jaimy

Thanks to those of you who responsed to my query. I added some of your suggestions into the following encyclopedia entries.


PERSONAL/SOCIAL ISSUES IN.

Since the 1960s, American childrens and young adult literature has increasingly explored both personal and social issues. The civil rights movement along with Americas growing awareness of its multicultural citizenry have helped foster young readers interest in personal and social issues including racism, violence, poverty, sexuality, homosexuality, physical abuse, sexual abuse, rape and substance abuse. An important award begun in the 1970s is the Coretta Scott King Award, for authors and illustrators of African descent. This coincided with more books by and for African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinas/os. Childrens and adolescents interest in social issues can be seen through the continued popularity and sales of authors focused on presenting sensitive situations, authors such as Judy Blume, Shel Silverstein, Robert Cormier, Eve Bunting and Francesca Lia Block. Whether children and adolescents select these poems and novels for pleasure, or are introduced to them by parents, librarians, educators or psychologists, picture books, young adult novels, and non-fiction accounts dealing with these themes are very important.
Prior to the 1970s there were fewer works aimed towards children and teenagers dealing with sensitive topics. What were then considered coming of age themes are now categorized into the recent genre of young adult or juvenile fiction. Pre-1970s novels exploring social issues which have maintained their popularity are J.D. Salingers Catcher in the Rye (1951), William Goldings The Lord of the Flies (1955), and John Knowless A Separate Peace (1969).
Adopted, fostered or orphaned protagonists are common in childrens and young adult fiction, yet most texts do not deal necessarily with the multiplicity of feelings and issues, such as the parentless children in The Lord of the Flies or the orphaned Harry Potter. Discussions of adoption and foster care are mostly limited to non-fiction informational stories.
The American contribution to young adult realistic fiction began with The Outsiders (1967) by S.E. Hinton and The Contenders (1967) by Robert Lipsyte. Hinton deals with gang and class warfare in Tulsa, while Lipsyte writes about drugs and violence in Harlem. The protagonist of The Contenders is a black teenage high-school dropout, working in a grocery store, who transforms his circumstances. Much of the realistic fiction from the 1960s and 70s has now been categorized as problem novels.
Many books challenge gender stereotypes by portraying boys or girls in nontraditional ways, like Tomie DePaolas The Knight and the Dragon (1980), a picture book about a boy and a dragon who instead of fighting choose to read and cook together. For older readers the popular Harriet the Spy (1969) focuses on an intensely curious and intelligent female protagonist. Yet, works that specifically refer to harassment incurred by not embodying ideal masculinity or femininity are rarer. DePaolas earlier picture book Oliver Button Is a Sissy (1979) addresses sexism faced by young boys, as does gay rights activist Harvey Fiersteins more recent picture book The Sissy Duckling (2002), the story of an effeminate male duck ostracized by his peers and his father. For older readers, the non-fiction Taking a Stand Against Sexism and Sex Discrimination (1990) focuses on sexism from a feminist perspective. Memoirs of an ex Prom Queen (1969) deals with a teenagers date rape and her successive female struggles in the home and workplace.
A feature of gay problem novels from the 1960s and 70s is that although homosexual acts do not occur, the characters portrayed as gay often face death or are involved in terrible car crashes. Heterosexual awakening, previously as taboo as homosexuality, often details the consequences of wrong decisions. The act is almost never discussed, but the negative consequences are. For example abortion, which was first dealt with in Paul Zindels My Darling, My Hamburger (1969).
Childrens books also reflected societys changing consciousness regarding women, with more publishing and availability of stories featuring active heroines and female histories and biographies. The issue of rape appeared in Richard Pecks Are You in the House Alone? (1976). However, it wasnt until 1975 that the sexual act itself would be celebrated as healthy and normal in Judy Blumes Forever (1975), which has been frequently banned. One of the difficulties facing authors of books containing sexuality and other personal and social issues is censorship. Many texts are not available for sale, taught, or shelved in libraries, stunting dissemination and therefore publication in a second edition. Second editions are often soft cover and therefore less expensive. Yet many feel that certain books containing personal and social issues are not age appropriate or can be frightening and harmful. Where depictions of any sexuality continue to be challenged, aspects of multiculturalism have become more diverse.
The availability of culturally conscious literature, defined as discussing situations particular to cultures rather than merely including multicultural characters, has become increasingly important since the 1970s. An example of culturally conscious Native American literature is the work of Driving Hawk Sneve (Lakota) whose characters face specific difficulties navigating between two worlds and forging self-identities. Stevie (1969) by John Steptoe and Amazing Grace (1991) by Mary Hoffman are both culturally conscious in their use of African-American word usage. Stevie also focuses on foster families, particularly a boys multiple feelings towards his foster brother and Amazing Grace includes racism and the extended family as natural realities. The theme of the picture book Stars in the Darkness (2002) is inner city gangs, notable for its portrayal of an older brother who is both a compassionate protector and gangster. The importance of making books depicting social problems available for children, through purchasing and sharing them, can be seen in the case of Little Man Little Man by James Baldwin (1976). Although Baldwin is widely read and taught, his one childrens book only achieved a first printing. The joyfully illustrated text examines Harlems poverty and includes intravenous drug abuse, alcoholism and physical abuse, yet it is also a funny book whose primary focus is on life and beauty. Irene Hunts Newbery Award winning Up a Road Slowly (1966) depicts alcoholism as well.
Sandra Cisneross Mexican-American novel The House on Mango Street (1984) debuted during the 1980s and is currently required reading for many middle and high schools. Some of the themes are poverty, sexuality, sexism and racism. This decade was important because several comic books and graphic novels dealing with a variety of personal and social issues emerged. Art Spiegelmans Maus (1986), a 1992 Pulitzer Prize winner, discusses not only the holocaust, but also the psychological effects of Jewish survivors and some of their problems, including suicide and unique family difficulties. One Hundred Demons (2002) by Lynda Barry is a contemporary graphic novel autobiographically portraying various personal issues.
War books for young readers, primarily about the Civil War, WWI and WWII are readily available, yet two problems with war books written for young children is that they may not be understandable for their targeted ages due to their use of allegory or because a simplistic and unrealistic solution to war is offered. An exception to this is Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust (1989) and the Caldecott Award winning picture book Drummer Hoff (1968). Lois Lowrys Newbery Award winner Number the Stars (1989) focuses on a Danish familys contribution in assisting Jewish people. An interesting addition to Holocaust literature for children is I Never Saw Another Butterfly (1993) containing the poems and drawings of children, almost all killed, from Terezin Concentration Camp. Less work has been done on the Korean and Vietnam War, but Walter Dean Myerss Fallen Angels (1988) is a poignant Vietnam War novel, notable for its protagonist who enlists because Harlem provides no other opportunities.
The 1990s witnessed a resurgence in reality fiction, also called contemporary realism. Many texts are problem novels about alcoholism, divorce, teenage pregnancy or suicide, but they can verge on melodrama because the texts are centered completely on its chosen problem. Several 1990s Newbery medal books discuss social issues. Holes (1998) touches upon class and race. Abandonment, illegitimacy, and parental death appear in Walk Two Moons (1994), and an honor title, What Jamie Saw (1995), deals with domestic violence. Walter Dean Myers explores gun violence and crack in Scorpions (1989) and his novel Somewhere in the Darkness (1993) centers on a boy and his strained relationship with his father, who was missing for years because of his imprisonment for armed robbery. Both of Myers books were Newbery Medal Honor Books. Pins (1999) is a novel about gay high school boys.
Books with continued popularity for young adults seem to focus not solely on the personal problem and its solution or the moral consequences of a personal issue like sexuality or drug use. Instead, like literary classics for adults, books include different issues and problems as part of reality or write about issues in greyer terms. Authors of literary merit notable for continuously presenting a variety of difficult subjects throughout their careers are Shel Silverstein, Eve Bunting, Judy Blume, Robert Cormier and Francesca Lia Block.
The best known example of a poet focusing his career on personal and social issues, notably violence and depression, is the extremely funny Shel Silverstein, whose Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974) includes poems commenting on war, animal rights, and the effects of emotional baggage. A Light in the Attic (1981) depicts depression, social outcasts and childhood fear of parental divorce. The more serious Eve Bunting has written numerous picture books touching on themes like family problems, death, war and racial prejudice. Smoky Nights (1999) is about the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Bunting has teamed up with illustrator Ronald Himler to discuss difficult topics ranging from homelessness, in Fly Away Home (2004), to the Vietnam War memorial, in The Wall (1990). The themes in Judy Blumes amusing novels include puberty and sexuality, in Are You There, God? Its Me, Margaret (1970) and Then Again, Maybe I Wont (1973), and violence in Blubber (1974). Robert Cormier, in several chilling books including The Bumblebee Flies Anyway (1983) and Tunes for Bears to Dance to (1994), highlights mental illness and psychiatric treatment and institutions from multiple perspectives allowing the reader to interpret the meaning of the story. Many of Cormiers stories focus on violence, whether from the victims or victimizers perspective, and our own complicity in violence, particularly The Chocolate War (1974) and After the First Death (1979). Francesca Lia Block, in her fanciful Weetzie Bat Books (1989-1998) includes drug abuse along with drug experimentation and sexual abuse along with the joys of sexuality. Some of her novels depict gay heroes or bulimic or anorexic heroines. Her more serious The Hanged Man (1994) and Wasteland (2003) focus on incest. Whatever the personal issue, the characters and stories in the best books are multifaceted.
Personal and social issues in literature for child and adolescent readers continue to be popular with a broader range of engaging topics and works available. Many issues, such as female homosexuality and the recent Iraq wars, demand discussion. Parents, educators, social workers and mental health care professionals can use these stories to open up discussion, to educate, to work through difficult topics and of course as encouragement to read for pleasure.
FURTHER READING: Dreyer, Sharon Spredemann. The Book Finder: A Guide to Childrens Literature About the Needs and Problems of Youth Aged 2-15. Circle Pines, Minn: American Guidance Service, Inc. 1977-; Raskinski, Timothy, and Cindy Gillespie. , ed. Sensitive Issues: An Annotated Guide to Childrens Literature K-6. Oryx Press, 1992; Rudman, Masha Kabakow. Childrens Literature: An Issues Approach. New York: Longman, 1995.



ILLUSTRATION, AFTER 1950.

During the 1950s, illustrators Maurice Sendak, Ludwig Bemelmans and Dr. Seuss were awarded Caldecott medals, an honor given yearly to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book , which began in 1938. 1950 was also the year Charles Schultz debuted his comic strip Peanuts (1950-2000). Examining the Caldecott Medal and Honor winners throughout the decades is an excellent way to discover Americas contribution to the picture book world, since fables, international folk tales and multicultural national experiences, wordless and colorless picture books, all in a wide range of mediums and styles, are represented.
Charles Schulz and Art Spiegelman are significant for reimagining comic books. Although comic book superheroes from the 1930s and 40s were and are still incredibly popular, Peanuts introduced themes of spirituality, depression and loneliness. This paved the way for more serious comic books and graphic novels. Art Spiegelmans holocaust survival story Maus (1986) won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize and is now on many school reading lists. More recently, Spiegelman has illustrated and edited childrens books in comic format, Little Lit: Folklore & Fairy Tale Funnies (2000) and Strange Stories for Strange Kids (2001). Popular serialized comics and graphic novels for both children and adults demonstrate Americas diversity and changing consciousness regarding history, identity and pedagogy. Thus comics have come a long way since the 1950s, when it was feared they would lead to illiteracy and produce moral degeneracy. They now receive Pulitzer prizes and are used in classrooms.
Illustrated by Eleanor Campbell, Dick and Jane reading primers demonstrate Americas shifting consciousness regarding racial issues. This is seen through their inclusion of an African-American family in 1965, the year of public school integration. Peanuts also introduced multi-racial families in the 1960s. The Civil Rights era influenced childrens book publishing, creating more diversity in the visual characterization of different races as well as visual depictions of females in a wider range of roles.
Many artists focusing on aspects of the African-American experience experiment with various styles and mediums, pushing illustration into fine art. Jack Ezra Keats won the Caldecott Medal in 1963 for Snowy Day (1963), rendered in collage and paint. This book was revolutionary for being the first full color picture book featuring a black hero. In 1974 the first illustrator (George Ford) was honored with the Coretta Scott King Award, an award established in 1970 for authors and illustrators of African descent whose distinguished books promote an understanding and appreciation of the American Dream. Important African-American illustrators include three-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration Jerry Pinkney, also a winner of the Caldecott Honor Award for the pencil, color pencil and watercolor folktales Mirandy and Brother Wind (1989) and The Talking Eggs (1989). John Steptoe published Stevie (1969) in illustrations notable for how the thick black lines and bright colors convey dark and complex emotions. Stevie is the story of a boys changing feelings towards his foster brother. Faith Ringgolds recognizable acrylic painted quilts are reproduced in several of her picture books including Tar Beach (1991). Her quilts stem from the African American tradition emerging from slavery. The quilt used for Tar Beach is now in the New York Guggenheim Museums permanent collection. Christopher Myerss Wings (2000) and Bryan Colliers Martins Big Words (2001) are examples of texts creatively employing collage and photomontage. The acrylic illustrations in R. Gregory Christies many picture book portraits are recognizable for both their realism and distortions. The intense and varied facial expressions are juxtaposed with distortions seen through elongated necks or limbs.
African Americans have significantly contributed to American childrens picture book illustration by, among other things, introducing mediums and traditions unique to their cultural experiences. American immigrant populations have as well, although there is much less available. Important Asian illustrators are Allen Say and Ed Young. Allen Say depicts Asian and Asian-American characters, whether in stories set in Japan, like Tree of Cranes (1991) whose art is reminiscent of traditional Japanese art or the United States, like Grandfathers Journey (1993), which is a sequential narrative, photographically organized to explain the romance between the speakers Japanese grandfather and the American woman who becomes his grandmother. Ed Young immigrated from China and many of his texts are directly inspired by Chinese art and philosophy. Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China (1989) is the 1990 Caldecott Medal book striking for its three-picture sequences, resembling traditional Chinese decorative panels.
Childrens picture books depicting Latino/a characters and art forms have achieved greater visibility since the Pura Belpre Awards were established in 1996, awarded to a writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experiences. Chatos Kitchen (1996) is the 1996 winner illustrated by Susan Guevara. Elements of Mexican folk art and murals are apparent, as are the graffiti styles appropriate for the books East Los Angeles setting. Garcia, the 1996 award winner for Snapshots from the Wedding (1998), created three-dimensional multi-media sculptures photographed for the childrens book. Materials include clay figurines and lace.
Illustrations in picture books for children can be enjoyed as single visual images, but they are by nature narrative. They are viewed, most often in a 32-page format, to tell a story. Often artists are presented with the written text without even meeting the author and then face decisions on how to represent the story and characters. There are several childrens books written by renowned authors of adult books illustrated by leading childrens book illustrators. Tom Feelings collaborated with Maya Angelou on Now Sheba Sings the Song (1987). Happy to Be Nappy (1999), written by bell hooks, is illustrated by Chris Raschka, known for his whimsical watercolors filled with joy and movement. Giselle Potter illustrated Toni and Slade Morrisons The Big Box (1999), with detailed and haunting watercolors to match the theme of the text.
There are many more wonderful examples of various artist/author collaborations, yet the best-known childrens books and many of the award winning illustrations come from books written and illustrated by a single individual. Tom Feelings illustrated multiple books during his lifetime, but he received the Coretta Scott King Award for his own Soul Looks Back in Wonder (1999). Chris Raschka has also beautifully illustrated works including the e.e. cummings poem Little Tree (2001), but his own Yo! Yes? (1998) was a Caldecott Honor Book and picked by School Library for its 100 Books that Shaped the Century list.
Of all of the American illustrators, Maurice Sendaks recognizable style has consistently dominated the most popular prizes, nationally and internationally, bestowed on childrens book illustrators. His second book, A Hole is to Dig was on the very first The New York Times Best Illustrated Childrens Books of the Year list in 1952. Among the lists debut books cited have been by artists who currently are some of the most renowned illustrators, including Chris Van Allsburgs Garden of Abdul Gasazi (1979), a book rendered in black and white, creating a surreal yet documentary effect.
Following is a sampling of the range of other important American childrens book illustrators who author their own texts. Kevin Henkess Mouse Books adopt the anthropomorphism common in childrens tales, but his watercolor paintings combined with a black pen-and-ink line emphasize the diversity and dynamism of his female characters. Vera B. Williamss detailed borders, felt tip pen and watercolor, and in Cherries and Cherry Pits (1986) lined yellow school paper, highlight the types of drawings children make themselves. Jack Ezra Keats varies his style to fit the mood of each story. The Snowy Day features solid lines, bright colors and joyful effects depicting a boy at play in the inner city whereas Keatss Apt. 3 (1971) employs dark colors and fuzzy backgrounds and characters to emphasize the fear and danger in an inner city tenement. James Marshall illustrates for comic effect. For instance, the poignant story of love and friendship between Mona and Maurice in The Guest (1975) is rendered comic by Mona being a huge grey hippo-ish creature and Maurice a small pink snail. Tomie dePaola has over five million book in print. Some childrens picture books have no words, telling stories solely through art, like Ed Youngs Up a Tree (1983) and David Wiesners June 29, 1999 (1995), Caldecott Award winning Tuesday (1997), and Caldecott Honor Book Sector 7 (1999). Leo & Diane Dillon have been collaborating in various mediums for over forty years and have won numerous awards including both the Coretta Scott King Award and the Caldecott. All of their illustrations are detailed and precise, yet stylistically varied. For example Why Mosquitoes Buzz in Peoples Ears (1975) emulates traditional African art, whereas The Girl Who Dreamed Only Geese, and Other Tales of the Far North (1997) is influenced by native Inuit masters. Perhaps their scope can best be seen in To Everything There is a Season: Verses From Ecclesiastes (1998) where their art is fashioned after different cultures and their respective historic period. One season occurs in eighteenth and nineteenth century Japan, hence the illustrations look like the traditional woodprints used in that culture. African, Chinese, Japanese, Native Inuit, African-American, Chinese-American, and many more have enhanced and created a uniquely American picture book canon.
There are several resources for childrens book illustrators and their admirers. The Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators began in 1971 to assist illustrators and others working in the field of childrens books. Since the 1990s childrens book illustration has become an even more prestigious field. Certificates and courses in childrens book illustration are offered at leading art colleges. Several art galleries and museums have emerged dedicated solely to childrens book illustrations. Every Picture Tells a Story has been selling original art from childrens picture books since the 1990s. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, in Massachusetts, opened in 2002 to display national and international picture book art.
FURTHER READING: Cullinan, Bernice, and Diane G. Person. , ed. The Continuum Encyclopedia of Childrens Literature. New York: Continuum, 2003; Cummins, Julie. , ed. Childrens Book Illustration and Design. PBC International, INC. New York 1992; Harvey, Robert. The Art of the Funnies: An Aesthetic History. University Press of Mississippi, 1994; Lacy, Lyn. Art and Design in Childrens Picture Books: An Analysis of Caldecott Award-Winning Illustrations. American Library Assn, 1986; Nodelman, Perry. Words About Pictures. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1990.
--Jaimy