During my Children’s Services course in library school, diverse and inclusive literature was at the forefront of our discussions surrounding collection development. While researching titles that could be viewed as authentic examples of representation to share with my class, I got to familiarize myself with two authors in particular, James and Lucy Catchpole. The pair have co-authored several picture books on the topic of disability and an anthology of essays by disabled authors sharing their childhood experiences. The authors both happen to be disabled themselves. James is an amputee who utilizes mobility aids and Lucy is an ambulatory wheelchair user.
More recently, I came across a book by the couple I’d never seen before titled Mama Car. The cover of the book had an illustration of a woman in a manual wheelchair with a small child sitting on her lap hugging her. I requested a physical book from another library to see if it was a title I’d recommend to purchase for our collection. Half way through reading the book last week at the reference desk, I had a small smile on my face and felt tears welling up in my eyes.
I’ve had a very unique type of exposure to disability culture since birth. While my own parents are able-bodied, both of my mother’s siblings, my uncles Chris and Gian, have Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy and have been wheelchair users a majority of their lives. For the first time, I saw the unique experiences I had during my childhood, having disabled family members, on the page of a book. I saw a child ride around on the lap of a wheelchair user going on an “expedition” from one room to the next, just as I did when I was small. I saw the wheelchair user in the book use their reacher to pick up an object blocking their movement, the same exact way my Uncle Gian does.
There was one simple illustration I couldn’t stop thinking about. It’s towards the end of the book where the child is riding their tricycle and their mother and father are trailing behind them. It reminded me of a photograph of myself with my uncles from over 20 years ago, where I am probably the same age as the protagonist. I remember riding my bicycle up and down the city block in front of my grandparent’s garage with one or both of them always trailing behind.
The protagonist sees their mother’s identity beyond being a wheelchair user. To them she is simply their mother, someone who loves them, does fun things with them, and guides them. That’s the way I have seen my uncles my whole life— especially the fun part…they’re the dictionary definition of “fun-cles”! The protagonist may eventually realize as they get older that their experiences are different and unique, but will notice all the ways their relationship with their mother is no different than that of a child with an able-bodied parent. I mean I can’t think of anyone else who would be willing to let younger me put a sleeve of Mentos into a 2-liter bottle of Coca-Cola in my grandparent’s front lawn (true story!) other than someone who goes by the title of “uncle”.
This recent experience reminded me of why it is paramount for children to have their unique life experiences mirrored back at them in the literature they’re exposed to. I had the profound realization what a validating experience it can be for adults too. With the format of picture books in particular, it is mostly adults who read those stories to children. Even though adults can be seen as the secondary audience to these stories, seeing literature with authentic representation that may not have been available to you during your childhood can be so joyful.
Going forward, I’ll be reminded of the feeling I had when I saw the picture of the protagonist on the tricycle, and the thought of “Hey! That’s just like me and my uncles!”, when making recommendations for title purchases. Because every child deserves to open a book and feel as excited as I did as an adult seeing my experience represented for the first time.
Have you ever come across a book for children or young adults that you felt mirrored an experience from your younger years?
Our guest contributor today is Isabella Ragona (she/her/hers). Isabella is a Children’s Librarian at the South Country Library in Bellport, NY. She is a graduate of Stony Brook University and the University at Buffalo. Her professional interests include children’s programming, early literacy, diverse and inclusive collections, and intellectual freedom. Outside of the library, Isabella can usually be found reading, crafting, attending a rock concert, or taking a dance class.
This post addresses ALSC core competencies I- Commitment to Client Group and IV- Collection Knowledge and Management.
Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.
If you are interested in submitting a guest post, please read and fill out our Guest Blogging Interest Form. We would love to hear from you!
The post Why Representation in Children’s Literature Matters…for Adults too! appeared first on ALSC Blog.
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