Blog Post 2

Kimberly McCreary

Ms. Nithya Sivashankar

EDUTL 2368

April 22, 2019

Addressing race in children’s literature is a continuing discussion. Throughout this course, we have addressed many different issues in relation to children’s literature. While this blog post is supposed to focus on international children’s literature, I believe that addressing race in children’s literature is both a national and international issue. “Not only do schools need to prepare all children to become competent citizens, but also to create an environment that fosters mutual understanding” (Yu, 1998, p. 1). All students benefit from learning about different cultures as it opens a discussion about “values, beliefs, ways of life, and patterns of thinking” (Yu, 1998, p. 1). Xu Daozhi discusses Aboriginality in Australian children’s literature and who is allowed to tell Aboriginal stories. According to Xu, Aboriginal stories are gifts of “…Aboriginal history and life experiences” (p. 35). These stories are viewed as a “metaphorical gift exchange between Aboriginal custodians as the givers and writers as the recipients who are expected to return such an intellectual gift through their books in an appropriate manner” (Xu, 2016, p. 35). The debate centers around who has the authority to write Aboriginal stories, Aborigines or writers from other races? Patricia Wrightson, is a white children’s author who has written several novels for children that incorporate spiritual figures from the Aborigines. Is a white author able to accurately write a children’s story about the Aborigines and their culture without having directly experienced the culture? Kate Constable, an Australian children’s author, states that when writing about Aboriginal culture and experiences it is important to “…pay (sic) homage to the original knowledge holders” (2011). Her intent is to make sure that the original knowledge holders are given credit and that the author is not claiming that the story is their own or from their own ideas. Xu states that it is the responsibility of the writers to have an attitude that values the interrelatedness and differences “between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and calls for reflection on and re-envisioning of racial engagement”. Two examples of Australian children’s authors who appropriately write about the Aboriginal culture and incorporate Aboriginal characters are Ezekiel Kwaymullina’s We all Sleepand Rachel Bin Salleh’s Alfred’s War. These two books address Aboriginal culture and historical Aboriginal characters. Additionally, the book Free Divingby Larrae Coffin talks about the pearling industry and provides a tribute to the Indigenous people involved in the industry. Finally, Mary Albert’sAboriginal Story: How the Birds Got Their Coloursfrom her perspective as part of the Bardi tribe. While race in children’s literature continues to be an issue, there are several authors who appropriate address race and acknowledge the cultural heritage of the Indigenous Australians.

Works Cited:

Albert, M., & Lofts, P. (2012). How the birds got their colours. Lindfield, NSW: Scholastic Press.

Coffin, L., & Houston, B. (2017). Free diving. Broome, W.A.: Magabala Books.

Constable, Kate 2011a Crow country, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW.

Kwaymullina, E., & Morgan, S. (2019). We all sleep. Fremantle: Fremantle Press.

Lu, M. Y. (1998). Multicultural children’s literature in the elementary classroom. ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication, Indiana University.

Salleh, R. B., & Fry, S. (2018). Alfreds war. Broome, Western Australia: Magabala Books.

Xu, D. (2016). The gift and the ethics of representing Aboriginality in Australian children’s literature. Australian Aboriginal Studies, (2), 33. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsind&AN=edsind.520678193064738&site=eds-live&scope=site