Book Review: We’ll Paint the Octopus Red

Stuve-Bodeen, Stephanie. Illustrated by Pam DeVito. We’ll Paint the Octopus Red. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, Inc., 1998.

We’ll Paint the Octopus Red is a children’s picture book aimed at middle to lower elementary students. The narrator is a young girl, Emma, who has just been told that she has a new baby brother, Isaac. At first she is upset, but then begins to think about all the things she can do with him: playing kickball, feeding calves at a farm, painting a picture with an octopus, etc. After she learns that her new brother has been born with Down Syndrome, Emma wonders if she can do any of the things previously imagined. She talks to her dad about it and “By the time we were done talking, we couldn’t find one of those million things that Isaac wouldn’t be able to do with me”

This book is great in explaining that while her new baby brother may grow up needing a little extra help. The little girl learns that having Down Syndrome will not prevent her brother from doing fun things. She can still teach him to paint with an octopus, learn to play kickball, etc. While yes, the focus of the book was around little Isaac’s disability, Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen shows that he will still grow up with the same experiences of any other child. The disability will not dictate his life. This is an important message to bring into the classroom also. Students with disabilities should still have the opportunity to participate in activities, perhaps with extra help. By using this book, students can help others with focusing on ability rather than disability.

Book Review: My Friend Isabelle

Woloson, Eliza. Illustrated by Bryan Gough. My Friend Isabelle. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, Inc., 2003.

My Friend Isabelle is a children’s picture book written for a lower elementary level. It is told from the point of view of a child named Charlie. Charlie introduces his friend Isabelle. “Even though we are the same age, we are different.” For the first half of the book, we hear about things that make the two children different from one another, some physically, some emotionally. During the second half, Charlie tells about activities they like to do together.

I liked this book because it not only taught about differences and similarities, but it stressed the importance of both. This book also put the child first, rather than the disability. Isabelle does many of the things in this story as a normal child might, such as pretending to go shopping together, or saying “CHEERS!” with sippy cups as they sit and eat together.

Isabelle is a child with Down Syndrome, although it is never directly stated in the text of the book. The only problem I had with this book was that I felt if you had no prior knowledge about Down’s, you wouldn’t take very much away from this book regarding disability. Rather, I think that younger students would focus on the message of friendship and what makes people similar or different from one another. While this is important, students also need to be educated on why Isabelle might do some things differently. This book could be used in a classroom, but would need background explanation for students to fully understand.

Limited Availability of Books

Over the past few weeks, as I have attempted to search for children's books on the topic I had chosen, I came across a problem. My chosen topic involved reading children's books about characters who have or interact with someone who has autism. While I have found several online links to books about these topics, I found that public access is severely limited. After doing catalog searches of 3 different libraries, I could only find 4-5 titles. There were only 1 copy of each, and all were checked out for up to 3 weeks. My next step was to check the local bookstore. While all titles were available for order online, none were carried in-store. Ordering these books was not an option for me, with 5 books costing almost 80 dollars.

Instead, I opted to change the focus of my project to those focusing around Down Syndrome. I read 3 books, which I will post reviews of later this week. I decided to change my project to Down Syndrome specifically, again, due to personal experiences with students and children who have had Down's. These books were slightly more available than those about autism, although the number of choices were still very small.

QTT: Confessions of a Closet Catholic

Here are a few paragraphs from my Questioning the Text paper on Confessions of a Closet Catholic:

Throughout this book, Confessions of a Closet Catholic, Sarah Littman compares the two religions of Catholicism and Judaism. The main character, Justine, decides to give up being Jewish for Lent. At a time in her life when she wants to be seen as “normal,” does Justine choose to be Catholic because she wants to be accepted from the outside, or because she wants to be different from her family (the inside?) I chose this particular question because I grew up as the outsider. About 90 percent of my neighborhood was Jewish, and our house was one of only a few that had Christmas lights up outside over the holidays.

Right from the beginning, with page 4, Justine goes to her family and tells them that she wants to keep kosher. She compares her Bubbe’s practices with those of her own family, and rather than supporting her decision, they ridicule her, causing Justine to become slightly alienated from her beliefs. “Afterward, I decided if my family was going to make fun of me for trying to be Jewish, I might as well try something else” (p. 6). Is this a direct result of her family laughing at her? Or is it only a contributing factor in her decision?

When Jussy finally chooses to be Catholic, as opposed to any other religion, does she choose Catholicism because it seems the easiest or it seems to have the most perks? “We go to the movies and eat Chinese food along with the other Jewish families in town, but it’s hard when you know that 90 percent of the population is opening presents and drinking eggnog and you’re not” (p. 21). When Justine spends time at her friend Mac’s house, she feels more comfortable and at home than when she is at her own house. Mac seems to get along with her family and is comfortable talking about her religion. Does Mac’s “normal” family atmosphere vs. Jussy’s home atmosphere play a part in making one lifestyle seem easier than the other?

I also have to examine the parallel between Jussy’s two friends and their representation of religion in Jussy’s life. Shira is an old friend who is very observant of the Jewish traditional lifestyle. Meanwhile, Mac is a new friend that comes into the picture right before Jussy decides to investigate a new religion. Shira is also an old friend that stays constant throughout the book, especially at the end. Are Shira and Mac meant to be representations of “Jewish” and “Catholic?”

Final Project Topic

After reading the book Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko, I started thinking about the under-representation of disabilities in children's literature. When I myself think of "multi-cultural literature," the category of "disability" seems to escape me. Why I am not sure. Perhaps it is my lack of exposure, as a child and as an adult, to literature centered around such a topic. Having previously worked with and cared for a child affected by more than one disability, both physical and emotional, this is a topic that interests me. While I am not a special education major, I would like to broaden my experience with children who are affected by a disability in their every day life. More specifically, I want to focus on emotional disability such as autism. This literature is especially important to include in the classroom. Through this project, I hope to critically analyze books focusing on emotional disability, which may or may not be good to use in the classroom.

Helpful Links:
Children's books about Autism

The Schneider Family Book Award

About: The Schneider Family Book Award is given annually bye the American Library Association in three different age categories. These are: Birth-Grade School, Middle School, and Teens up to age 18. Books are judged based on either the author or the illustrator's ability to portray a disability experience for a child or adolescent audience. Any disability that is mental, physical, or emotional can be considered. Winners receive $5000 and a framed plaque.

Awards Committee: Awards are assigned by a 9 member committee. Members are elected by the Executive Board of the American Library Association. Consideration is given based on recommendation, current membership on an Awards Committee, and overall membership of the Association. All members are elected for a 2 year period, and they may serve 2, but not 3 consecutive terms.

Current Winners (2007):
Young Children Category: The Deaf Musicians by Pete Seeger and poet Paul DuBois Jacobs, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons (2006).
Middle School Category: Rules by Cynthia Lord. Published by Scholastic Press (2006).
Teen Category: Small Steps by Louis Sachar. Published by Delacorte Press (2006).

Link to Official Website: The Schneider Family Book Award

"Insider" vs. "Outsider" Authorship

In respect to the "insider" vs. "outsider" issue for the authorship of multicultural literature, there are many debates. My main question is, how do we define an "insider?" From what I have read, I gather that the definition of an "insider" is someone of a specific race/ethnicity, who is a member of a specific nation, etc. Instead, I view an "insider" as someone with credible knowledge and insight on different lifestyles and cultural practices.

Yes, we could just look at factors of race, lifestyle, and membership to a specific nation. I agree that those who are themselves part of another culture or lifestyle are primary resources in painting a most authentic picture. However, I have to wonder why we feel that these are our only resources. If a writer possesses the cultural knowledge and awareness to write about another group, why shouldn't they? A person can research and even live within the constraints of a different culture without being a member of that nation themselves. This would put them in the perfect learning situation. After an experience such as this, that person would likely be educated enough to provide a realistic and culturally aware image.

I think rather than defining an author as an "insider" or"outsider," we should look at personal background. After all, personal knowledge and experience itself is what contributes to an authentic book.