A is for Activist: Children’s Literature Reflection

Every book has a core message that the author wants to convey to the reader.  It could be a message of hope, of laughter, of tragedy, of knowledge or just a collection of stories about someone’s life.  For Innosanto Nagara, he has a message for children and their caregivers:  it’s powerful to learn about activism and you can be any age to start learning.  Out of this thought came the book A is for Activist where Nagara uses colorful pages, rhyming words and a game-like atmosphere to help children become knowledgeable about critical issues such as labor rights, equality, activism, feminism, LGBTQ and diversity. Make no mistake, A is for Activist is a children’s book, creatively packaged in the format of a board book that shares the ABCs of activism. The opening page begins with the letter A; “A is for Activist. Advocate. Abolitionist. Ally” (Nagara, 2016). 

Are You an Activist? What Do Activists Actually Think About?

There are many activist concepts including organizing, protesting, activist art, feminist thought, intersectional perspectives, anti-oppression theories and ways to practice decolonizing together. 

Regarding Nagara’s book, the real questions to be asked is how effective was he at sharing the activist message with the world and what was the impact of that message?  As with any book publication, there will be both positive and negative reviews, even a little controversy depending on the topic of discussion. 

Nagara’s book emulated some of the tested delivery methods that worked for the 1970’s book the Lorax, with a similar feel and look to the illustration placement and use of numeric repetition. You can see similarities in the colors, the use of animals, cartoon drawings and integration of creative rhymes to make it attractive for parents to want to buy and read to their children.  Although Nagara’s book told a different kind of story, an activist story, it did an excellent job educating children on meaningful social issues and how to navigate the world in a compassionate manner while contributing to positive change as a good citizen. 

The Waves of Feminism

The Waves of Feminism and perspective on feminism will vary based on who we are and where we each stand (Birk).  Women of colour have historically been left out of the feminist movement entirely or had their contributions grossly devalued. It is the same degradation process taking place regarding BIPOC authors as they often face unfair criticism and encounter difficulty when trying to share their voice with the world.  We are still experiencing the effects of structural racism within our society at institutions such as publishing houses or media firms.  We need to take steps now to address the disturbing prevalence of discriminatory practices within our publishing system and change how we condition children to negative stereotypes about people of color.  Andrea Martinez, author of Combating Internalized Racism believes that children who do not see themselves represented in the books they read has a negative impact on their self-esteem and links the issue to racist and prejudicial publishing practices, “whether through a complete lack of representation, negative stereotypes, or issues of authenticity” (Martinez, 2022).

Nagara had a target audience for his work and that was for parents who want their children to grow up with books that have a different message than fairy tales featuring princes and princesses.  He wanted to pass on a message of activism and social justice to ensure the younger generation was learning about these important topics at an early age to enable them to carry these teachings throughout their lives.  Two learning themes featured in the book were centered back-to-back with the letter H and I.  H, highlighted the importance of eating healthy food and reminded me that not everyone has access to adequate nutrition. The letter I, brought the topic of immigration and unity to the forefront, reminding us that “an injury to one, is an injury to all” (Nagara, 2016). 

Nagara’s book uses images of cats and other animals on the page to appeal to young children which makes the message not feel scary since children are often fond and trusting of animals.  It also allows the reader or the narrator to play games and find the animal on each page.  On every page, the object or animal shares the first letter in its name with the corresponding letter in the alphabet as the reader goes from A to Z.  The rhyming nature makes it fun for the reader and those listening, reducing the harshness of the message whether it is about “corporate vultures, dictators or selfish scoundrels” (Nagara, 2016). 

The Position Statement from the Canadian Pediatric Society of Canada highlights that “Parent behaviours that enhance the relational benefits of reading, speaking and singing are most effective when they take place on a repetition cycle, helping children to learn, internalize and recreate stories” (Shaw, 2021).  As a parent of two children myself, I can attest that many of their current interests as teenagers were sparked by early conversations in their childhood and exposure to stimulating social connections and topics we explored together.

Each page in A is for Activist has a distinct learning message with great artistry that ties it all together.  The colors shine bright, and the various characters seen throughout the pages are positioned as approachable heroes of the activist movement from Malcolm X to Nelson Mandela to Zapatista.  Nagara wants children and their parents to learn that these people are not to be feared and to expose a little piece of these historical figures so that it sparks ideas and questions about who they were and for what they stood.  One example of an effective rhyming pattern from the book is: “A is for Malcom, Malcom X. History’s lessons can be complex” (Nagara, I. (2016).  The text can be a little much for children up to age 12, with words that would not typically be found in most books written for that demographic.  As seen through popularity of the Lorax, new words or those that are hard to pronounce do not divert the fervent reader.  This is especially true with the inquisitive nature displayed by children who are often very adaptable to new ideas and haven’t yet formed their own biases.

Dr. Suess Books Are Pulled: Recall, Overhaul or Cancel Culture?

Unequal representation in books, movies, music and other media has come to the forefront in recent times.  Many people of color have long recognized the void when it comes to finding someone who looks like them in a fairy tale, comic book or blockbuster movie. Being exposed to diversity at an early age provides a sense of normalcy to children to be able to read a story that includes someone who may or may not look like them, who may share the same culture and provide opportunity to gain experience about other cultures.  Even the estate that manages the Dr. Suess catalogue cannot claim to be inclusive or representative, no matter the popularity of the books across the world.  Recently, they made a statement, after pulling many of the titles from publication, that “these books are not representative of diversity” (Good Morning America, 2021).  With cancel culture taking over, I believe we should give dated authors the opportunity to revise their work to reflect an inclusive and culturally sensitive version before banning them forever. Children’s literature scholar Philip Nel is not entirely sure of the best approach to take and questions the motivations of Dr. Suess Enterprises, “may be motivated by the fact that racism is bad for the brand, or they may be motivated by a deeper sense of racial pressure” (Alter & Harris, 2021).

Selling 125,000 books (La Ferla, 2017) is not a small feat.  To sell this quantity of books with an unconventional children’s message shows that the author was correct in their chosen type of medium as well as the way they delivered the content.  Timing of the release of the book was also critical as movements had started or gained momentum 5-7 years ago with Me-Too, Black Lives Matter and DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion).  Having a popular rock star like Rage Against the Machine, artist Tom Morello provide his voice to Seven Stories Press for the audio version of the book made for a unique delivery method.  Morello even reads this book to his own children (Seven Stories Press, 2014). The benefits of book sharing with children are immense and can help develop complex thinking patterns that follow a child into adulthood.  The Canadian Pediatric Society of Canada describes shared reading as “focused, immersive, that invites frequent, rich interactions and language exposures to positively predict language development” (Shaw, 2021). 

While A is for Activist has appealed to many readers, it does not come without controversy as some would say that it’s too much for children of a young age to be learning about activism.  This is the opinion of librarian Leslie Aitken who goes on to say “If you must have it, buy it as a gift for your adult friend who joins causes.  Read the full review here. With this last possibility in mind, I am awarding the book one out of four stars” (Aitken, 2015).  Unfortunately, negative reviews and criticism can be expected as some individuals believe the activist movement is not for everyone and there is a great divide in society on what we instruct our kids, at what age and who is teaching them.  This disconnect was seen in the schools and the courts in 2018 when the government of Ontario repealed the sex-ed curriculum that had been in place for 20 years to the dismay of 6 families of transgender children along with countless others who oppose the plan (McQuigge, 2018).  It should be noted that The Lorax was considered controversial for its time, exploring themes of capitalism and greed with a warning that unless someone is there to speak up, nature will be ruined for them (Suess, 1971). 

Although A is for Activist is a children’s book, it can also be used to teach adults about the basic activist principles.  It is a simple yet powerful tool that brings together all the tough subjects that many people argue about.  Nagara eloquently rhymes about children’s rights, environmentalism, LGBTQ rights, social justice, feminism, worker’s rights, equality, diversity and togetherness.  By learning the ABCs of activism, we are all heeding the intended message of the Lorax and trying to make the world a better place, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better” (Suess, 1971).  Every child and caregiver should read Nagara’s book A is for Activist, and I would love to see it taught in our education system across Canada.  By not including a diverse and accurate representation of our community in the childhood literature we share with school aged children, we are perpetuating a cycle of systemic racism. Author, Naomi Priest poses a hard question to school aged children and their teachers in her book; “You are not born being a racist, are you?”  One of her studies found that teachers, parents and children tend to approach the topic of racism from a reactive space rather than that of initiative-taking solutions (Priest et al, 2016).

In conclusion, I believe the future of activism will continue to evolve and shine even brighter. Perhaps one day history will look back on the ground breaking book, A is for Activist through the privileged position of hindsight with a new generation of activists researching our own blueprint and academic articles with a critical lens. 

References:

La Ferla, R. (2017, June 30).  Children’s primers court the littlest radicals.  New York Times.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/style/activist-books-for-children.html

McQuigge, Michelle.  (2018, August 9).  Human rights challenge launched against rollback of Ontario sex-ed.  The Canadian Press.

Myers, W. (2014, March 15).  Where are the people of color in children’s books?  New York Times.  https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/opinion/sunday/where-are-the-people-of-color-in-childrens-books.html 

Nagara, I. (2016). A is for activist. Seven Stories Press.