Last Echoes

HOW DO YOU APPROACH ENDINGS?

I once walked a family member through the process of writing a eulogy. They were grief stricken by the loss but also about to step into battle with the surviving family members over the inheritance.  Before the death, the family found themselves in a tangled web of nastiness.  

When I arrived in town to help the family member tasked with delivering the eulogy, I found that he had written very little for the service the next day and what he had written was a mess of ego-based, one upmanship of the family members he was outraged over. A self rightous attempt to gain control, He was ready to air the dirty laundry of the family to the captive audience attending the funeral. My writing skills kicked in and I began the very painful rewriting process, moving him away from using the pulpit to shame the relatives and toward telling his father’s life story.  My message was strong, clear, and unwavering. 

“ You are retelling the highlights of this man’s lifetime.  Your are telling this man's final story. It is the one and only time it will get told succinctly to those who have gathered to say goodbye. This is the last echo of his life.”

I surprised myself that I was able to tease a decent eulogy out in the wee hours of the morning before the funeral.  But then again, I shouldn’t have been surprised.  It’s how I approach the ending of most of my stories.  The ending is the echo of the heartbeat of the story, whether it’s a picture book, a graphic novel, or a YA novel that I’m writing.  My two published picture books and my other stories that are out on submission end with that echo…the bookend of a circular story if you will.

 Egyptian Lullaby Illustrated by Hatem Aly  (Roaring Brook Press)

Hello, Little One:  A Monarch Butterfly Story Illustrated by Fiona Halliday  (Page Street Kids)

As an artist and writer, I tend to be somewhat metacognitive. I spend a significant amount of time reflecting on my process and analyzing my intentions.  My why as an artist is the desire to provoke discourse.  I want to challenge thinking and create dialogue so that people communicate, connect, and think…even small children.  That ending echo is the most important  beat of the story.  It ensures that engagement occurs and for me, what is art without engagement?

I love the quote that April highlighted in her last post and her description of serpentine endings. 

"One way to end the poem is to turn it back on itself, like a serpent with its tail in its mouth." ~ Maxine Kumin

Her post helped give me context to what I do.  She helped me name and identify my approach to endings.  I hope that our two posts back-to-back bring to you some thoughts and reflections on your own writing process as you explore… HOW DO YOU APPROACH ENDINGS?

For me…whether it’s a picture book, a graphic novel, a YA novel, or the eulogy at the end of one’s life, the ending is the final echo of the story.

Play Deprivation During The Pandemic

 

TADA...The winner of our giveaway of What the Cluck?  is Dorothy W.

14 years ago, I wrote this statement as part of my education philosophy.

“I believe in the power of play (think of anyone you know who has lost their passion for life and they’ve probably forgotten how to play.)

I believe in learning through wonder, exploration, and discovery (think of anyone you know who is a lifelong learner, and they’re probably driven by wonder, exploration, and discovery rather than thinking of learning as a task that must be completed.)” 

Indeed, play has always been a driving force in my life as a teacher and a writer.  As I reflect on my journey through education, I realize that I am not the stereotype.  I did not come to teaching because I thought I could change the world. I was not particularly fond of children.  I did not feel like I had ideas to impart on young minds. I realize that I am drawn to teaching 5-year-olds because I love to play.  I am Peter Pan and the students that frolic and romp  along with me are the “lost boys (and girls)”  

I have spent the past 30+ years avoiding growing up.  Instead, I arrive each day to the spontaneous joy, enchantment, and wonder of those who are experts at playing.  Don’t get me wrong, it is hard work to preserve this quality and protect it against those who might squelch it. 

This year I have watched as my students have struggled to find their footing.  I’ve noticed that it is taking longer.  They are less mature than years past and I wonder how the pandemic has affected their opportunities to play. 

 I imagine that the impact has been great.  

They came into the shutdowns when they were 3 ½.  Just when play with their peers was becoming prominent.  

I have noticed a lag.  

Much of our day is spent playing together. There is much healing to be done and I believe in the power of play.  

Recently, I find that I too have been deprived of opportunities to play for the past 19 months. There are few, if any gatherings.  Many of my friends are not venturing out spontaneously. I have attended countless meetings, conferences, and workshops on Zoom.  I spend many more hours than I ever have, in my apartment with the television keeping me company.   I have forgotten how it feels to wander aimlessly in lands unknown.   

With this loss of adventure, my creativity has waned noticeably.   Days go by and I am resisting sitting down to write.  Ideas are blocked,  a big, giant void. The joy is just not there. As I write this, it is taking me great effort to hear the words to put on the page.  It’s painful.

I wonder, why am I struggling to write? Where has my creativity gone, and will it return? Why does the sun shine a little less brightly? Why are my senses dulled?  

And then it dawns on me.  I have ceased to play as an artist.  I have stopped answering the call of spontaneity, wonder, and curiosity. I have ceased to explore and discover. 

Where is my passion? Is this my new normal? Is this what the pandemic has left in its wake? Can I pull this back from the brink and restore my imagination?  Is it me?  Are there others around me? Are there others out in the world? Are we experiencing a collective lull? Will we recover and heal? 

Yes, I believe we will. I’m hopeful that the opportunities of joy and delight will return and bring creativity back with them. For those of us whose inspiration has been affected by play deprivation, I believe that eventually we will find the power of play…again.

Posted by Zeena M. Pliska

Author of :

Hello, Little One: A Monarch Butterfly Story Illustrated by Fiona Halliday  Page Street Kids

Egyptian Lullaby Illustrated by Hatem Aly Roaring Brook Press (coming Winter 2023)

For more info about me click here

                 

New School Year, New Mindset

The school year begins the second week of August this year. The last time I  started a school year in person with 4- and 5-year-olds was August of 2019.  The world was a much different place.

Events have changed the way we think about race in both the children’s publishing world and the education world. The conversations are difficult and strained.  It’s hard to hold a mirror up and see your collective misgivings.  Especially, when you don’t want to.

I am returning to the classroom this year with a commitment to examine my own internal biases so that I may make more balanced choices regarding the picture books I read to my young students.

I know many of you are familiar with this statement by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, Professor Emerita of Education at Ohio State University

“Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created and recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books. (1990, p. ix)”

Centering diversity and decentering white culture is extremely important for children of color. The kidlit community as well as many in education are beginning to acknowledge this.  But what about children who identify as white? Is it important to be mindful of the books we read to these children?  Do they need exposure to books with non-white protagonists? Books written and/or illustrated by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) creators?

As an author, I just sent my editor my author’s note for my upcoming picture book, Egyptian Lullaby, about daily life in Cairo.  As I was writing the author’s note I realized that, although I hope that Arab children see themselves in the Egyptian American protagonist, my deepest hope is to normalize the Arab culture for the dominant/white culture to break through destructive stereotypes.

I have taught all over Los Angeles over the past 30+ years, in predominantly black communities and Latinx and Mexican American communities.  Currently, I teach on the west side of the city where many of my students are white. 

I can see that it is equally important for my white students to see themselves in a different way.  To understand that they live in a diverse world... To see themselves as a part of a whole... To see that they are not more valuable than BIPOC  children... 

If I don’t address this… If I don’t normalize diversity… If I don’t de-center the stories white children experience that reinforce their privileged position in the world…If I don’t bring the stories into balance, nothing will change. And as an educator, I feel responsible for helping bring about change, otherwise I am part of the problem.

How can I expect people who identify with the white culture to see themselves as anything but entitled and at the top of the hierarchy if I keep reading books to young white children that reinforce that they are?  How can I expect the paradigm to shift if I don’t shift it as a kindergarten teacher and a kidlit author?

I can help change perceptions with the simple act of paying attention to the picture books I use in my classroom.  I can create a balanced view of the world and better serve both  BIPOC and  white students by examining my own internal biases and widening the lens in which I portray the world to them.

I imagine picking up a camera with a telephoto lens.  That lens draws the eye to one small part of the picture and exaggerates its value. A wide-angle lens extends beyond the telephoto’s margins, bringing the marginalized out of the margins and including them in the whole picture in its totality.  No one should feel marginalized.  It’s up to me to change the lens both as an educator and a children’s book author.

As a kindergarten teacher, I am constantly evaluating my reading choices.  I have discovered that I don’t include enough books with BIPOC protagonists.  I have an awful lot of books that feature animals in stories that are told through a white lens.  Many of my stories with BIPOC protagonists are stories of struggle, resistance, and resilience.  I think it’s the activist in me that draws me to these stories.  It’s totally out of balance and helps create a single narrative which is ultimately destructive.

So, my own discoveries about myself and my internal biases have lead to changes I will implement this August…

If you’re reading this post via email and you’re unable to see the video, you can watch it on our TeachingAuthors’ website HERE or you can watch it on YouTube here. (If you're on a mobile device, you'll need to use the YouTube link.)

Here is a list of some of the books I recommend to center diversity in your reading list:

1. The Day You Begin written by Jacqueline Woodson illustrated by Rafael Lopez 

2. Dreamers written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales 

3. Sonadores written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales 

4. Carmela Full of Wishes written by matt De La Pena illustrated by Christian Robinson 

5. The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story written by Aya Khalil illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan 

6. Eyes That Kiss In The Corners written by Joanna Ho Illustrated by Dung Ho 

7. Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story written by Kevin Noble Maillard illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal 

8. The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family written by Ibtihaj Muhammad illustrated by Hatem Aly 

9. Mi Papi Has a Motorcycle written by Isabel Quintero illustrated by Zeke Pena 

10. Water Protectors written by Carole Lindstrom illustrated by Michaela Goade 

11. (Chapter book series) Farah Rocks New Beginnings written by Susan Muaddi Darraj Illustrated by Ruaida Mannaa 

12. Cora Cooks Pancit written by Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore illustrated by Kristi Valiant 

13. Antiracist Baby by Ibram X Kendi illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky 

14. (Early Reader series) Ty's Travels written by Kelly Starling Lyons illustrated by Nina Mata  

15. Alex’s Good Fortune by Benson Shum 

16. Alma by Juana Martinez-Neal 

17. I Dream of PoPo by Livia Blackburne illustrated by Julia Kuo 

18. Watercress by Andrea Wang illustrated by Jason Chin 

19. Amy Wu & the perfect bao by Kat Zhang illustrated by Charlene Chua 

20. Be A Friend by Salina Yoon 

21. A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara 

22. A Ride to Remember by Sharon Langley and Amy Nathan, illustrated by Floyd Cooper 

23. The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Kadir Nelson 

24. Unspeakable by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper 

25. Red Shoes by Karen English illustrated by Ebony Glenn 

26. Double Bass Blues by Andrea J Loney illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez 

27. Take a Picture of Me, James Van Der Zee! by Andrea J Loney illustrated by Keith Mallett 

28. Little Seeds of Promise by Sana Rafi illustrated by Renia Metallinou

29. Finding Om by Rashmi Bismark illustrated by Morgan Huff

30. Dalia's Wondrous Hair by Laura Lacamara

31. Feliz New Year, Ava Gabriela by Alexandra Alessandri illustrated by Addy Rivera Sonda

32. Egyptian Lullaby, by Zeena M. Pliska, illustrated by Hatem Aly; published by Roaring Brook Press (Coming June 2022)

WEBSITES, BLOGS & PODCASTS 

1. www.thebrownbookshelf.com 

2. https://www.aclib.us/kids/blog/childrens-books-arab-american-heritage-month 

3. https://citygirlblogs.com/centering-whiteness/ 

4. https://www.ibramxkendi.com/ 

5. https://www.leeandlow.com/educators/grade-level-resources 

6. http://ourstory.diversebooks.org/ 

7. https://www.youtube.com/c/AsianAuthorAlliance 

8. https://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/book-life/ride-remember 

9. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/nov2019/understanding-anti-bias

(Lists compiled by Zeena M. Pliska, Andrea J. Loney, Benson Shum, and Sharon Langley