HDEV00025
The book I have chosen to analyze is 'I Remember "121"', written and illustrated by Francine Haskins. The book was published in 1997 in San Francisco, and it tells a very autobiographical story of the author, Haskins, and her memories of the brick house she grew up in in Washington D.C in the 1950s. There isn't a very explicit plot to the story; each page is mostly just a different memory of Haskins', and all of them are generally pleasant. For example, Haskins recounts the time her little brother was born, and the times when her mother would take the children to Baltimore for a day trip. The book is very simple, and most of its story is told through its illustrations with the support of the text.
The most important feature of the book is the fact that it is about an African American girl and her extended family. There is no depiction of any person of color aside from black, not with people on the street or any of Haskins' school friends. I don't think this can be viewed as a criticism in this case, because this is a situation that's probably very realistic from the author's perspective, and the book is autobiographical. I think the book is mostly very innocent and straightforward, and it doesn't have any real moral lesson to offer, though I sensed a definite implication that the author wanted her reader to notice her community. The book is all about the girl, growing up with a huge family, a lot of neighborhood support, in what appears to be a very healthy and loving environment. It shows the reader that Haskins had a beautifully close-knit group family and friends, one that she was proud enough to write a book about. The fact that this group was entirely (or mostly) black is both important and incidental.
On my first read-through, I felt a little uncertain regarding the way one stereotype was presented. There's a page in the story where Haskins' depicts her aunt cooking family dinner, which consisted of fried chicken, collard greens, and corn - foods now very stereotypically associated with African Americans. I was rather worried by this one page and it set me up to keep a look-out for other stereotypes that might be in the book. However, when I read through it a second and third time, I realized that this one page wasn't a stereotype as much as it was an actual, valid part of the author's life. The book has really lead me to question what grounds an assumed stereotype has when it's told from the perspective of someone who genuinely experienced it at one point in their life, as is the case here with Haskins. I don't think it's always right to quickly judge right and wrong when faced with stereotypes, like I initially did here. Sometimes they can be very important and sentimental parts of a person's life, in which case they deserve to be met with respect.
In general, I don't believe the depiction of Haskins and her family is a stereotypical one. It's authentic and perhaps familiar, but it doesn't carry any negative or pitiful subtexts that might exist in other stories from the time and place that "121" is set. How is 1950's DC usually shown to people through media? There are always issues with civil rights, violence, racism and poverty when looked at from an African American perspective (a well-known film that depicts this, for example, is the recent movie 'The Butler', and it's just one example out of many). "121" is completely divorced from this, and it breaks the stereotype that that difficult sort of life is all that African Americans ever knew at that period in time. Haskins' mother is a teacher who values intellect and cultural learning. Her father is fun and gentle with his children, and teaches them about the joy of laughter. Her neighborhood is safe and everyone looks out for one another. Overall, the book shows a great facet of African American culture, one that's too often overlooked in favor of more dramatic material.
I would absolutely recommend "121" and would be happy to see it on any classroom bookshelf. The book offers a lot of lessons for children, but it's told in a sweet and laid-back way. I can easily imagine a teacher reading this to her class and then provoking some really good questions afterwards from the children. It has a lot to do with race, class, culture, and the like, and the book offers a point-of-view of a family that many kids may or may not be familiar with; the detail the Haskins' family is depicted with is very illustrative, though, and would give children a good understanding of the story and its characters even though they might not be able to relate directly. The story depicts a black, middle-class, large and close-knit family with happiness and warmth. The fact that it's a story actually written by a person from that group makes it all the more genuine and rich.
The author with one of her books.
Resources
Haskins, F. (1997) I Remember "121". Retrieved from childrenslibrary.org
I completely agree with you about stereotypes. Sometimes we get hung up on pointing out stereotypes when in reality that's how people live.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a very good point about the possible stereotype presented in the book, the food the author's aunt cooks for dinner. I think it brings up the point of having various books depicting an African American family available for children that show them eating in different ways, offsetting the possible negative view of this particular family's way of eating. Overall, I agree this would be a great book to include in the class room and I really enjoyed your review!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting point about the stereotypical meal being realistic for this girls family. I wonder if there are other stereotypes that are actually more accurate than stereotypical? The book sounds like a good representation of this girls experience in the 1950's. It is curious that there was no non-blacks in the book. It may be accurate, or it may be that they just weren't important to the story and the memories of the author.
ReplyDeleteFirst thing i liked was that this book is pretty positive and the description of it seems to be positively introduced. If i was to read this book, i would then decide if i was to recommend it for children. In general, i like that it doesn't teach negativity to children, and that the author seems like she wants to show people the good side to life.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think we were trying so hard to find stereotypes that sometimes we might be making them up. I find it interesting that the characters have big eyes and mouths, they look kind of strange, especially since this was written by an African American woman. If this was written by a white person it would definitely be wrong to draw them this way. It sounds like a good book, I like that it was a true story.
ReplyDeleteLaura, the strange illustrations really intrigued me as well. I agree with your comment about them being strange, and that they would have been inappropriate coming from any other author. I researched a little about the author, Haskins, and learned that she is a professional artist. She creates a really wide variety of art yet all of it has a similar, signature style. It reminds me very much of African American folk art, which I think is her intent. It looks kind of raggedy, kind of odd, and a little childish too. At first I was repelled by the art, but now I see it as a feature of her cultural pride. I like the way she pays homage to her culture's history by reviving that art style in her contemporary work.
DeleteThis seems like a really great story. I like that it defies the stereotype that everyone of color were miserable in the 1950s. Even if her parents were going through really hard times and dealing with segregation they still made her life as wonderful as possible. This sounds like a great story that shows African-American families in a positive light!
ReplyDeleteI agree that about how this book doesnt have stereotypes per say when you think about who the author is ans what she is writing about. Things she is writing about are factual and historical and real to her. They aren't very much stereotypes as they are reality so in this story there isn't discrimination towards those color since someone of color wrote it and there were just people of color in the story. This books great and I would love to read it. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the review and introduction to this, what appears to be wonderful book. I enjoy these stories that depict childhood neighborhoods because they run deep with people. In my own life and in other books, including the one I reviewed, portray neighborhoods as seen through the eyes of the authors when they were young. Quite right on these perspectives being authentic, making valuable tools.
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