"We are mirrored in other people's reflections"

Whenever I read books, I usually pick out a few favorite quotations I have. I found one that I love in David Levithan's Boy Meets Boy. Towards the end of the book Paul states, "We are mirrored in other people's reflections" (Levithan 178).

I absolutely love this line because I feel it has such a universal power to it, especially in the context of multiculturalism and diversity. This line really reminded me of my study abroad experience in Italy. I traveled to a country where I was completely unfamiliar with its culture: their language dress, traditions, values, etc. However, at the end of my experience not only did I understand and empathize with their culture, I began to see myself in their culture realizing that there are not as many differences amongst us as I once though. I eventually feel like I was able to "mirror myself in their reflection."

Levithan, David. Boy Meets Boy. New York: Random House, 2003.

Questioning the Text - Confessions of a Closet Catholic

Confessions of a Closet Catholic won the Sydney Taylor Book Award, an award that goes to outstanding children’s literature depicting Jewish content. The award focuses on the importance and existence of “positive Jewish content” within literature (Silver 44). Committee members judge “how authentically [the literature] portrays the individual characters in their interplay with Jewish belief, history, values, and practice” (Silver 44). Confessions of a Closet Catholic depicts the life of a young Jewish girl struggling to find her identify both within her family and her religion. Throughout the story, Jussy often compares her family with her friends’ families. Although her family is Jewish, does Justine’s immediate family (father, mother, sister, brother) depict “positive Jewish content” such as the Weinsteins do? How do their portrayals affect how you view them and the way they practice religion?

Check out the following passages in relation to my proposed question ...

(p. 18) - Shira Weinstein's family is said to be “a lot more observant of all Jewish traditions” (Littman 18). Like Bubbe, every Saturday they walk to synagogue rain or shine (Littman 18).
(p. 20) - “Dad says that quitting doing things for Shabbat was find in the olden days, but as modern people living in America, we shouldn’t have to do things like that” (Littman 20).

Does this tension between the ways religion is practiced cause the reader to judge either family in a certain way? Compared to the Weinstein’s, do the Silver’s reflect “positive Jewish content” although they too are Jewish?

(p.63) - Mrs. Weinstein brings Shira and Jussy hot chocolate. Jussy states, “There aren’t that many of my friend’s moms with whom I can imagine sitting around on my bed having hot chocolate and cookies. I can’t even imagine doing it with my mom, because I’d be so worried about spilling my drink or getting crumbs on the bedspread. But it seems cozy and natural doing it with Mrs. Weinstein” (Littman 63). (Compare this to Jussy's tumultuous relationship with her mother.)

Although they ultimately have the same histories, do they share the same beliefs, values, and practices of the Jewish religion? As mentioned before, the Weinstein’ practice Judaism more traditionally compared to the Silvers. Are the qualities in each woman any way reflective of their religion? Is this an effect of the way they practice religion differently? Could the reader maybe associate it in such a way?

I thought of this question, because similar to the Silver's being "twice a year Jews" (Littman 20), my family are sort of "twice a year Christians." We normally attend church on Christmas Eve and Easter. I wondered about the different ways this could be viewed. Although I don't practice my religion "traditionally" I'd like to think my life reflects "positive Christian content" in relation to my beliefs and values. I do see, however, that others may view it in a different way. This made me wonder how the readers viewed the Weinstein's and Silver's.

Work Cited

Littman, Sarah Darer. Confessions of a Closet Catholic. New York: Penguin, 2005.

Silver, Linda R. "Judging Judaica." School Library Journal 48 (2002): 44-5.
(TE 448 Course Pack p. 235-6)

Middle East Book Awards Assignment

The Middle East Book Award
The following information is paraphrased from the official website for The Middle East Book Award:
http://socialscience.tyler.cc.tx.us/mkho/MEOC/middle_east_book_award.htm

The Purpose:
MEOC established the Middle East Book Award in 1999 to recognize books for children and young adults that contribute meaning-fully to an understanding of the Middle East.

Selection Criteria:
Books are judged on the authenticity of their portrayal of a Middle Eastern subject, as well as on their characterization, plot, and appeal for the intended audience. (Awards are announced in November for books published during the period from January of the previous year through September of the current year.)
Eligible books are books for children and young adults that contribute meaningfully to an understanding of the Middle East. Award categories include picture books (for ages 3-8), literature for children or young adults, and reference books for children or young adults.Sponsor:
Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC) is the sponsor of the award. Established in 1981, it is a national nonprofit organization working to increase public knowledge about the peoples places, and cultures of the Middle East, including the Arab world, Israel, Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan. MEOC is a national network of educators dedicated to disseminating apolitical and nonpartisan information, resources and activities furthering understanding about the Middle East.

While researching The Middle East Book Award, there were only four websites that had helpful information. The information on each website was similar both in information and word usage. Information on the selection committee qualifications could not be found on any website. An interesting fact is that the book winners have no recognition on the cover of the book or on the inside of the book. All the recognition for the Award Winning Books is on the website. Some of the books that won The Middle East Book Award also won other awards; those awards were mention as "An Award-Winning Book" or "An Award-Winning Author" inside of the book jackets.


Other websites that were used are:
http://socialscience.tyler.cc.tx.us/mkho/MEOC/
http://www.outreachworld.org/article.asp?articleid=45
http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/outreach/news/meoc_2

Contemporary Literature for Asian Pacific Americans

While reading Yamate's article, "Asian Pacific American Children's Literature: Expanding Perceptions About Who We Are," I found similar themes to other readings we have had in class. Yamate discusses how there are so few children's books about Asian Pacific literature, and the ones that are there, give an "artificial view" of the world they live in. She further mentions how the literature that is present depicts Pacific Asian Americans within a past context. This, however, does not adequately represent their culture; it instead it perpetuates stereotypes about their culture.

The same problem seemed to hold true while learning and reading about the representation of Native American's in children's literature. Children viewed Native Americans as "people of the past," no long present or seen in today's society. This seems to be consistent with the literature about Native Americans. Native Americans seems to be most included in historical fiction. Similar to the situation with Asian Pacific Americans, stereotypes of this group seem to therefore perpetuate in literature as well.

While reading articles about disability in children's literature, there was a quote about the perpetuation of stereotypes in literature. In Eve Tal's article, "Swimming in the Mainstream" she states, "How can stereotypes be avoided? Information about the disability needs to be accurate and up-to-date, and the language describing the disability chosen with sensitivity and awareness of current usage." I feel this quote holds true for Pacific Asian Americans and Native Americans as well. Literature representing these two groups of people must be current and up-to-date! It is important that such ethnicities are represented in contemporary realistic fiction literature, not solely historical fiction, and are done so in an accurate way.