In his new book Love (beautifully illustrated by Loren Long), de la Pena talks about all the kinds of love that a child experience through out the course of their childhood -- starting from when they just open their eyes and see adoring eyes looking down at them, to the love of a brother, who has been charged in making his little brother breakfast because the parent has to leave for second shift. Matt's original article about the backstory to his question to Kate can be found here.DiCamillo's response was eloquent as always and so right for the climes and times that we live in. See her response here.
In her essay, "Why children's book should be a little sad", Kate talks about how exposing young children to real life topics -- homelessness, domestic violence and poverty -- is the right thing to do in a picture book. I can not agree with her more. In my own sheltered childhood, I was read the classics -- Madeline's Rescue and The Little House among others. Where the only adversity in the illustrations could only be seen with an eye of scrutiny. Not to say that there were not children's books available during my childhood that breached said topics. Author Eve Bunting and others were pioneers in writing books with a social message, which we now call "diverse books". Authors and publishers have made it easy to find and read these "diverse books" in the 21st century, we can pick up a book about a family with two moms and a boy who wants to dress like a mermaid at our neighborhood Barnes and Noble. These are beautiful stories to be shared with people we love. A picture book provides a caretaker and child an opportunity to talk about topics in a non- threatening environment where parents/caretakers can model correct language and answer their child's questions.
A parent is a child's first teacher. If we avoid or deem certain topics taboo or off limits (world religions, sexual orientation and homelessness) children continue the cycle of complacency and ignorance that leads to prejudice and assumptions in our society. Children are naturally curious, so talking with children about what they see and feel, while using children's books to guide the discussion is a gentle way to start the conversation.
So I thank you Matt, and I thank you Kate for sharing real life in your work. For real life is really all there is and by sharing these books with our children, we will get through it together.
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