Books That Make a Difference: Kids Taking Action for Social Justice

The CLA workshop focused on books with children and adolescents who take action in difficult situations. Ways in which this powerful literature might be used in our classrooms were considered.THE WILLINGNESS to take action is essential to a global society, but moving from a discussion of social justice into a curriculum that supports meaningful action is difficult (Banks, 2004). Many schools promote community and global service projects that take the form of charity, volunteering, or "giving the unfortunate a handout"instead of engaging students in inquiry about the social and global conditions of the problem and the strategies for action in that context (Cowhey, 2006; Wade, 2000). Because novels and picture books that portray kids taking action for social justice are a current trend in the field, these books can be a potential source of demonstrations of action. Recent titles focus on children who live in situations where they fear for their safety or are concerned for the safety or well-being of others, so they respond with action. They are willing to engage in the risky business of activism and to transform their lives or the world in some way rather than sit back and assume adults will take on this responsibility. These books can provide powerful demonstrations of kids taking authentic action and offer strategies for action.The CLA workshop at the 2012 convention of the National Council of Teachers of English brought together authors and illustrators of books that portray children and adolescents involved in social action, an editor of a nonfiction collection of books focused on global action, and educators who engage students with these books. We listened to the stories of award-winning authors and illustrators as they talked about the creation of their books and the issues they consider in depicting children and adolescents who take action in difficult situations. We also participated in interactions with fiction and nonfiction books to consider the ways in which literature portrays individuals who take action for social justice.Deborah Ellis, the Canadian author of the well-known Breadwinner Trilogy, has written about families living under the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, street children in Pakistan, the coca protests in Bolivia, the lives of military children, and the heroism of young people around the world. Her recent books include No Ordinary Day (2011), the story of a young orphan with leprosy living in the streets of Kolkata, India; Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely Through a Never-Ending War (2012a); and My Name Is Parvana (2012b), the sequel to her Breadwinner Trilogy. She defined war as anything that kills people unnecessarily, including poverty, disease, and bombs. She argued that social justice work is expensive and that we cannot just do good without helping children be aware of the potential costs of social action. Ellis also asked us to consider whether we believe that a world without war is possible in the human story. Every human accomplishment starts with a dream, and she challenged us to look inside ourselves and consider whether we believe that such a world can exist. That world is only possible if we believe and are prepared to take the next step toward that dream.Karen Lynn Williams is an author of picture books on the struggles and dreams of children in global settings, including Africa, Haiti, and Afghanistan. Her award-winning books are based on her experiences of living and working in these countries and include Four Feet, Two Sandals (2007) and My Name Is Sangoel (2009), both coauthored with Khadra Mohammed, as well as Circles of Hope (2005) and Galimoto (1990). She talked about refugees who struggle to keep their own names and dreams alive in order to retain hope for a better future. Williams shared that her grandfather had changed his name when he immigrated from Hungary, and carried his shoes to school as a child in order to preserve them and gain entrance into school. …