ALA 2013!

You know where ALA's HQ is, right? :)

Yesterday was  my first ALA Convention, hosted at McCormick Place! For those of you who don't know what ALA is, it's the annual convention hosted by the American Library Association. Basically, it's San Diego Comic Con, but for librarian's best practices, and a celebration of the relationships between librarians and the literary world. My star-struck self had an awesome time, described below.





Cool Things I Saw

1. The ALA Store: Wanted to buy all of the things. Some librarians have credit card problems, okay?

2. Graphic Novels!: Jon Scieszka (who is a RIOT and one of my all-time favorites) moderated a session on kids' graphic novels with Raina Telgemeier, Jarrett Krosoczka, and Doug TenNapel. Ms. Telgemeier was gracious enough to personalize a copy of Drama for my student who adores her. A 7th grader is about to be very happy!

3. Edwards Luncheon: Best of all, I attended the Margaret Edwards Luncheon, to honor the body of work put out by the venerable Tamora Pierce. I say "venerable" because of the immense respect I have for this young adult giant. Ms. Pierce is known for her fictional realm Tortall, inhabited by heroines like Alanna of Trebond, Daine Sarassri, Kelandry of Mindelan, Beka Cooper. The Circle of Magic series saw her rise to even greater heights. She writes diverse stories about girls who face tyranny, war crimes, misogyny, changing bodies, sex, racism, and everything else women fight. For the past 25 years, she's destroyed gender roles with a smile. Without her work, YA wouldn't be the female-friendly zone it is today. I wouldn't be the warrior I am today.

My mother read me Alanna's Song of the Lioness series when I was in third grade, and I've reread it dozens of times into adulthood. At the time, I wrote her a letter and she wrote me back, saying I was one of the youngest people to ever write to her. I've held onto that letter since. Later, a fellow GSLIS student met Tamora and sign a book for me, saying "Hi Kristy, what are you doing now?" (Thank you again, Eti.)

I attended with two colleagues: the aforementioned GSLIS alum, and my mentor librarian who recommended me SoL back in the day. First, Tamora punked the audience by pretending to be a doddering old lady, but then laughed at us all and launched into a brilliant speech describing her frustrating childhood full of male heroes. In the spirit of "Write the book you want to read," Tamora decided to write fantasy books about heroines who weren't princesses, but knights and soldiers and policewomen. Her books resonate with me and other women who take on physical roles protecting others, and who mentor other women who want to make change. ALA, I need for you to put up a transcription of this speech ASAP!

Attending the session with my mentor librarian, Stephanie, was extra special. Steph pushed me up to meet her, despite the fact that I was already reduced to tears by her speech. Wordlessly handing her that letter seemed to be pretty overwhelming for the both of us. Because I was shamelessly bawling, Steph had to talk and tell her my story. Such a special moment for all three of us.

My experience with Tamora Pierce reinforced several things for me:
- Librarians and educators must help children build relationships with authors. Author studies should be a critical part of emergent literacy.
- Text-to-self connections are an instant win for readers.
- Seeking mentors is an important life skill. Becoming one is the way you repay the favor.

I wish you could see TP's pendant: a double-edged battle axe. WIN.

ETA: Here is School Library Journal's writeup of the event, summarizing some of the best points. 

Kindergarten Feminism

As a teacher, I try to tread with caution about the opinions I share with kids. I've mentioned my issues with middle-schoolers and homosexuality before, but the Kindergartners are a totally different ballgame.

The munchkins are different from big kids because they repeat without interpreting. This is the age where they start looking to adults for their affirmations and codes on many behaviors, including gender and racial roles. I spend some time thinking about what their racialized and gendered world looks like, and how I can reflect their world back to them positively in the books I provide for them in the Library/Media Center.

I had an amusing adventure in gender today. I did a readaloud in the Kindergarten class with Allie's Basketball Dream (Barbara E. Barber). It's the story of a young Black girl whose father buys her a basketball, only to be told by all of her unfeminist friends that girls do double-dutch and boys play basketball. But don't worry - Allie sticks it to all of her lame friends and shoots some pretty awesome baskets at the end of the story. Then, of course, everyone gets over their silly opinions and wants to play with her. Feminism and cooperation for the win! Check the breakdown on this:

Diversity Points for Allie:
+1 for a strong female character openly challenging a gendered opinion
+1 for the strong female character being non-white
+1 for a multiracial group of children depicted in cooperative, preexisting friendships
+1 for depicting an awesome, sensitive, and loving dad of color
+1 for boys and girls who change their unfeminist opinion on example and model inclusive behaviors
+1 for an urban environment that isn't the ghetto

6 Feminist Points! Barbara E. Barber, you are Feminist and Fabulous! Congrats on your inclusive entry into children's fiction!

All of this is awesome. Take this really lovely moment in the story where Allie takes down gender expectations across all sports:

"Well," Buddy snorted, "some guys think that girls shouldn't be playin' basketball."

 "That's dumb!" Allie bounced her ball. "My cousin Gwen plays on one of the best high school teams in her state. She's won more than ten trophies!" [...] "Some girls think boys shouldn't be jumping rope," Allie continued. "They think the boys are no good at it. That's dumb too."

Girl preach. So full of win, right? But when, I asked my Kindergarteners, "So, if girls can play basketball, can boys play double-dutch?" ... the answer was still a resounding NO. I didn't quite know what to do with this. First of all, some of the munchkins were clearly not listening to the author's message in the story! Basic fail, y'all.

Alas, one story isn't going to change the gender expectation already ingrained in these five-year-olds. My kids are bombarded with hypermasculine images of LeBron James and Derrick Rose. Their world offers an extremely narrow view of what adult (black) men do, other than basketball and rapping (and that one guy who is president). I'm fairly sure there's a weekly argument with a boy over their extremely unlikely future dreams of music or sports fame. And it's hard for them to understand, because that's all they know. I even think it's hard for the boys to concede that girls can enter a realm they so strongly consider theirs.

....Okay. I guess I get a little invested in the messages of children's books. But I'm hoping that today, I challenged some Kindergartenders' gender expectations today, made some girls feel like they could play sports, and made some boys feel like they could jump double-dutch.