ford —JENNIFER FORD, librarian ucated city, can still benefit greatly from said. “They can say, having stories deal‘Oh, I see this character, this is what’s happening, I can connect ing with activist themes read to them. “What students discuss at home with with that,’ rather than an adult just spewing things at them that they may not under- parents or learn from parents varies widely. So it’s really important that at school, it’s an stand.” One of the highest awards in children’s equal playing field for everyone, and we talk literature, the Caldecott awards, seems to be about these issues with everyone,” Ford said. To Ford, continuing to have these in agreement with Ford on this front. This year, the major winners of of the award books read is more important, and in many overwhelmingly dealt with themes of social ways, easier, than ever before. “It’s a conversation that needs to conactivism. The winner of the Caldecott Medal, tinue to happen,” Ford said. “You can never “We Are the Water Protectors” by Carole read too much...There are so many more Lindstrom and Michaela Goade, tells the books now that are being written by authors story of a group of Native Americans as of color to put those issues out there, and it’s they strive to protect their land and their really good to see. It’s important to just keep water from the advancement of a pipeline, talking about these issues because the more we talk about it, the more understanding we depicted in the book as a snake. However, simultaneously, according will be of our differences and hopefully be to NBC News, 100 of the 1,250 school dis- less divisive and more cohesive.”
