by Arlene Tucker.
Stories are like a volcano bursting with multisensory and multidimensional elements. I love telling them, hearing them, reading them, passing them on, seeing them form in my mind, feeling how I react as the ideas flow into different parts of my body. There’s something very magical and transformational that happens with story books, especially for young readers. Characters in books can become lifelong friends and mentors. The whole performative act of reading and being read to as well as holding the book in one’s hands, is where a child can get interested in exploring parts of their identity, emotions, and how we can communicate through text and image. The narrator, the messenger, also plays a huge role in how the presentation grasps the listeners. One could say that it can be a very bonding experience. Storybooks are complex and multifaceted treasure chests that can create a very important foundation for children and communities on so many levels. With that said, the importance of representation and multilingualism need to be taken into account.
Arlene’s friendship with books
As I reflect on my own storybook collection that gave me space to reflect, wonder, and motivate me to read, write, and draw, I recall my two homes Taiwan and the USA, which gave me different libraries to enter – passages to different cultures, perspectives and languages. Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, first comes to mind as the illustrations of these fantastic worlds matched with the playful use of language and kindness depicted in the content touched me in ways that still guide me in emotional rollercoaster states as an adult. For example, in the book Oh, the Places You’ll Go! is about life and all the ups and downs we will inevitably face. As a side note, yet equally relevant to the multiplicity of storybooks is the element of gift. Just as receiving a cuddly toy is an extension of the giver, the same goes for books. My Uncle Mike, over the years grew our collection of Dr. Seuss books at home and I associate the stories and what they mean to this special person in my life.
Storybooks from my mom’s side were not as bountiful in the traditional sense, as what I call our ‘story songs’ made a stronger impact. We moved to the USA when I was six years old. We could only take a few books with us from Taiwan. One of them was 賣火柴的小女孩 (A Little Match Girl) by Hans Christian Andersen. I remember the illustrations were photographs of puppets, which drew me to the story as well as the deep conversations I had with 媽媽 (Mama) talking about sadness, familyhood, and being grateful. I assumed this was a Taiwanese story, not realizing it was a classic Danish fairy tale. Because we moved to a country where there weren’t a lot of books offered in Chinese, my mom often sang to us, which she would then open up the meaning of the lyrics as she sang. Storybooks exist in so many different ways depending on the resources we have.
Do you see yourself in this story?
Representation is so important for young readers to help shape their reality according to the models they build through storytelling, films, songs, and other forms of self expression and exploration. Seeing people who looked like me or who go through similar joys and hardships as I do were not really available in the 80s, regardless of location. Specifically in context to me, referring to being a bi-racial person coming from a multilingual, multicultural and family with an immigrant background. Where am I in those books? Where’s my face? Where’s my voice? Where are you? This is the main reason why art has always been my language of empowerment and preference as it gave me the possibility to explore various concepts and express myself. To no surprise, I studied film and worked for several years in the industry. Film is a storybook in full flesh, in sound and movement. The potential to bring to the forefront people and stories who may not always be heard in a medium that has always touched me so deeply, gravitated and motivated me to open up and bring to light what hides in the shadows.
Arianna Braga writes, “Children’s representation in literature and media plays a significant role in child development and growth because it helps children to understand the reality they live in or to discover other cultures, giving them the opportunity to develop empathy and respect for cultural differences. Children’s representation is important to how kids build their perspectives on their own ethnic-racial group, as well as that of others (Rogers, 2021). In this sense, children’s representation has a double dimension: on one hand, it supports the discovery of an external dimension, and on the other, it provides inputs for the discovery of the inner dimension.”
Writing is a joy and a journey
Just like ‘you’ the main character in Oh the place you’ll go, I have found myself in every which way, lost and then found, sometimes feeling defeated, yet always returning with lots of hope. Regardless of the format, I was always telling stories or at least transmitting stories that I was hearing in another way. When I saw the open call for participants to join the DRIN project, I saw this as my chance to finally swim towards (one of) my dreams of writing a children’s storybook. DRIN consisted of a series of workshops and meetings open to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in Europe, people with experiences of racism, interested in writing for children. I just wanted to write and DRIN gave me that opportunity plus much more.
Blank canvases can be intimidating, but for some reason my drawing board never felt untouched even though it was a fresh start. My first story involved Vieno, Arlene and Ilo. Vieno is making connections about family, genetics and friendship. Vieno sees similarities between Arlene and her boy Ilo, but she also sees differences. Through meaningful and playful dialogue, Vieno and Arlene explore how we can challenge heteronormative ways of mothering and nurturing interspecies families. The second story allowed me to play more with my childhood and how it was to leave my first home and find myself in my second. I described Mooncake love & Ma媽 as “When you are living in a home away from home, food can be the warm blanket that makes you feel safe, seen, and that can help keep your memories alive. Arlene and her mom are celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節) in the USA. As they make party plans, they stumble across challenges of recreating this festival as well as feel energized by seamlessly telling anecdotes and expressing wishes for tastes, smells and home culture.” The dialogue between mother and daughter bounces between Mandarin, English and Taiwanese. As families move from place to place, our knowledge of languages and different ways of being, celebrating and eating grow with us.
The end can also be a beginning
These stories in essence are about multiculturalism, multilingualism, plurilingualism, being norm critical and embracing who we are in the moment. Both stories are inspired by real life situations. In that sense, every moment of our lives can be written, re-written in the way that best serves us. I choose to turn those moments into art and literature where hopefully we can open more discussions about our personal experiences and create more understanding in our world. Representation and access to languages and ways we speak and communicate at home and in our daily lives is so important. By seeing ourselves on the screen or in a book, it gives another push towards belonging and validation. Seeing is believing and this is extremely important for children. Whether ideas enter one’s stream of thought explicitly or not, they take shape in the early years and stay with someone into adulthood. Diversity and plurilingualism in children’s literature need to be taken into account as there are a million and one ways of existing and expressing oneself.
As I am a curious soul…
What’s your favorite book? What do you like about it? Share it with a friend. Do you see yourself in the books at your library? Tell your local librarian. Are you reading books in the language you would like to read? Tell your local librarian. If your local library cannot help, reach out to your local book publisher. Publishing companies are gatekeepers and hold the power of which books and stories make it into the world.
Let’s try to hold ourselves accountable and help each other along the way.
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Arlene Tucker’s socially engaged work utilizes translation studies, semiotics, and feminist practices. She currently works as a diversity expert and project director of Diversity as a starting point for municipalities’ art and culture activities in 2025. Arlene also works as an artist and educator. She creates installations and dialogue based experiences. Arlene has a bachelor’s degree in film, video and painting (Savannah College of Art and Design), a master’s degree in semiotics (University of Tartu) and a teacher’s certificate from the University of Helsinki.
“The project DRIN – Visions for Children’s Books brings together international authors, illustrators, librarians, and publishers to share knowledge and build networks of empowerment. It sets new standards for more diverse children’s literature in Europe and involves young (and multilingual) readers. DRIN addresses the issue of equal participation, highlights the gaps in representation in children’s literature, and encourages diverse authors and illustrators to shape the book market and create new materials for children and young people. It also raises awareness among publishers, libraries, institutions that promote reading, and educational authorities.”
https://www.goethe.de/ins/fi/en/ver.cfm?event_id=23106678
https://www.goethe.de/ins/fi/en/kul/sup/drin.html
Reference:
Braga, Arianna. The importance of children’s representation in literature and media
The importance of children’s representation in literature and media
The publication is edited by illustrator Warda Ahmed from Finland, with two Germans, illustrator Jasmina El Bouamraoui (El Boum) and writer Chantal-Fleur Sandjon: the expert consultants on the DRIN project. In Our Own Words: BIPOC Perspectives in Children’s Literature (2023) https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf293/publication-drin-2023-digital-v2.pdf