Sometimes the stories that we read as children and young adults have impacts that last a lifetime. But children’s books don’t have to be just entertainment; they can also teach valuable lessons about social justice and delve into topics including race, the environment and gender identity.
Julie Cavacco, the children’s librarian at the Tilton Library in South Deerfield, said that children’s books supplement what parents want to teach their children.
Cavacco, 61, has been a librarian for 19 years. The mother of two adult children, she’s also the author of the self-published “My Worst Best Friend,” series of children’s books. She’s currently working on an eighth book in the series, which will take on the topic of bullying.
Cavacco gave several examples of books that teach about social justice topics available in Tilton’s children’s section.
A book that teaches about the empowerment of women that she pointed to is “Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie,” by Connie Roop, which tells the true story of a girl who tended a Maine lighthouse during a fierce storm in 1856. She does this while her father is away and her mother is sick.
Another book that Cavacco pointed to was “Mrs. Katz and Tush,” by Patricia Polacco, which tells the story of the friendship that develops between an elderly Jewish woman and an African American child. Cavacco said that the book normalizes relationships between people of different backgrounds, which she said is “one of the most important things.”
Cavacco also pointed to “Jacob’s New Dress,” by Ian and Sarah Hoffman, which brings attention to people questioning gender and gender identity at an early age.
Cavacco said that it’s important to have stories with people as protagonists as well as animals.
“The stories of the animals ignite the imagination,” she said, while she said that stories with people bring readers back down to reality.
Cavacco also said that more diverse representation has been seen recently in children’s books.
Sarah Johnson, the head of children’s and young adult services at the Forbes Library in Northampton said that an effort is made at the library to make sure that the books that they are reading to kids are inclusive, so that children can see themselves reflected in them and learn about different cultures and backgrounds.
“It’s something that when we’re choosing books to share we’re aware of,” she said.
Johnson also noted the efforts of We Need Diverse Books, a nonprofit that seeks to increase diversity in children’s book subject matter, and the Own Voices movement, which looks to see more stories told about different cultures from people from those cultures.
She said that the history of children’s publishing has not been as diverse as it should be and, “there’s still a lot of progress that needs to happen.”
Statistics at the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison show that half of the protagonists in the 3,653 children’s books the center received in 2018 were white, and more than a quarter were animals, according to center director Kathleen Horning.
Of the remainder, 10% were African American, 7% were Asian and 1% were Native American, she said.
Johnson said that it’s important to consider diversity in books even at the earliest of ages, and that her 3-year-old twins enjoy the books “Global Baby Boys” and “Global Baby Girls,” which consist of photographs of children from around the world.
In terms of books that influenced her growing up, Johnson cited “The Snowy Day,” by Ezra Jack Keats, which involves an African American child exploring his neighborhood after the first snowfall.
“It’s a beautiful book,” she said. “I share it at storytime.”
On books that deal with themes of social justice and/or race, Johnson recommended “A is for Activist,” by Innosanto Nagara, “This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do The Work,” by Tiffany Jewell, and “Dreamers,” by Yuyi Morales.
“This Book is Anti-Racist,” is a non-fiction book, and Johnson said that it asks the readers to look at themselves and prompts them with questions, while also looking at the history of oppression and racism.
“It’s a really important book and it’s something we need,” she said.
During a recent visit to Forbes Library last week, one child, Maddie Doby, 10, said she was reading “This Book is Anti-Racist.” She was at Forbes with her mother, Jen Gallant, to look for graphic novels.
“People are excluding other people for not very good reasons,” said Maddie, “and that’s not fair.”
Gallant said that having the book be a part of the school’s curriculum is important and that she will be reading it herself at her daughter’s recommendation.
“It’s about how to live your life to combat racism,” said Gallant.
Gallant grew up in the Atlanta, Georgia, area in the 1970s and 1980s and she said she didn’t think there was a social justice focus in the schools, aside from getting to read Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
She did say, however, that the classic novel did have an impact on her.
“It had a profound effect,” she said. “Especially growing up in Atlanta.”
Leah Badenoch, a 14-year-old who goes to Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School and was picking up books at Forbes, said the big social justice book for her and her peers is “The Hate U Give,” by Angie Thomas, which tells the story of an African American girl who witnesses a police shooting.
“Everyone my age is like, ‘The Hate U Give,’ that’s the big book to read on social justice,” she said.
Libby Meehan, of Whately, was at the Forbes Library with her 2-year-old son Jimi-Francis Chez. As a former Pre-K teacher in Boston, she shared “A is for Activist,” an alphabet book, with her class and now shares it with her son.
“Each page is a different social justice issue,” Meehan said.
When she was a teacher she said that she also used the books of author Eric Carle, whom she said has a lot of good social messages about being a kind person and getting along with others.
Meehan said that introducing her son to different perspectives as he grows up is important to her. And she said that she loves that the Forbes Library has a lot of books that speak to diversity.
She said that a book that she loved growing up was “Miss Rumphius,” by Barbara Cooney, which is about a woman who plants lupine flowers to make the world a more beautiful place. She said this was also a book she used in her class, and that making the world a more beautiful place can also mean helping other people.
Johanna Rodriguez Douglass, the youth librarian at the Edwards Library in Southampton, shared that her library has done many nature walks and trail clearings, and a popular book that the library has on the environment is “You Are Eating Plastic Every Day,” by Danielle Smith-Llera, which deals with the topic of microplastics.
She also noted that the library hosted a grief workshop with Shelly Bathe Lenn of The Garden for Grieving Children. This workshop used books such as “When Dinosaurs Die” by Laurie Krasny Brown and “Ida, Always,” by Caron Levis, to help children process their grief.
Douglass said that graphic novels and the comic book aesthetic have become more popular in children’s and young adult literature since she became a librarian.
Douglass said that showing with pictures can be more immediate and powerful to someone who is learning to read, and she described graphic novels as a “gateway drug” for reluctant readers.
An example of a graphic novel that she gave that deals with social justice issues is “Survivors of the Holocaust: True stories of Six Extraordinary Children,” by Kath Shackleton. She also pointed to “Muhammad Ali: The Life of a Boxing Hero,” a graphic novel biography of famed boxer and activist Muhammad Ali by Rob Shone, and “Illegal: A Graphic Novel Telling One Boy’s Epic Journey to Europe,” by Eoin Colfer, the author of the “Artemis Fowl,” series.
Maddie, who has dyslexia, said that graphic novels are easier for her to read, and that she also listens to a lot of audiobooks. She also enjoys the “Hank Zipzer” books, by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver, whose protagonist is dyslexic.
“I feel noticed when I see books about other people who have a learning difference,” she said.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.