Richard Scrimger's Point of View

This week our topic was on Disabilities and the Disabilities framework and aside from reading articles, we also read From Charlies Point of View by Richard Scrimger, which was a novel about the main character, Charlie, and friends Bernie and Lewis, trying to solve a mystery about bank robberies, once Charlie's own father is accused. Charlie is also blind. But don't worry, this isn't one of those novels about the main character "overcoming" his disability and being able to live a "normal" life. This is a story about Charlie's life, and gives insight to a sighted reader about things to consider that non-sighted people go through, such as memorizing the number of steps at the school, having all your textbooks translated into braille, etc. Overall, I would say this book was a good read, and was a positive representation of the underrepresented group we studied this week, on disabilities.
So, after finishing this book, I was curious about the author, Scrimger, and was curious if maybe he was also blind, and it made me kind of think about the ongoing "insider vs. outsider" debate, so like most college students, i advantageously remembered the helpful search engine known as google, and I googled Richard Scrimger, and went to his website. After being quite intrigued by his website, I wanted to learn more, so I went to his personal blog, and read on.
I encourage everyone in class to take a look at this blog. He has a very unique, interesting, and insightful blog...and did I mention funny? also, not on the same caliber of children's literature =)
enjoy....
http://scrimger.blogspot.com/


happy snooping!

LBGT[Q] Memory Sparked.

Yesterday's quick discussion on different groups of underrepresented books sparked my memory of a "controversial" topic back when I was in second or third grade.

The news was reporting on a "controversial" new book that was coming out, called My Two Dad's [or something to that effect] and it was all over the news that these books were coming out and being from grand rapids, people were completely up in arms about the idea of a book about a homosexual couple raising a child, and it was banned at all schools, there were even protests at our local public library about banning the book. Basically, people found it awful that a group within the LBGT[Q] umbrella group was being represented in a book for children. At the time of course I didn't really understand it or what it was about, but that memory and a vivid picture of one of the pages stuck out in my mind, even to this day, because in conservative GR, things like that weren't talked about during that time. I now realize how hurtful and prejudiced such actions like that are, and I don't think if that book came out now there would be the same uproar as there was 12ish years ago, but it just reminds me how hard it is for underrepresented groups to try and break into the 'mainstream' when it is so easy for the 'mainstream' to ban and discount them.
I realize how important it is to try and represent all groups possible in my personal library because I'm sure that book is very relatable for many kids and having that available may help a student going through a tough time and they may be able to find validation in something as simple as me having books representing different kinds of families available for them to be able to read about.

Schneider Family Book Award

The Schneider Family Book Award sponsors exceptional books about disabilites, and can go to either the author or illustrator who exemplifies the criteria needed to meet for this award.

There is not an official website for the Schneider Family Book Award, but there are other resources that provide information about the award; such as www.ala.org/ala/awardsbuket/schneideraward/schneidercriteria.htm and www.ala.org/ala/awardsbuket/schneideraward/schneiderawardmanual.doc . The second link is a manual.

It answers questions about the history of the award, discusses the responsibilities of the members of the committee, and provides insight to their ideas about what to look for in a good book. This is a newer award and has only been given out since 2004. It was started by Dr. Katherine Schneider, who has been blind since birth. She wanted to sponsor an award that would show that the disability is a part of the character’s life, not the focus of their life.

The Schneider Family Book Award honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child or adolescent audiences. Three annual awards are given in birth through grade school (age 0-8), middle school (age 9-13), and teens (age 14-18). The disabilities can be physical, mental, or emotional.

The most important piece of criteria of the award is that it is not aimed to have the audience sympathize with the characters. Instead, it is aimed to portray their perspectives and everyday life experiences. Some books that have received this award are: Dad, Jackie, and Me, written by Myron Uhlberg and illustrated by Colin Bootman and Looking Out for Sarah, by Glenna Lang.

You can look up past award winners at www.ala.org/ala/awardsbuket/schneideraward/schneiderawardrecipients.htm