By C.J. Hirschfield
I’m finally getting around to
writing about an article that appeared in the online Slate magazine, a piece
that has generated no small amount of interest: 340 comments at last count.
In “My Kids Read Only Subliterary Branded Commodities. Yours Probably Do, Too,” writer Gabriel Roth tells us that children’s book
publishing today “is dominated by … book-like objects featuring familiar
properties licensed to publishers by massive entertainment conglomerates.”
Examples include Dora the Explorer, Transformers, My Little Pony and the Disney
Princess and Disney Fairies line.
Roth is not shy about his views
on the subject.
“These stories are the juvenile
equivalent of pornography: They aim to gratify base desires as voluptuously as
possible,” he says. Comparing these books to junk food, he nonetheless
concludes that he’ll continue to let his daughter indulge in her Disney fairy
fantasies. He grudgingly ends his piece with: “My daughter’s appetites are her
own.”
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| In 1972, Fairyland was featured in a subliterary branded commodity: a "Dennis the Menace" comic book. |
At Fairyland, we don’t offer
books in our gift shop, or in our Reading Room, that are based on branded and
licensed products. There are too many creative, inclusive and original stories —
many written and illustrated by Bay Area locals — that we prefer to highlight.
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| Books in Fairyland's Reading Room are not what one writer describes as "subliterary branded commodities." |
But I was interested to know what
our local expert — the person who has the final say on all of the children’s
books that are purchased for the Oakland Public Library — had to say about the
subject. As it turns out, Children’s
Collection Management Librarian Amy Martin says this is one of her favorite
topics in children’s literature.
She points out that there’s a
good reason you’ll find scads of Dora the Explorer, Thomas the Tank Engine,
Peppa Pig, and even Transformers picture
books in your 17 local children’s library sections: kids LOVE them. And that’s
why a goodly portion of the children’s library’s $200,000 annual book budget
goes to purchase – or replace – these books.
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| Oakland Children's Librarian Amy Martin reading to children in an Alameda County Social Services Agency waiting room. |
Amy wants kids to get into the habit of reading for pleasure. She believes it's important to teach kids that books reflect what they're excited about, whether it's drawing with a purple crayon or mermaid Ariel getting married. She cited an important study that affirms that reading for pleasure -- anything the child chooses -- gives children more educational advantages than having two parents with college degrees.
Other Oakland
children’s librarians concur. Here’s one story Amy heard from them: Two young
brothers visited East Oakland’s Martin Luther King, Jr., branch on their own (many,
many kids come to the library without adults). The older brother browsed, but
told the librarian that his younger brother hated reading. That changed when
Younger Brother discovered the library’s
collection of “The Simpsons” comic books. After that, he returned every few
days for a new stack.
“We found his
entry point,” is how Amy describes it.
Feeling
snobbish about Disney books? Talk to the children’s librarian at Oakland’s
Brookfield branch, who still thanks Amy for approving the order of many books
in this series.
Allowing kids
to choose their own books validates their choices in general, something Amy
thinks is important. “If adults reinforce that the things children value aren’t
good, that could lead to defiance or bruised self-esteem,” she says.
She says she
loves to see the excited faces of kids holding books. “I don’t necessarily care
what the book is,” she says. And, she assures us, “classic books aren’t going
anywhere.”
But she also loves
to purchase original books by local authors. One she particularly likes is One of a Kind, Like Me, written by Laurin Mayeno, illustrated by Robert
Liu-Trujillo, and published right here in the Bay Area by Blood Orange Press.
It tells the true story of the author’s young son, who wants to wear a princess
outfit to a school parade and is supported in his (ultimately successful)
quest.
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| One of a Kind, Like Me / Unico Como Yo |
We like the book, too -- and are pleased that Laurin (and hopefully Robert) will be among the authors featured in our May 6 Turn the Page! children’s book festival. It's a celebration of Bay Area authors and illustrators, who’ll be reading, drawing, and talking about books
in front of their biggest fans: kids. There may be some princesses, ponies, and
trains in the lineup, but for this particular event, none of them will carry a
registered trademark symbol.
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C.J. Hirschfield has served for 14 years as executive director of Children's Fairyland, where she is charged with the overall operation of the nation's first storybook theme park.
