Book Choices/Reasoning

The first article that I chose to read was titled “We Are Family: Using Diverse Family Structure Literature With Children” by Deanna Peterschick Gilmore and Kari Bell. The article is a very broad description of how librarians, teachers, and parents can work with literature to help students/children explore topics that are not what society considers traditional literature. There is a short focus on different topics, approximately 2-3 pages per topic. These include: children of divorced parents, children in stepfamilies/blended families, children of adoption, children of international adoption, children of gay and lesbian parents, and children in all kinds of families. By offering a broad topic, the authors help the reader (ideally librarians, teachers, and parents) to better understand the importance of this type of literature. These groups are underrepresented in our literature, and therefore need to be brought to the forefront. As the times continue to change, the need for this type of literature becomes more and more prominent. “According to the United States Census, only 68 percent of children live with the traditional family of father, mother, and child.” (We Are Family 280) It is important for these children in the other 32% of families to feel that they, too, are normal. They “need to see their lives depicted in the books they read.” (We Are Family 280) It offers insight for understanding that these books are not only necessary for children in diverse family structures, but also for students who are not. It shows the need for all children to understand that not all families are the same, that not everyone has the same set of values and identities. Throughout the article, the different diverse family sets are brought up one at a time and the reader is shown a closer view of what these families are like and how life is different/similar for children in these families. The authors also provide a comprehensive list of books for each section listed, as well as reasons these books are valuable.
I decided to farther narrow it down, and found this article solely about adoption. “Books on Adoption for Young Children: Looking at Language” by Nancy Schimmel and Susan Love. This article was much more concise, but specific to adoption. It touched on the many different words that are used in these types of books. There were many times when words showed up that I hear typically used in our society, but I find that they’re offensive or invalid according to these authors. This article is sincerely written by two insiders; Schimmel is a reunited birth mother and librarian, and Love is an adoptee and adoptive mother as well as a teacher. Their experience as part of this group helps them to dictate what is and is not appropriate language for children. I found the article to be extremely helpful in my search for books, as one that I had chosen prior to reading this article came to be not so valid. I will use this as an example of their article’s depiction of negative effects that words may have on adoptees. “…referring to either set of parents as the real parents certainly denigrates the other set.” (Books on Adoption 32) This shows the importance of using words such as birth or first mother instead of “real”, as this may cause confusion for the child. It is important to use words that are positive for all sets of parents in the situation, as well as the child.
Both of these articles helped in my discovery of three very well written books on adoption. This set is a mixture of adoption books ranging from traditional adoption to international adoption—those born in a different country and adopted by families in the US. These would all be helpful for any family with adopted children—as they offer things that allow the adoptees to see that they are not alone in their situation. The article states, “A child’s own adoption story is always the most important one, but books presenting other people’s experiences reaffirm that adoption is normal—as is one’s curiosity about it.” (Books on Adoption 32)