Blended Nation: Portraits and Interviews of Mixed Race America
By Mike Tauber and Pamela Singh
With an introduction written by Rebecca Walker and a foreword written by Ann Curry
Blogger Mama C And The Boys heard an interview with the authors on NPR and penned this review.
By Mama C And The Boys
© Mama C And The Boys
Blended Nation: Portraits and Interviews of Mixed-Race America by Mike Tauber and Pamela Singh is a collective photographic and transcribed exploration of what it means to identify as mixed race in twenty-first century America. As you may recall from a few weeks back, I was so struck by the short piece I heard on NPR with Mr. Tauber that I wrote to him to thank him for putting this work into the collective conversation and asked him if I could review and share his work here. He answered me within the day, and sent the book in two.
I was pulled in from the cover, and felt instantly as if I just arrived at a family reunion with hundreds of kindred voices that all welcomed me in-even when what they had to say was not easy to hear. Take for example the words of Timothy Meril. Adopted, Puerto Rican, and Iranian, and in middle school, his portrait exudes self assurances and self doubt simultaneously. The sepia tones reflect his skin and the bark of the tree-that I trust and hope he will one day be as strong as-and provide a lush container for his honesty; “I’m not black and I’m not white and I just try to fit in… My parents and family love me, but they don’t understand all the issues I deal with.” I feel a future Sammy and Marcel in his words, and in his world. And, I see our family over and over in the pages of this hefty, smooth, and visually stunning event. Interracial families, mixed race marriages, adoption, one part this and four parts that, and so many photos of radiant gorgeous people with curly black hair. Our family is the norm over and over again.
In last month’s Adoptive Families Magazine, there was a story by a now grown woman, Deborah Jiang Stein, who used to pour over the photos in the National Geographic Magazine every month as a child desperate to find a picture of someone who looked like her. Her adoptive parents did not at the time have the background information necessary to help her discover what her ethnicity was (part Greek, Tiawanese-American, Latina and more). Her essay came to mind as I looked in the eyes of the confident LaTanya Spann who is black, white and Asian. LaTanya talks about her choice in college of joining either the Asian, white or black sorority, and her decision to join a Latina-founded multi-cultural sorority instead. The difference in options for her, and Ms. Stein are epic. The book offers this perspective, and all of the possibility that shift engendered by the younger generation presents. At the same time, you are invited in, to the work of the parents that came before them, and the struggles of the peers that have not found their way to her flushed out decision.
I see this book as a tool for Sammy, Marcel and I to have many necessary conversations in the future. When Eddie, our Haitian superhero former nanny and now weekly dinner guest rock star was here the other night she said, having Marcel as a brother is going to provide opportunities for Sammy that he wouldn’t necessary have otherwise. And, having Sammy as a brother will do the same for Marcel. This book offers me a little crystal ball moment into that map she sees ahead of them. The stories in the book, and the dare you to turn that page until you see my soul photos included should be the anchor text for all families who aim to parent children of any background fully in this century. It’s like having extended family sitting on the couch who just showed up when you were at a loss for words and need their help to explain what it means to be human, today.
Anancy and Mr. Dry-Bone
By Fiona French
The story is based on characters borrowed from Caribbean and African folktales. Mr. Dry-Bone and Anancy want to marry Miss Louise. All they have to do is make her laugh. Mr. Dry-Bone uses conjuring tricks and gets no response. Anancy borrows colorful clothing from several animals, creates an eclectic outfit and makes everyone laugh, even Mr. Dry-Bone.
Simone received this book when she was an infant, and it is a favorite. Simone and Nadia love the colorful and contrasting illustrations, while I enjoy the book’s practical message.
We have one serious football fan and two blossoming football fans in our home. With this in mind, I picked up Game Day at the library for some father-daughter bonding time.
In the book, NFL stars Tiki and Ronde Barber play for a Pee Wee league. Ronde, a defensive back, blocks players, while his twin brother, Tiki, scores a winning touchdown. After the game, a reporter visits the brothers at home, interviews Tiki and ignores Ronde and his contribution to the game. Ronde is disappointed and wonders why no one notices how he helped his brother score. After Ronde suffers a minor injury, Tiki struggles in the game. Meanwhile, their coach tells Ronde the reason Tiki is struggling is because he is missing his “main man.”
During football practice, the coach tells the brothers about his plans for a new play, which involves both of them. The twins use the play in the next game and propel the team to victory.
Simone and Nadia understand the book’s universal message of teamwork even though they do not understand all of the football terms. The story illustrates the strength, abilities, and differences of two brothers and can be used to start discussions about all three.
If You Take A Mouse To The Movies, If You Give A Pig A Party, If You Give A Cat A Cupcake, and If You Give A Moose A Muffin
By Laura Joffe Numeroff and Felicia Bond
If you are looking for an affordable gift for a child this season and live near a Kohl’s, these books give and give. The hardcover books are $5, and the net profit will be donated to children’s health and education initiatives, according to the Kohl’s Cares for Kids blurb on the back of each book.
Two of these books and the $5 plush animals that complement them showed up at our house over the weekend. We do not have a Kohl’s in our town, but there is one near Grandma’s house.
Just before Christmas, Simone and Nadia will exchange one wrapped book with another child at preschool. These books would be perfect for that. Alas, I scoured kohls.com and could not find the books listed on the site.
For the uninitiated, the If You Give books start with a simple premise and then all sorts of hilarity ensues. You cannot read just one. I guess that is why we have several of them in our library.
Simone and Nadia giggle when we read these books to them, and we often play I Spy with the richly detailed illustrations. There is no pressing lesson to learn in the pages of these books, unless you count having fun.
One World, One Day
By Barbara Kerley
Here is the proof that our world is small, big, similar, and different all at the same time. This picture book follows children around the world from dawn to sunset.
The book features 60 photographs that show and tell how children in every corner of the world spend one day. What is so striking is how similar the day is for children. They all eat breakfast, go to school, spend time with their families, conduct chores, and fall asleep at night to do it all over again.
The pictures in this book can be used to tell stories and teach children about other cultures. There is a map in the back of the book that shows where all of the pictures were taken. Simone and Nadia like to point to where they live, and then I point to where some of the pictures were taken. This is a wonderful little book. We don’t own it yet, but it will find its way to our bookshelf soon.
The numbers are startling.
Of the 5,000 children’s books published every year, no more than 5 percent are written by or about blacks, Asians, Latinos or Native Americans, reports Catalyst Chicago. Last year, the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison catalogued 172 picture books, novels and nonfiction books published that were about Africans or African-Americans. Of those, 83 were written or illustrated by blacks.
Given those figures, I had to feature three books about black boys.
For You Are A Kenyan Child By Kelly Cunnane — A Kenyan child roams his village and forgets he has chores to do.
Fly By Christopher Myers — A look at the unlikely friendship between a boy and a homeless man.
Be Boy Buzz By bell hooks — Explores what it means to be a boy.
