| Brown Gold: Milestones of African-American Children's Picture Books, 1845 – 2002 NEW YORK & LONDON: ROUTLEDGE:, 2004. ISBN: 0-415-93857-0 pp. 229 Reviewed by Professor Andree-Jeanne Tötemeyer In this scholarly but altogether readable work on African-American children's literature is viewed from a broad cultural-historical perspective. The dramatic evolution of this body of literature over a 157 year period is vividly but critically discussed and portrayed by means of several reprinted illustrations. Not only is racial discrimination on the part of some authors examined in this literature, but also racial discrimination against African-American children's book authors on the part of the dominant publishing world. Section 1 consisting of three chapters, gives an overview of the history of African-American children's picture books, focusing on selected titles such as Helen Bannerman's The story of little black Sambo (1899) and Heinrich Hoffmann's Struwwelpeter (1845) which includes the racist story, “The story of the inky boys” as well as the McLaughlin Brother's The ten little niggers (1857). Although the first two titles are not originally American, the author argues that their dynamics had a profound influence on the development of the African-American children's picture book genre. The author, Michelle Martin describes how, until the 1920's, the antecedents of these books were “by them, for them”, i.e. they were written primarily by white authors for white readers with the black as the centre of ridicule. From the 1920's out of the Civil Rights and Black Arts Movement, a number of black authors emerged who wrote “FUBU” picture books, i.e. “for us, by us” to help black children to improve their self esteem and celebrate their blackness in a society that devalued them. Martin compellingly demonstrates how since the fifties, African-American children's picture books have made great strides to become today a genre “by us, for everyone”. She does not adhere to the opinion of some critics, that non African-American authors cannot make affirming contributions to the children's picture book genre about the black experience, quoting Ezra Jack Keats and William Miller as examples. She believes that the inclusive nature of modern African-American children's picture books as well as greater access to publishing, has secured a widespread readership of this genre, the function of which is to build bridges between people and be catalysts for embracing difference (p. 72). In Section 2 a chapter deals with the Coretta Scott King Award Picture Books. From a critical analysis of the first award-winning title, George Ford's Ray Charles (1970), which is today considered to be a traditional and flawed work, the author discusses several other award-winning titles such as Camille Yarborough and Carole Byard's Cornrows (1979), John Steptoe's Cinderella-like Mufaro's beautiful daughters: an African tale (1988) in which black is beautiful; stories from family lore and intergenerational relationships such as Valerie Flournoy and Jerry Pinkney's The patchwork quilt (1985) and Patricia Mc Kissack and Jerry Pinkney's Mirandy and Brother Wind” (1989). An impressive analysis follows of the musical quality of Nathaniel talking (1988) by Eloise Greenfield and Jan Spivey Gilchrist, a text in poetic first person narrative, written in Black English vernacular in the rhythm of rap and twelve blues poems. Some other award-winning titles discussed are the opera-based Aida (1990) by Leo and Anne Dillon, celebrating the life of famous African American soprano Leontyne Price and The middle passage: white ships, black cargo” (1995) a wordless, visually rich, oversized picture book by Tom Feelings, that portrays the painful history of slavery. Martin also distinguishes herself in the way she evaluates and describes illustrations: in In the time of the drums (1999) by Kim Siegelson and Brian Pinkney, a retelling of the legend of the mass suicide of a group of Ibo slaves, she refers to the “swirly luminescent scratchboard illustrations (that)…. convey a constant sense of motion” (p. 101). The collage work of Bryan Collier in Uptown (2000) is vividly described as an example of the art work of the postmodern era. Patricia Mc Kissack and Jerry Pinkney's Goin' someplace special (2001) an autobiographical story of the racial discrimination experienced by small ‘Tricia Ann while traveling to the Nashville public library, one of the few places where blacks were treated with respect in the 1950's, the “color principle” is emphasized. It “encourages the reader to focus on the positive energy that ‘Tricia Ann (dressed in a vibrant blue dress with yellow and orange flowers) exudes rather than the negativity that surrounds her until she reaches the library” (p. 103). The following chapter examines the development of second generation African-American children's picture book authors “during this Golden Age of African American children's picture books” (p.105). The discussion as well as the presentation of interviews with members of the Pinkney, Myers, Steptoe and Crews families show that the children generally have developed their own styles but all of them “carrying on and expanding a family vision that they have inherited” (p.106). Section 3, the last part of this book, addresses the place of black picture books within academia. It consists of four chapters. For the analysis of chosen titles in the first chapter, “Historical America through the eyes of the black child”, Martin uses as a tool, the revision of the social theory of Karl Marx by Louis Althusser who separates the Repressive State Apparatus (the government, the army, the police, the prisons) from the Ideological State Apparatus (religion, education, the family, the legal system, the political system, culture). She presents picture books that show how oppressors underestimated the Ideological Apparatus under which the African-American community operated and how this enabled the protagonists to behave subversively without the oppressors realizing it. She also shows how these books convey the alternative ideological systems that were created to effectively aid protagonists to overcome oppression and survive the dominant ideological systems that restricted their freedoms. In this respect the following titles are analysed: Ebony sea (1995) by Irene Smalls and Jon Onye Lockard, The bus ride (1998) by William Miller and John Ward, Li'l Sis and Uncle Willie (1991) by Gwen Everett, Martin's big words: the life of Dr. Martin Luther King jr. (2001) by Doreen Rappaport and Bryan Collier. Books analysed that show how the acquisition of literacy prevents the enslavement of the mind are: Mary Bradby's More than anything else ((1995), William Miller's Richard Wright and the library card (1997), Robert Coles's The story of Ruby Bridges (1995) and Ruby Bridges's autobiographical picture book, Through my eyes (1999). All these books set in the segregated America, are portrayed to show that it was a subversive act in itself to obtain access to literacy. Another subgenre of African-American culture, religion, is discussed in the chapter, “Just build me a cabin in the corner of Glory Land: depictions of heaven in African-American children's picture books”. Martin shows how this literature emerged as metaphors out of slavery from Negro spirituals and gospel songs. Arna Bontemps ‘s Bubber goes to heaven , written in 1930 but only published in 1998, and Julius Lester and Joe Cepeda's What a truly cool world (1999), creatively deconstruct and transform traditional Judeo-Christian concepts of heaven, infusing black culture, history and black modes of discourse into that which is sacred. In Carolivia Herron and Joe Cepeda's Nappy hair (1997), the angels try to talk God out of giving Brenda at birth such nappy (kinky) hair, but God insists, setting a new standard of beauty. Martin also discusses the brilliant colours used to depict heaven by Jan Spivey Gilchrist in her picture book, Madelia (1997), including purple, blue and hot pink horses. In Bubber goes to heaven, band music is played and people in heaven enjoy pancakes, oranges, stick candy, chocolate bars, apple pie, doughnuts and soda pop (p.161). The author contrasts these books with the “straight” and reverent, Bible-based depictions of heaven by Della Reese, God inside of me (1999) and Maria Shriver, What's heaven? (1999). The focus of the chapter, “'Ain't I fine!': black modes of discourse in contemporary African-American children's picture books”, is on the form of certain texts, specifically the stylized language, rather than the content. Mentioning that “double-voicedness” of black literary texts is the result of the dual audience for which books are written: a black or a white audience, Martin prefers to focus on traditionally black modes of storytelling when they get translated into picture book form for contemporary American child readers (p.65). In this respect, text extracts from Madelia by Jan Spivey Gilchrist, Sam and the tigers: a new telling of Little Black Sambo by Julius Lester and Brian Pinkney and What a cool world by Julius Lester and Joe Cepeda are analysed. She shows how the humour in these texts are not at the expense of blacks but an invitation to the reader to laugh with the speakers. Examples are given of the humorous bantering and bargaining of protagonists with their antagonists, while stroking their egos. The author argues that the literary function of these books is to teach African-American children linguistic skills that will help them survive and negotiate relationships with other people, while nonblack readers are given “a glimpse into a community of which they know very little” (p. 176). This will hopefully lead to cross-cultural understanding. In the final chapter, “'Why are we reading this stuff?': a pedagogy of teaching African-American children's picture books”, Martin discusses the pedagogical possibilities for these books within college classes in Children's Literature and Young Adult Literature. Suggestions are given of the texts and methodologies used within a fifteen week Children's Literature course for teachers preparing for early elementary education and a Young Adult Literature course for those students preparing for middle grade education. The book, Brown Gold: milestones of African-American children's picture books, 1845-2002 consists of a total of 229 pages. There is a section of detailed notes to each chapter, a bibliography and an index. The book is suitable for children's literature specialists such as academics, general readers interested in children's literature and/or African-American culture and English teachers, not only in America, but also in the English-speaking world, particularly in Africa. Michelle Martin has herewith produced a seminal work on the evolution of a longtime devalued subgenre of American children's literature to a literature that has much to give to all. Andree-Jeanne Tötemeyer |