TE448 Final Class Posting

Looking back over what I have read and critiqued this semester, I am surprised to see how I am now able to question diverse literature thoroughly. Before I took this class, I was apprehensive to discuss most of the diverse literature topics that we have covered in this class. I was afraid of issues of stereotypes and other "difficult" topics to arise in my classes in the future as a teacher. Now, I feel much more prepared on how to handle diverse literature in my class and I am much more confident to have them in my classroom library as compared to how I initially (and guiltily) was kind of hoping to push these important issues to the back burner. This class has really opened my eyes to a new world of literature and has shown me the importance of the teaching of these topics. The more that these topics are underrepresented, the more children are apt to believing stereotypes. I hope to alleviate and battle issues of stereotypes and prejudice head on as a teacher, and the texts that I have read/discussed in class this semester offer young readers (and even older readers) an inside look at what it's like to be underrepresented in culture.

Final Project: Reflection on the Texts as a Set

Sadly, trying to find these texts was a chore in itself. I had a list of about twenty different books portraying Down Syndrome, and was only able to locate four of them. Having a younger brother of my own that does in fact have Down Syndrome, I felt very passionate about this topic as I had never before seen any children's books depicting a child with Down Syndrome as a main character. I kept thinking how beneficial this would have been for my brother growing up had I researched this topic a while ago, yet researching it now has answered a lot of my questions that I had about what types of books were made available to readers. With few accessible books on this diverse group, I am actually quite pleased at what I found in the few texts that I did end up finding. "ABC for You and Me" and "123 for You and Me" were absolutely great. I wish that my brother had these books growing up to use as a reference for letters and numbers. I could also imagine him enjoying the children in the book as they are real photographs of children with Down Syndrome, perhaps my brother could have identified with these characters. I also think that reference books like these work great as a classroom resource. Showing children with disabilities in books that are constantly used as a reference book can only improve other students' comfort levels with the idea of disability. If students never see or hear about children with disabilities, how are they expected to know how to treat them and/or how NOT to treat them? I, therefore, think that these books would work great in a classroom as a way to incorporate children with Down Syndrome into subject matter.

"Where's Chimpy?" and "Big Brother Dustin" were both also great books to use to represent this disability. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about how the books didn't mention (at all) the fact that the main characters had Down Syndrome, but after thinking about it, I really think that this is a positive way to view these characters. I don't think that these characters in the books need to be identified by their disability to begin with. On the other hand, I do think that it is a teacher's responsibility (when teaching one of these books to a class) to discuss the idea of disability and show through the book how these children are no different than everyone else (and how they are able to do things that other kids can do). I feel that most of the authors that I have used for my final project are insiders for this specific group. Most of the authors have either grown up living next door to a child that has Down Syndrome or has children of their own with Down Syndrome. I would greatly consider their experiences to be valid when writing a book about this topic.

Overall, I feel that the few books that I did find on this topic did a great job portraying this group of individuals accurately and without discrimination. The authors of these books all treated the characters with Down Syndrome as if they were the same as any other child, and I firmly believe that this is essential in showing children that these children are just like them. Promoting similarities rather than noting differences between children with Down Syndrome and other children is the first step towards creating acceptance and eliminating bias and stereotypes.

Final Project: Review of a Professional Resource

The review I found was of "Where's Chimpy?" by Berniece Rabe. The review was from the School Library Journal by Margaret C. Howell. Howell stressed the importance of this text as "photo essay on the fact that children with disabilities can and do enjoy the same things other children do". I agree very much with what Howell says about how this book really concentrates on how Misty is portrayed as a child that can do what other children are able to do. The book really shows how Misty is no different than any other child when she forgets where she put her toys, remembers playing with other children, and ends up finding other toys that she lost at a different time. I think that Berniece Rabe does a great job showing the "normalcy" of the child while still using the photographs to show the storyline in a realistic nature while embracing the child's differences. Howell also says, "This would be a good book to share with children when discussing handicaps, particularly as it shows a disabled child participating in and enjoying regular play instead of concentrating on the differences." I completely agree with this statement. I think that a good piece of diverse literature doesn't point out the differences in this group, but shows how similar this group is to other groups. Stressing the fact of similarities rather than differences is a much more positive aspect when teaching diverse literature and also aims to cut down acts of discrimination. With more books like "Where's Chimpy?", children can begin to see diverse groups in terms of how they relate to themselves rather than pinpoint the group's differences. In terms of acceptance, I think that Howell was right when giving such a positive review of this text. I can see how this text displays diversity in a positive way that will make a positive impact on its readers.



Howell, Margaret C.. School Library Journal (1988):

Final Book Review #3: "123 for You and Me"

"123 for You and Me" by Meg Girnis is another book depicting a diverse group in literature. This book is a counting book that concentrates on children with Down Syndrome as they are photographed with a different number of objects on each page. I would consider Meg Girnis an insider to this topic because she has sister in law (that passed away in 1985) that had Downs Syndrome, and two children (one that has Down Syndrome and one that doesn't)as well. Both of her children are even pictured in this book on the "Seven Ducklings" page! What is great about the book is that while most of the children pictured do, in fact, have Down Syndrome, there are also many other children in the book that don't have Downs Syndrome. There are children of just about every ethnicity and culture as well. I really like how this book shows children of all diverse backgrounds featured in it with different objects. All the children appear to be having a great time as they are shown with fuzzy ducklings or presents or big hairy dogs. Like my other two books, this book also shows realistic photographs of the children which makes it easier for them to relate to the characters if compared to books with drawings or cartoons of children with the disability. Meg Girnis has also written another book as a conjunction with this book called, "ABC for You and Me". This book depicts children primarily with Down Syndrome with different letters of the alphabet. I really like the idea of depicting children with disabilities as characters in books like counting or letter books. Until I've researched this book, I've never seen a child with a disability portrayed in a resource book like this. I think it's great to depict children of all backgrounds in these types of resource books and I feel that it shows other children that children with disabilities can be relatable to them as well.



Girnis, Meg. 123 for You and Me. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Company, 2000.

Final Book Review #2: "Big Brother Dustin"

Alden Carter, himself, is an insider to this subject because his wife, Carol, (who did the photography for this book) was a social worker her whole life and has dealt with many families that are having troubles with disabilities in their families. The Carter's often spent many dinner conversations about what was happening with Carol's clients at work. The Carters are very familiar with disabilities and often travel around the country talking about their experiences with disability and what it's like to write about it for children.

"Big Brother Dustin" by Alden R. Carter, is a book about a young boy with Down Syndrome (Dustin) that finds out that he will soon have a new baby sister and finds out that his mother is pregnant. Dustin's parents are unsure of what to name the baby that is on the way, so they appoint Dustin to the job of coming up with the perfect name for her. Dustin talks to both of his grandparents and wants to somehow name his new baby sister after both of his grandmother's (because he likes their names, "Anne" and "Mary")but is unsure of which name to choose. In the meantime, Dustin learns all about how to be a big brother by learning how to change diapers, how to pick out baby clothes, and how to set up a crib for his new sister. Dustin hates waiting so long for his new sister to be born, but in the meantime he comes up with the perfect name for his new sister. Dustin thinks that MaryAnn would be the perfect name since it has both of his grandmother's names in it. His parents love this idea and agree to name the new baby MaryAnn. Finally, when Dustin is staying at his grandparent's house, he hears that his mom and dad are at the hospital and that his new baby sister was born overnight! Dustin picks out flowers for his mom at the hospital and a balloon for his new sister. Dustin meets his sister for the first time and the following pages are pictures of Dustin and MaryAnn playing together. Much like "Where's Chimpy?", "Big Brother Dustin" uses real life photographs of Dustin, his family, and his new baby sister. The pictures make the story more realistic and make Dustin more identifiable to readers that may or may not have a disability themselves. I really enjoyed this book as a piece of diverse literature because, once again, there is no mention that Dustin has a disability. Instead, the book focuses on Dustin as a regular child that is excited for his new baby sister! We see that when the new baby is born she doesn't have Down Syndrome. The following pages depict how well Dustin and MaryAnn get along when they are playing together despite Dustin's disability. I think that this is an important message for young readers and that this book would be great for students to see how even though Dustin has a disability, he is still very similar to non-disabled children and able to establish a positive relationship with his newborn sister.



Carter, Alden R.. Big Brother Dustin. 1983. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Company, 1997.

Final Book Review #1: "Where's Chimpy?"

"Where's Chimpy" by Berniece Rabe, is a children's book that has a main character as a girl who has Down Syndrome. The book opens with a brief explanation of what Down Syndrome is from the National Down Syndrome Congress (this could be good for a discussion on what the disabilty is before the book is read to a class). I really enjoyed this book, overall. I love that the author got her inspiration for this book from looking outside of her window to see her neighbor playing with his daughter who has Down Syndrome. Berniece said, "I must do a story about Misty and her daddy-a story other children with Down Syndrome can identify with. I want her to have the lead role, not the secondary role usually allocated to children with this handicap" (found in the appendex of "Where's Chimpy"). Misty's role is just that in this story. With realistic photographs of Misty and her father, this book really comes to life and portrays Misty as a "normal" child. There is no mention of Misty having a disability in this book, yet plenty of examples of how Misty lives out her daily life as a normal child. I like that this book doesn't mention or concentrate on the fact that Misty has a disabillity. This book makes Misty relatable to other children that may be reading the book, which I feel is a positive aspect for this text. The book is about Misty's father tucking Misty into bed when Misty realizes that her favorite stuffed animal, Chimpy, is missing. Misty can't go to bed without her favorite monkey stuffed animal so her dad and her re-trace Misty's daily activities to try and find the stuffed monkey. What's humorous is that when Misty goes back to all of the places she was earlier that day, she ends up finding other toys that she thought were lost. For example, she went back to her sandbox to look for Chimpy but found her ditch digger toy. There are also pictures that flashback to Misty playing at these places with other children that don't have any disabilities. I think this also shows a positive message of acceptance when we see Misty and the other children playing together; this could be a positive message for young readers to see in this text, as well. Another interesting aspect to this story is that the reader is only introduced to Misty and her father. Does this mean that Misty lives with a single dad? I feel that this could also be another way to incorporate this text as a diverse piece of literature. At the end of the book, Misty finally finds Chimpy in the bathroom when she remembers that she left him in there when she took her bath. Misty can finally fall asleep now that she has her favorite stuffed animal and dad can finally tuck her in. Overall, I feel that this book denotes a positive representation of a child with Down Syndrome and would use it in my classroom library in the future.



Rabe, Berniece. Where's Chimpy?. Niles, IL: Albert Whitman & Company , 1988.