The Responsibility of Children’s Books Authors in Postcolonial Societies

Do you hear me? Do you see me? 
Considerations on the responsibility of the author of children’s books in post colonial societies.

By Diane Browne


At some time when I was younger, I wished that there were stories about us, as "normal people," living our way of life--not just folktales and duppy stories. I eventually decided to write stories, to show not only that we are normal, but that we are important; we don’t need to be a princess with long golden hair; we don’t need snow or haystacks; we don’t need to be in a foreign land to be somebody in a book.


However, even as we replace the socialization of books of colonialism and give voice to our own children, I think that we have some responsibilities. Some of them are obvious. Like authors everywhere, we must respect the child by writing an engaging story, our characters should be worthy of the reader’s attention, and the topic and setting relevant to the child.


The characters. Replacing the blonde princess with the Amerindian princess should not be used as an escape valve as we struggle to come to terms with ourselves. Of course, we can have a story with an Amerindian Princess or River Mumma if that’s what our story requires. We know that our characters should reflect the major ethnic group/s in our country. This need not stop us from writing about other ethnic groups, should we wish. Our character, from whatever background, will call to us, and we will tell his/her story in a particular place at a particular time. And in our multiethnic, multi-religious region, we know that all characters are due respect.


So shouldn’t we know what our character looks like? This is often left to the illustrator guided by the artwork brief. Some writers feel that is enough. However, I like to use words to describe my characters, because, just as: “If I am not in a book, this means I don’t really exist , then “If you can’t describe me, am I okay, acceptable?" So, I find words to describe my character’s appearance including HAIR!


We do not want to mention hair. I even wondered if I dared mention it in this post. However, there was a recent symposium on black beauty at one of our universities (reported in the press) at which "good hair/bad hair" came up as a concern. So you see the words used to describe us/divide us are still alive in 2012. (And before you say anything, I grew up with "What a pity the girl didn’t get the good hair!" and perception is reality; then, I found myself, and gradually, I became okay). So, perhaps it is our responsibility to find the bold and beautiful words to describe ourselves and our wonderful hair. We have to make our children know that we know they are ALL beautiful.


Language: English or Creole. Respect is due both languages. I write the narrative in standard English as it is spoken by us. I believe that we have a responsibility to reinforce the use and understanding of this universal language which our children need to pass exams, get a job, work/live elsewhere. I use a modified Creole for the authenticity of dialogue. It’s up to writers how much Creole they use in the dialogue. This decision will be affected by the perceived target audience; for example, if we wish the story to be understood in other countries, even within the Caribbean.


Language can also define a character’s social standing. Although deeper Creole usually identifies those from rural areas or from the lower socio-economic group, my concern is never to stereotype a particular group. I am more likely to use variations of Creole within in one family, or according to situation; for example, we get excited, we use Creole.


Family type. We have a number of family types represented in our region; the nuclear, extended, single parent, grandmothers raising children. Even if we believe firmly in the 'correctness" of one type, we have the responsibility to see that no child should read our book and feel that it negates him/her, or diminishes the efforts made by the family/significant others in that child’s life.


Controversial topics.Even when we know situations exist which are injurious to our children, we don’t usually write about them: abuse, drugs, and gangs. Perhaps because our societies are so small, we do not want to appear to be pointing a finger recklessly. Perhaps we think topics like this are better suited to the young adult group. Perhaps we wonder if these could be the responsibility of the writer in a postcolonial society?


Well, if they are our realities then surely we have a responsibility to write about them also. However, a word of caution. It’s best not to write about something unless you can handle it authentically. You have to decide if you want to take on the challenge of the topic; if so, then do the research; present a real character with whom the reader can empathize, and produce a practical and safe solution in keeping with the reality of that character’s life.


The ending to a story needn’t be happily ever after, but I believe that it should present an understanding of life, which gives the reader hope. If we can’t do this for our young readers, why write?


Does this all sound too clinical? Well actually you consider these things, internalize them, and then you write a great story. It’s like the foundation for a building; you don’t see it when the building is completed, but it is there. Consider how other countries have used their folktales and children’s literature to socialize their peoples? Now consider how these stories from the developed world have been used to socialize us. We do have a responsibility to our children, to write our stories, to validate ourselves and our lives.


About Diane Brown


Diane Browne is the author of Children's Literature blog (http://dianebrowneblog.blogspot.com/) as well as a writer and editor of textbooks. She teaches writing workshops in children's fiction and textbook writing, both in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. Diane’s books have been published by Heinemann Caribbean, Carlong Publishers, Arawak Publications, the Ministry of Education, Jamaica; Ginn, UK; Harcourt, Friendship Press, USA. Her most recent books are time travel adventure novels for the 9-13 year age group, The Ring and the Roaring Water (back to 1951 and Hurricane Charlie) and A Tumbling World ... A Time of Fire (1907 earthquake in Kingston). Ms. Browne is a recipient of a Bronze Musgrave Medal from the Institute of Jamaica, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Jamaica.

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Book Review: Island Princess in Brooklyn

As parents, we struggle to instill values in our children that are important to us. We often turn to books as a means of continuing our conversation about values, which we believe will enable them to become successful members of our community. But what happens when a child is uprooted and placed in an unfamiliar setting? What values will they discard or retain? This is the predicament of Princess McQueen in Island Princess in Brooklyn by Diane Browne.


Written in the first-person, Island Princess begins in medias res with Princess McQueen at the JFK terminal. From the opening sentence, we get a glimpse of the estrangement between Princess and her mother: "Would my mother be there? This thought kept bouncing around in my brain like an echo in a cave, over and over again, even though I tried to keep it away" (1). This uneasy prologue is just the start of Princess's yearlong sojourn in Brooklyn where she attempts to reconcile the American Dream with the real issues of trying to fit in to a new neighborhood and school.


Although Princess has difficulty in adapting to a new neighborhood, nothing has prepared her for her schoolyard in Brooklyn where she must reconcile the hard earned wisdom of her grandmother with whom she spent her formative years as one of the many "barrel children" in Jamaica, and the everyday rough and tumble of school in America. Yet, this precocious "Island Princess" as she is called by her classmates, soon makes friends with other children from different ethnic backgrounds: Latoya (African American), Esperanza (Hispanic), Simply Red (Caucasian) and Chunkie Bear (Biracial).


As she learns to negotiate the racial and social differences in the schoolyard, Princess's knowledge comes with a price. Princess is forced to balance her commitment to speaking the truth against loyalty to her friends when her friend Chunkie Bear is tripped while walking across the yard. She must also weigh the value of honesty that she has learned from her grandmother against her mother's practical advice of remaining neutral, "No interfering in what don't concern you. For the last time I am telling you, you are a migrant and a foreigner! Story end right now!" (85).


Her mother's advice, punctuated with the colloquial, "Story end right now!"—a sure sign that their discussion had come to an end--is only one of the many charms of Island Princess in Brooklyn. Throughout the book, Diane Browne conveys the confusion in Princess's mind as copes with the changes that accompany displacement. Princess's bewilderment is captured in her description of the subway:

It was a scary underground place of sudden flashing lights: sometimes narrow, with walls close on either side, looking damp; or wide, where other passing trains rocked thundering by, windows alight, slipping by one after the other, with disappearing ghostly figures inside, all caught up in the wind and noise. The subway was like a large underground nest of moving metal minsters. (38)

In this midst of this turmoil, Princess yearns for the security of home in Jamaica even as she tries to heal the relationship with her mother. Princess makes lists of the things she misses in Jamaica, but as another of her friends, Jamal, reminds her, "your mind is always on what's missing, not what is nice about being here?" (156)


It's those snippets of wisdom from the conflicts between the characters and the realistic treatment of Princess's dilemma that make Island Princess a delightful read. Island Princess in Brooklyn is a welcome addition to the conversation within the diaspora about communal values values and the problems our children face while growing ups as "strangers in a strange land."

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I am participating in World Read Aloud Day!

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