Prologue

Once upon a time…

That’s the way all great stories start, right?  Well, perhaps not all of them, but if Chaucer and Dickens used it and it serves as the introduction for tellings of countless fairy tales, I’d say it carries a tad bit of weight in the literary world.  I can’t pretend that any of my ramblings could hold a candle to any of those classic tales, but I’m going to borrow it anyway!  So….

Once upon a time, (last February), a few weeks into the winter semester of classes at Eastern Michigan University, I was surfing through TED talks after I’d watched a particularly fascinating one earlier that day in my multicultural children’s lit class by novelist Chimamanda Adichie on “The Danger of a Single Story” I wasn’t all that familiar with TED talks before but an hour later my head was swimming with all the possibilities.  I was almost ready to call it a night when I happened to stumble across a talk by Ann Morgan called “My Year of Reading A Book From Every Country in the World.”

I was floored.  My own bookshelf was very similar to the one she described and I had never thought about how potentially damaging that could be.  My multicultural class was already opening my eyes to how sheltered or uninformed I was about certain aspects of life in the United States and I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much I was missing or ignorant to on the world stage.  It wouldn’t solve every problem, but surely expanding my literary palate to include more global titles would be a start!

That video started me on a great new adventure.  I’m serious, I was so excited that I posted it on my facebook status then and there, stating that I was going to undertake the challenge, but do so with my own twist – by looking at the world of children’s literature in translation.

People that know me weren’t really surprised by my overly ambitious statement.  This is not the first time that I’ve been struck by something on a whim and hit the ground running; a few years ago my family celebrated the National Food Day every day for a year, which I cooked and blogged about.  The following year we did a project on all 50 states that included getting mail from all the states, eating regional cuisine while we studied it and learning about the people, landscape, products and cultures.  That was followed by the birth of my super villain Anita Direction who planned to steal each of those fifty states and could only be stopped by the two detectives living at my house who received clues from her and her henchman every day.  Like I said, I am no stranger to big projects and I never do anything half-way.

So after my bold proclamation I started to do a little digging and realized with my family, classes, my part-time job, clubs, other commitments, etc, I may have bitten off a little more than I could chew in the space of a year.  Especially considering I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to get my hands on children’s books from every country in the world.  Flustered but not defeated I pitched the idea to one of my professors as a potential independent study.  My gratitude to her for getting onboard nearly as quickly as I had, her patience with my overambitious nature, her ability to rein me in when I get too far ahead or a bit overwhelmed and her encouragement that this little project just could be a launching point for a much bigger task (like my Master’s thesis) knows no bounds.  She helped me get the project approved by “the powers that be” and then together we figured out how to make it manageable, interesting, informative and fun.  It’s evolved a bit from my original idea, but I think it’s stayed true to my purpose to learn more about the world.  And I’m hoping that maybe It will inspire just one person to pick up just one of the titles I blog about and add it to their own library. 

Before we get too far along in all of this, though, I think that it’s important that I offer a few “disclaimers” about this little project of mine…

Disclaimer #1:

I am not an expert.  I repeat, I am not an expert.  I am an undergrad student who is studying and learning about Children’s Literature.  Take what’s written here with that in mind.  I’m doing my best; researching, learning, digging, questioning and then putting all the pieces back together, but I’m bound to make a mistake (or quite a few of them) along the way.  With that in mind I have no problem relying on the experts.  I have an amazingly talented, patient, encouraging, hardworking, inspiring professor overseeing my little adventure.    I have turned to numerous members of the Eastern Michigan faculty for advice and input.  I have dug through scholarly articles, textbooks and research from people with a wealth of knowledge on this specific topic.  I’ve had the opportunity to speak with translators and publishers to get their insight.   Those are the experts.  Notice once again that my name is not included in that category, no expert here.  When all else fails, see Disclaimer #1.

Disclaimer #2:

I don’t speak or read any languages besides English.  I have a smattering of Spanish after three years of studying it way back in high school and I know tidbits of French (right, Mom?) but I am not fluent in any language besides English.  And honestly, I sometimes even question that.  While that may seem to put me at a slight disadvantage, let me point out that while the process of how and what gets translated fascinates me, the actual act is far beyond my capacity (See Disclaimer #1). I, just like every other reader of translated literature, depend on the person doing the translation to use their knowledge and skills to deliver me the same story in the language I am able to understand.  That is one monumental task which as we’ll see doesn’t always go so smoothly for a variety of reasons.  So everything that I’m basing my information and opinions on is from the published English translation, not the original text the way it was first published in its country of origin.

Disclaimer #3:

I am an adult.  I know this seems like a pretty obvious one, but let me clarify.  The world in which “Children’s Literature” exists is mixed up and discombobulated.  Adults write material intended for children and then adults choose what materials to make available for children.   We adults have good intentions, but they sometimes go astray by needing to label, categorize and even censor materials for younger readers.  In my opinion (see Disclaimer #1) far too often we don’t give kids the credit they deserve.  Personally, I often find their wisdom and insight surpasses those that are much older.  Some of the best literature I have ever read was “meant” for someone a quarter of my age at the time I was reading it.  When I pick up a book I do not automatically dismiss it as being “for kids” nor do I try to read it with the mindset of its apparently intended audience.  I just read it as me in that moment.  I will admit that sometimes it’s hard to chuck the adult (and especially now the parent) blinders, especially as I’m scrutinizing some of these picture books. 

Disclaimer #4

This is a big project.  Ever since it started worming its way around my brain more than six months ago I have known it was going to be a huge undertaking.  To that end, I can’t possibly cover it all.  I have had to pick and choose, narrowing my focus and rein myself in more than once.  (Those that know me personally are now nodding vigorously in complete agreement, knowing that this is usually the way things go with me and my projects.)  To this point I have read, reviewed and researched well over three hundred picture books but I know that I can’t possibly cover all of that in a semester long project, let alone all the amazing books still out there!  I have provided some links for other areas to check out if you’re interested, and I’m always interested to hear from others who have a great title or article to share! 

Disclaimer #5

In no way, shape or form am I dismissing any of the amazing titles being published here in the U.S.  And while I see the difficulties of the publishing industry getting on board with translated materials, I know first-hand the struggle for talented authors right here to have their own materials published.  I am an aspiring author myself, and a proud member of The Society Of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCWBI) who has been rejected a fair share of times myself and watched as friends with talents far surpassing my own also struggle to get their foot in the door.  There are incredibly creative authors writing inspired literature for kids right here in the United States for sure.  What I’m suggesting is that the United States isn’t the only place that is happening.  And one step further, by reading not only domestic authors but global ones as well, we are giving ourselves (and our children) a much more well-rounded, enriched view of the world we live in.  Take that for what you will after reminding yourself of Disclaimer #1 of course.

Disclaimer #6:

We all like different things, have different opinions, view the world differently – and that’s OK!  In fact, that’s fabulous!  You’re probably not going to like every book I mention and I’m sure you won’t agree with everything I have to say – GREAT!  That is just one of the things that makes literature (and the rest of the arts) so special.  There is no black or white, no right or wrong – we all have the ability to interpret, decide, analyze, like, loathe and love for ourselves.  Feel free to speak up – agree, disagree, add your opinion to the conversation!  Even if I WAS an expert I wouldn’t be an expert in what every person that happens to read this little blog thinks and feels.  We all get to do that for ourselves – own it!

Alright, I think that about covers the big ones.  I’m sure if something else comes up along the way I’ll be sure to point it out.  Besides, when all else fails I’m going with #1!

One more thing before I forget, while this project is academically based, this blog and my musings in it are much more informal and the language and tone I intend to use will reflect that.  So put those dictionaries away, you won’t need them here!  know this was a fairly lengthy post, I promise they won’t all be so extensive. On Friday I’ll be back with some information on how I decided to categorize the books for my project and how and when I intend to publish this blog over the next few months.