Two More CYBILS Nominees of Note: What's in a Name?

There's no denying that winning an award, as well any designations as honors and finalists, are  exciting landmarks in the lives of people and their books. For any given award, there can be hundreds or thousands of titles (or more) under careful consideration. So-called "buzz" about a book only heightens hopes and, perhaps, deepens disappointment for the all-but-one title named. On February 14, Monday, the CYBILS AWARDS in every category will announced. I'll be standing by that morning to read and celebrate the winners. With advance congratulations to all who win, and to the finalists in each category, I continue to sing the praises of some of the other titles in my category for round one evaluations- nonfiction for elementary readers. 

Albert Whitman & Company

This biography of MARIA MARTINEZ is a fitting account of a pottery artist whose work changed the trajectory of her chosen media. If you didn't already do so, please pause to click on her name above. At least spend a moment to see examples her work in her website banner. They are breathtakingly gorgeous, while retaining a simplicity of form and function that reveals the deep roots of Martinez's art. SHAPED BY HER HANDS: Potter Maria Martinez  is written by Anna Harber Freeman and Barbara Gonzales. Their text and Maria herself are brought glowingly to life by illustrator Aphelandra.

This is a biography as artfully told as the artist it profiles.  Maria Martinez is a name well known among admirers of coil pottery. To those outside that specialty, like me, few are aware of her inventive, innovative, stunning work. She took a traditional role of women in her culture (pot making) to an unbelievable and elevated level through curiosity, problem-solving, and creative explorations. The unusual (and stunning) colors and surfaces she achieved stand the tests of careless encounters and time in their appeal. Her work forged a path for countless artists to follow, yet she retained her rooted place in her home and community. As inspiring as her life is, the text is also straightforward but uplifting, and the earthy, vibrant tones of the illustrations will transport readers into Maria's daily life.

I've known very few kids who don't plunge fingers into clay with joyful excitement. This is a book to share widely as an introduction to ceramics as art, and to inspire imagination and innovation in the use of that media, and others. 

Speaking of names, and kids, it is incredibly important to pronounce an individual person's name correctly. I happen to have a last name that is often mispronounced and I have no level of worry about that when it happens. If asked, I indicate our preferred pronunciation, of course. But if you are someone who was one of those Jason C., Jason R, Jason W,, trios in a classroom, or a Katie B., Katie M., and Katie S. cohort, you know how frustrating that was. Your name always felt special to you, and you've suddenly been lumped into a last-name-initial identity. Just imagine the frustration of anyone, especially any CHILD, who has a name that feels totally natural in your own mouth and in the mouths of those you love, but seems to trip and tangle the tongues of your teachers, your classmates, pretty much everyone else. DIstortions (by accident or intention) must be far more disorienting and disabling to the child than they are stressful to those who casually fail to learn your name. 

OWL KIDS, 2021

THAO, a twenty-four page picture book, written and drawn in wise but child-like simplicity, gives a kids-eye-view of what that identity-denial feels like.Endpapers suggest the universality of this issue, but an opening reproduction of Thao Lam's early-school photo instantly reveals the personal roots of this book.

With a mix of crayon, collage, and dynamic text placement it is easy to feel the irritation, hurt, and accommodation that those with non-western/familiar names must experience. I taught many Hmong students throughout my career and many used a traditional-"American" first name. I always asked if they preferred to use their own names, and never had a child say they would. Many said their parents wanted them to use this "school" name. That only serves to expand my view from those days that it was not only the child who dealt with the dishonor of having a name repeatedly mispronounced. 

This book is an extremely simple but important insight to the value of a name, and the respect it deserves. The blend of distinctive fonts, childhood photos and incorporation of simple collages drawings offers an honest but plaintive portrayal of the cost we impose on others by not making the effort to pronounce their names as they should be. 

Endpapers are priceless in offering many examples of a variety of children with a variety of names that have a variety of potential pronunciations. How hard is it to ask, then practice (with mouths in which they feel awkward) names that we should say correctly and spontaneously? Especially when we realize that the people behind those names are REQUIRED by our communities to learn and use a language that is equally strange in their mouths and ears in order to function in an English-speaking world?

While teaching I would ask about pronunciations, but I recently saw a better way- introduce yourself, then ask “Who are you?” Learn not only the name, but take a first step in demonstrating respect for the WHO that name represents.

I hope you'll agree that awards aren't everything. The grace and honor that  books like these achieve is in expanding minds, hearts, and understanding of wider communities and cultures. That deserves a round of applause from us all.

Personal Stories of Escape: Bringing History and Current events to Life: THE PAPER BOAT

 As Afghanistan scrolls across our screens and into our lives during these troubled days of exit and ending a two-decade war, we've been reminded that half the population of that troubled country is under twenty-five, with little-to-no personal experience with or memory of the ruthless Taliban control that existed from the late nineties until the battles began following 9/11/2001. Even so, their oppressive legacy makes the resulting panic and desperation to escape understandable, to say the least. (Link is to a short video clip from THE GUARDIAN).

Another wartime comparison that is being referenced across most media involves the final days of the Viet Nam War (one that was never actually declared a war) and the subsequent frantic escape by those who were well aware of potential consequences for anyone who was left behind. (Link is to a short documentary from WBUR/NPR). In that case, the vast proportion of Americans and global audiences are too young to have clear (if any) memories of those events as they actually occurred, even if they've gained s bit of information through subsequent movies, books, etc. Sadly, these are not lived experiences that might trigger intense empathy and urge actions to support Afghan refugees. 

A recent post featured three picture books created by individuals who lived those refugee experiences, books that allow readers to immerse themselves in a virtual experience and connect more fully than through most other media. As this current situation plays out in Afghanistan, I have no doubt that books of all kinds, including picture books. will emerge. Even in the accelerated publishing world, these will take time to reach us. Begin now to achieve that empathy with a look back at the titles I recommended HERE, and also at this remarkable picture book, created in wordless graphic-story format, with a single page author note at the end that is a must-read. 

Owl Kids, 2020

THE PAPER BOAT: A REFUGEE STORY is the work of THAO LAM. Thao resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where she arrived with her family when she was only three. They escaped Viet Nam through a death-defying and lengthy process that is summarized in that concluding note. 

Her success as an author and artist has produced several picture books that are worth exploring, utilizing an art style that is appealing and powerful. In the case of her most recent work, THAO (Owlkids, 2021), she addresses the impact of having a name that elicits mispronunciation and other identity-denying patterns that undermine self-acceptance and community connection. I hope you will check it out HERE, especially if you are a teacher, coach, or other adult leader of children of any age. In it, she incorporates  childhood photo images into her characteristic collage-and-more illustrations. 

So, finally, I have reached the part of this post that discusses the featured title, THE PAPER BOAT: A REFUGEE STORY. Trust me, it is worth the wait. Other than the text on newspaper front pages that she illustrated in opening and final endpapers, this is a wordless story that tells readers all they thought that would want to know, and more. Those headlines, dates, and simplified photo images deserve as much careful attention and reflection as the body of the visual narrative panels and illustrations. They set the stage for readers, even those without the slightest sense of how the Viet Nam War unfolded and ended. When an ant appears on the title spread, a sheet of newspaper is rolled and used to swat it. There are symbolic and literal elements to that opening, even though the surface story is easily "read" as literal. In fact, I took that approach once I had my hands on the book. One mindful read-through produced a powerful and emotional journey of escape, a reading filled with high-stakes tension, characters I cared for, and complexity of circumstances that required sustained attention and interpretation.

After reading the graphic visual narrative, I read the author note and related content at the back, with a first response of diving right back into the full storytelling visual content. That led me to an entirely enriched experience, which made me wonder why the note had not been at the start. 

That thought led me back into the book yet again, this time to wonder at that question. This, to me, was a learning experience about the remarkable talent of Thao Lam, not only as an artist or storyteller. My appreciation of her creation in this work focused on the extent to which her intent and design produced a picture book for many ages: one that informs, sparks curiosity and empathy, and could also be studied in adult history and literature classes. As mentor text, her control of symbolism, sequence, and emotional connection can inspire and inform teachers, readers and writers across time. At the same time, this books serves as a passport to join Lam's personal journey, to learn by becoming a virtual traveler at her side, and to marvel at the discreet memories and experiences that remain significant in her life. 

That's a lot, right? 

For me, it also drew me into an intense consideration of current news though imagined individual lenses, wondering how each will fare, how those who survived would register the experiences, and how their stories might, eventually, be shared. They must be. And we, as well as readers to come, must read them thoughtfully and eagerly, seeking deeper awareness that  everyone in the human family, each and every one, is our closest relative. To never forget, we could be them.