Laura Ingalls Wilder Award

[SoonerTexan]

It's been a long time since I've posted in here! But I found this topic interesting and close to home.

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/25/62318...-from-book-awa

This bothers me. Having recently read "Little House in the Big Woods" and parts of "Little House on the Prairie" aloud to my daughter for the first time since I read it as a child, some of the parts a little, "whoa this is more real than I remembered and definitely wouldn't fly in today's times." (I also think Ma was more annoyed than I realized at being dragged all over the US ).

Yet these were the books that introduced me to history. When I was in 2nd grade, my mom checked one out for me and said she thought I would like it. I devoured it and read the entire series over and over throughout my adolescence. Historical fiction became my favorite genre and it is definitely what inspired my love of history (I have a BA in History in addition to my BBA). When we passed their Kansas homestead on the way to KC last year, I was so annoyed that I didn't think about it in advance and plan a visit.

I think we should be able to acknowledge the time and climate in which a work was written and how it influenced the author--if anything, the works were (perhaps heavily) edited by Wilder's very progressive for the time (Communist!!) daughter Rose Wilder Lane. Obviously no one is banning the books, but removing her name from the award she first received definitely seems punitive in a shortsighted way.

I think it is so important to view the history of anything in dirty, messy, whole format from as many perspectives as possible. I also believe at a certain age kids can be smart enough (especially when presented with multiple perspectives) to start questioning sanitized narratives and start putting together a more contextual picture of the world around them. Heck, I remember visiting the Alamo at 12 and thinking, "Why is this a big deal? They knew they were going to lose and left all their families fatherless for no reason. And they were fighting for land they didn't own because they wanted to have slaves." (I was never a good Texan)

I think it is good to acknowledge that has been a dearth of history from marginalized perspectives and the fact that the gap is starting to be filled is a great thing. But the sort of mindset that led to this decision seems off.

[MrsC]

I agree this seems OTT. I grew up watching the TV show and a few things bother me about this:
1) Her books have been heavily edited over the years to remove anything that might be considered offensive so why did they need to do this.
2) It really annoys me when people try to erase history by editing out the parts that make them uncomfortable. This was the reality back then. How can we learn from something and grow into better people if we don't have a starting point, don't have something to look back at to see the progress we've made.
3) They're children's books. This is another example of adults projecting their views onto children's activities.
4) If you read some of the awful stories from children's books that I grew up with, about war, famine, extreme hardship in Ireland. They taught me about vital parts in my country's history and I learned a lot from them.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

I read Little House in the Big Woods with C this year. I am glad we read it together as there was definitely some content that I wanted to contextualize for her but it led to great discussions.

I think it’s kind of sad because this is be very purpose of books...to generate discussion. When we read books, it introduces topics in a way that we never could just bring up extemporaneously.

I find this different than the debate over civil war monuments in the south that come without nuance but are simply visual reminders (installed long after the war in many cases) of racism. These books allowed us to ask questions like “why would Ma have been afraid of the Indians”? “Why would the Indians have been ‘threatening’ the white settlers”?

BTW, if anyone is planning on reading the Little House series with their kids, I highly highly recommend the Birchbark House series about an Ojibwa girl. It’s basically Little House from the opposite perspective and it is EXCELLENT. It was good to read them back to back. We literally finished book 2 in the series tonight and will take back to the library on our way out of town tomorrow.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MrsK]

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award

I read Little House in the Big Woods with C this year. I am glad we read it together as there was definitely some content that I wanted to contextualize for her but it led to great discussions.

I think it’s kind of sad because this is be very purpose of books...to generate discussion. When we read books, it introduces topics in a way that we never could just bring up extemporaneously.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I absolutely agree with this. Reading with my kids has led us down all sorts of rabbit holes and got us discussing things I never would have thought to talk to them about.

For instance, reading The Little Princess a few weeks ago generated discussions about regional dialects, access to education, preconceptions based on people’s appearance and speech, the French Revolution, the American Revolution, a close reading of the Pledge of Allegiance, and a debate about whether there is really “Liberty and Justice for All.”

And Harry Potter enabled me to tip-toe into discussions about all sorts of matters that never would have thought to bring up with my children.

I feel like reading a broad range of literature, including some things that are controversial or even a little to mature for my children, has given them an opportunity to view the world from many different viewpoints and points in time.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

[MENTION=1498]MrsK[/MENTION], have you read the book “The Read Aloud Family”? I’m reading it now and it is excellent. Not only about reading aloud and it’s benefits but also with tons of suggestions about how to discuss books and book lists.

Full disclosure the author is a Christian and does sometimes refer to God/the Creator and much more rarely (twice so far) to Jesus but the references easily translate to any faith.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MrsK]

[MENTION=1498]MrsK[/MENTION], have you read the book “The Read Aloud Family”? I’m reading it now and it is excellent. Not only about reading aloud and it’s benefits but also with tons of suggestions about how to discuss books and book lists.

Full disclosure the author is a Christian and does sometimes refer to God/the Creator and much more rarely (twice so far) to Jesus but the references easily translate to any faith.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I haven’t heard of it but I’ll definitely look into it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Ladybug]

I think they were distinguishing between books that should be read and discussed versus giving an award or honor in that persons name. It still seems extreme. You can't sanitize history or it will definitely repeat itself.