Currently living in the infamous WISCONSIN in which our supposedly nonpartisan State Supreme Court recently ruled that our chief health official does not have the authority to declare rules to Stay-at-Home in this crisis. Not only that, the ruling was cancelled immediately, not sustained long enough to allow collaboration with the legislature (which brought the case) or with any other limits. Thus, as our governor said, we are now in the WILD WEST.
So much of this national (international?) angst about "opening up", masking, or otherwise following guidelines for the greater good of our communities seems to reflect an attitude re sealed in picture books: Don't tell me DON'T... about anything!
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| Henry Holt and Company, 2020 |
With our current global frame-of-mind, it becomes a lively and colorful cautionary tale offering page after page of lighthearted humor.
Warnings of DON'T (fill in the blank) are always kid favorites, and this one has all the ingredients to become a classic. It certainly is worth discussion during this time and circumstances.
The story begins with a bighearted character who is simply being kind. Who can't imagine potential harm in simply feeding a bird... or two or two hundred.
Spread after spread stars this character trying to undo her naive decision with flocks of generic coos, whose persistence and loyalty are irresistible. The central character (POC girl) matches the birds' energetic insistence with genuinely funny attempts, always pursuing humane and creative solutions. The conclusion allows for predictions, laughs, pursuit of alternatives, and even discussions of social values.
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| Hyperion Books for Children, 2003 |
On the VERY small chance that you aren't familiar with this determined pigeon, it is a three-person dialogue. It involves the bus driver (who addresses the reader directly with the title statement before the story begins, and then thanks the reader at the conclusion), a pigeon-on-a-mission, and the reader.
Truly, without the reader taking an active role, there is no story. Whether I am sharing the book with toddlers or teachers, within a few pages someone in the group always responds to the pigeon's requests with YES! instead of NO!
At that point, I close the book and pleasantly say, "Okay, we'll let pigeon drive the bus if that's what you want, so our story ends here."
Without fail, tots and adults cry out in protest, knowing that unless they adopt their expected role, unless they enter into the spirit of the story, it has no meaning.
It is in this sense that the book is a parable for all books: Active engagement by the reader allows books to come to life. Without that, they are simply ink on paper.
I was privileged to meet and hear Mo Willems during the year when this, his debut picture book, was released. Of the many humorous and inspiring things he said, what I most often share with readers is this:
At the book's release it received many favorable reviews and eventually a Caldecott honor. One reviewer was pleased with it because of their belief that kids need more examples that NO means NO. Another positive review was impressed with the message to NEVER take NO for an answer.
Willems said he was sometimes asked which message he intended. His response was. "Yes", adding that both (and other) messages could be found within the little book, but that depends on the readers' entry beliefs, and on how they are engaging with the story.
THAT.
THAT is a truth that we engage in every time we read.
In fact, it is also the truth of these oddly distorted times in our shared lives. Only by stepping away from the immediacy of our individual perspectives can we honestly consider the how and why and WHEN of finding safe footing into our shared future.
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