My first reaction to this story was bewilderment. I felt slightly racist as I read the stereotyped lingo used in the text and stereotyped slang. It took me several reads before I felt I understood the text. I realized that the text was not stereotyping but mimicking a specific culture and embracing its customs. This book uses a southern gospel way of speech and the entire topic is about race. I still do not feel comfortable reading the text aloud. I felt slightly racist but why? I really didn’t know. If the text truly embraced a specific time and people then I shouldn’t feel any different reading the text then getting into character of reading Amelia Bedelia. I now understand what Wolman Bonilla meant on page 289 when he said “Teachers commonly objected to texts that reflect gender, ethnic, race, or class experiences that differed from their own.” I felt this was exactly what I was doing. Just because I am uncomfortable with the text doesn’t mean this book is inappropriate.
I felt that this book’s quality in and of itself is decent. The words are not condescending in tone, but it does take some cultural understanding for them not to be. The illustrations are painterly in style and add to the story. I also did some research on the author of this book. She is a well renowned author who has written from her own experiences as well as those of her relatives. She has won several awards for these books.
After much consideration I feel that I would read this book in my class. If I did however I would do it with a unit on slavery or race. Explaining the kind of culture the book represents and discusses several of the issues brought up within the text. I do feel that there might be some more recent literature out there that I might pick over this book. I am not apposed to reading it in my class.
Produced by 1997
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