What’s With These Abecedarians?

Fun Fact About ABC Books:

There are three types of ABC books that are known as:

1. The Swallow Alphabet: this type involves arranging the letters by anything that revolves around eating things or use food as signifies for letters.
2. The Body Alphabet: this type was common in the 1800s and used drawings of people’s bodies or animal bodies that were made into the shapes of letters.
3. Alphabetic Array or Worldly Alphabet: this type is most commonly used for children today and is where each letter can stand for anything in the world that starts with that letter.

When we think about children’s literature as a whole, ABC books for children are always an area of inquiry. This doesn’t seem surprising since, each year, there are many new publications of ABC books for children. It could possibly be just a race to the top, who can think up the newest most clever way to teach children the alphabet.

From The New England Primer

Let’s starts with the basics. An abecedarian text is any construction of text that is arranged alphabetically. Texts that included the alphabet started with the primers, in the mid to late 1500’s. The primers were books used in early education and included various religious lessons within its abecedarian form. The New England Primer was the first of this kind in the United States that was intended to teach children to read so that they would be able to read the Bible. John Locke, in 1693, suggested that learning the alphabet should begin as soon as possible for a child, which then allowed these alphabetic methods to adapt into texts for children with more playful elements. In the 18^th century, once realizing how profitable book publishing for children was, John Newbery published a type of abecedarian called A Little Pretty Pocket Book with images that were carved from wood and depicted playful setting, starting with “A is for Archer and shot at a frog.” These types of children’s texts were then later turned even more popular through their use of verse and rhyming patterns.

After years passed and more biblical referencing ABC books for children were published, children authors of nonsense finally jump on the children-abecedarian bandwagon and perhaps do an even better job of flipping it upside-down on its head. Alphabet book publications seem to be a common habit among nonsense authors. Edward Lear, Edward St. John Gorey, Shel Silverstein, Dr. Suess, and even Maurice Sendak all have at least one published alphabet book for children.

Within Edward Lear’s collection of nonsense literature, there is A Nonsense Alphabet, which perhaps later on inspired one Edward St. John Gorey to publish so many of his nonsense and dark ABC books for children. How does anyone forget the lines: “A is for Amy who fell down the stairs, B is for Basil assaulted by bears” (The Gashlycrumb Tinies)?

In today’s age, while there are some creative ABC books for children still being published, they may be lost on the shelves, squished between the ABC baby board book, the ABC baby peek-a-book board book, the ABC baby bath time plastic book, and any other form they come in that are harder for baby consumption. So maybe instead of worrying about eaten pages out of ABC books for children, we should worry about the content and display that these eaten pages would have contained.

And while most ABC books for children being published today have different marketing intentions, there are still some note-worthy contemporary ABC books for children.  One example is Animalia, a sophisticated alphabet book by Graeme Base. This incredibly artistic and creative ABC book took three years to create and was an international best seller. Animalia is a great example of playful ABC books with its hidden boy in each picture, which was actually the author as a little boy. Marion Bataille is another author worthy of recognition. She published a 3D alphabet book for children titled ABC3D in 2008 that also came with a cool video of a hand flipping through its pages to the tube of "Roll On Mississippi, Roll On" by The Boswell Sisters.  These contemporary examples of ABC books for children will hopefully challenge and inspire the next abecedarian books for children authors to continue to create clever, witty, and a unique design in order to continue a culture of brilliant ABC books for children.

Notes and Citations:

"Animalia (1986)." The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English. Ed. Victor Watson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Credo Reference. Web. 20 Oct 2015.

"Alphabet Books." The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English. Ed. Victor Watson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Credo Reference. Web. 20 Oct 2015.

Shortsleeve, Kevin. "Edward Gorey, Children's Literature, and Nonsense Verse." Children's Literature Association Quarterly, 27.1 (2002): 27-39.

Steven Universe and "Soft Masculinity"

There’s nothing new about male superheroes being the pinnacle of masculinity. Superman, with his idealized wholesome masculine power with danger lurking just beneath the surface of his calm exterior and Batman, with his fearlessness and gritty strength as the revered “lone wolf,” are both iconic images of this trope. However, studies have shown that these muscled, thick-veined, often-snarling masculine icons are just that—male power fantasies. Thus suggesting that masculinity is still a socially constructed performance, like any other gender role, even if it is always at the peek of power.

Performative masculinity has a tension to it that performative femininity does not, in that the performance itself is seen as unmasculine. In other words, you cannot learn to be a “real man” — you either are or you are not. And that is the story that both popular media, from movies to first-person shooter games, and heteronormative societal structures pushes on its young male audience. More and more today, we see dangerous displays of this toxic sort of masculinity go unchecked.

I think masculinity can, and should, manifest in different, healthier ways: emotional strength, bravery, and above all, love.

With a lineup of Lego-brand shows filtering into people’s homes about male physical prowess, Steven Universe is another popular TV series that is a breath of fresh air. Protected by three, ageless, female-presenting alien warriors called the Crystal Gems (by the names of Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl), Steven is a half-human, half-gem boy who inherited his gemstone from his late mother, and the Gems’ former leader, Rose Quartz. And what do the four (Steven included) Crystal Gems do? They protect the world from evil, of course.

Steven’s weapon is a shield — a bright pink, impenetrable shield with a rose emblem in the middle of it. Steven does not attack; he defends. Unlike other characters in movies, Steven does not thrust forward in battle with a phallic weapon. He inherited his powers to shield and ability to heal from his mother, but Rose also left him her sword, which he does not wield at all. Steven is adventurous and confident, which is typical of boy leads in shows, but he is also affectionate, selfless, very prone to crying, and just plain adorable on all counts. These characteristics and abilities are often distinctly feminine-coded as far as popular media tropes are concerned and therefore unfit for growing boys; they are seen as less powerful traits than traditional masculine ones like ambition. And what makes Steven Universe such a transgressive show is that not only are Steven’s traits not treated as weaknesses, they are also frequently the source of his greatest powers.

When asked about her decision to play with the dynamics of gendered television, the show’s creator Rebecca Sugar said it was an intentional one: “My goal with the show was to really tear down and play with the semiotics of gender in cartoons for children because I think that’s a really absurd idea that there would be something radically different about a show for little girls versus a show for little boys.”

Aside from the other Crystal Gems raising him, he also has a great father, Greg Universe, who is arguably just as responsible for Steven’s strength as his three “mothers” are. At first glance, the audience would assume Greg is one of those “bad-father” types. He doesn’t live with Steven as the primary caregiver (he lives in a van, i.e. he is homeless); he is unambitious; he is an ex-musician with a hoarding problem. Despite all of this, Greg is a large presence in Steven’s life, offering unconditional love and support for him even when Greg doesn’t understand and/or fears the situations. In one instance, he helps Steven gain control of his powers, and in another, he gives Steven the space to participate in missions and battles, but also remains close by in case his son needs the extra support.

Greg Universe is definitely not perfect, but what makes him as “trope breaking” as Steven himself is that he doesn’t try to change any of the abilities or personality traits that make Steven so uniquely him. He is a gentle, nurturing father in a sea of emotionally unavailable — or just plain absent — father figures, another popular media trope. He does his best besides the crappy circumstances he finds himself in and becomes an excellent role model for his son — and furthermore, for the young boys that are watching the show. 

Steven Universe is undoubtedly a show dedicated to showing that our lives do not have to be ruled by rigid, heteronormative gender roles. Steven Universe is a reminder that boys and men can be good and kind and powerfully loving, instead of just plain powerful. He is a boy who embodies the possibility of turning away from simulated and toxic masculinities to a movement toward one that is deeply rooted in love and compassion rather than domination. And most importantly, that it’s okay and wonderful and necessary that young boys be allowed to cry and be excited and gentle.

Notes:

• Lachenal, Jessica. "Rebecca Sugar on Gender, Steven Universe, and the Show's Inspiration." The Mary Sue. n.p. 15 June 2015. Web. 15 October 2015. 

Ninjago: Commodity and the Fixation of “Goodness”

Unlike classical folktale structures and themes — behave or die, prince charming will rescue you, or stay away from adventures or die — the modern kid lit texts seems to have developed into its own beast.

It seems safe to assume that everyone has been exposed to the Star Wars stories, and the generation of children that followed the original three films, the 90’s kids, were exposed to TV shows like Power Rangers, Dragon Ball Z, and Batman: The Animated Series, all of which have a few things in common with Star Wars. Within these texts, there is a resounding presence of light vs. dark, good vs. evil, confronting inner demons, and being reintroduced into a sacred space with “kick-ass” powers, and of course, how can we forget, the special “chosen one.” So when exposed to the new hit TV show Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu recently, we must stop to think, what is it about these Star Wars themes that are taking over children’s texts lately?

 

Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu is an animated series that airs on Cartoon Network and is currently in its sixth season. This extremely popular TV program, created by the Lego Corporation, is about five, pubescent male characters who discover that they are the ones who must fight for good in their world and maintain the sanctified balance for everyone else. Of course, there is one who is the “true chosen one,” Lloyd, whose father Lord Garmadon (wait can you guess?) turned evil and is bringing evil into the world. Lloyd, along with his friends Jay, Cole, Zane, and Kai, train under Sensei Wu, Lord Garmadon’s brother, and learn about patience and how to fight the evil forces. Ok… so not only does this story follow a semi-Star-Wars-esque theme, but it also hones in to the 90’s popular TV shows, like Power Rangers, where each character contains their own unique power but when combined with their friends, will always create the most awesomely powerful weapon.

 

While this may sound like a show that is positively influencing the younger generation to continue the wise lessons Master Yoda embodies, the use of Legos for the animation holds an opposing connotation. Here, Sarah Banet-Weiser’s definition of “brand-culture” in American society can be explored through how it continuously maintains the illusion of childhood imagination and personification of “goodness,” but also how it simultaneously supports a capitalistic society. As in the 2014 Lego Movie’s implied didactic message arguably attempting to inspire children to express themselves in imaginative ways, it also promotes the belief of individuality through the concept of “special-ness,” like being chosen for “Ninjahood.” While The Lego Movie is very explicit in its anti-corporation message, the characters that prevail in both the movie and these TV shows are the ones that think outside the box and learn to work with others. Once labeled as one who will “bring balance to the universe,” it appears that “goodness” is used as a selling strategy. The movie itself tricks the audience into acquiring a false sense of empowerment through the exaggeration of paying for a $12 coffee or still loving the song that repeats on the radio every hour; yet, this paradox only hides the truth that branching away from this corporate control only introduces new methods of control. “Goodness” or being trained on the “good side” can be seen as a super power, which exposes the continuation of brand-culture because it is the corporation that ultimately contains this power. Through self-discovery, these characters encompass more that just perfect citizenship (“valuable ideology”), perhaps mirroring a story that may have intended to truly inspire “goodness” but instead perpetuates new children’s text with the theme that good will always prevail over evil.  

So in a world where the Disney Corporation owns the rights to Star Wars and Lego™ suggests childhood dreams should be built in blocks, the commodification of “goodness” is resoundingly present in the texts created for the current generation’s children.

Notes:

• Banet-Weiser, Sarah. Authentic TM: The Politics and Ambivalence in a Brand Culture. New York, N.Y.: New York University Press, 2012.
• Ninjago Information from Lego Wiki: http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/Ninjago

Fanfiction: May We Read it, Write it, Engage With It

If you have any sort of online presence — maybe (possibly) have a secret Tumblr account you’re hoarding away from family members and “real-life” friends — then you’ll know about fanfiction.net. This amazing site is often abbreviated as fanfic and is one of the greatest treasure chests of online writing. It is quite possible that you’ve read a fanfic or two yourself; it was probably some coffee shop AU (alternate universe) where your favorite character doesn’t die at the end of the movie and instead lives a simple, normal life as a barista, and then meets the love of their life — a story that the writer could decide to tell in anywhere from 100 to 100k words. And that’s the beauty of it: there’s a fanfiction out there for nearly every scenario, every universe, every character, and every story, that includes everything from the mundane to the fantastic.

The term fanfiction refers to stories that are produced by fans that use the characters and plot lines working within the canonical work of the original creator of the media, and/or veering away from it. Before the advent of computers and the internet, fanfiction remained a largely underground and marginalized activity among mostly female fans, as the dissemination of stories and poetry (as well as fanart) was often painstakingly written on typewriters, bound into zines, photocopied, and mailed around the world to other members of the community. That is, until sites sprang up to collect and archive these stories and make them completely accessible to everyone who owned a computer or phone with web access — anyone remember the days of frantically hitting the back button on their parents’ phone when you accidentally opened the web browser?

But why is fanfiction important? Why spare a blog post for it?

For one thing, this form of writing is usually not just a branching-off point for many younger writers, especially children, but also their starting point. It builds on the imagination and creativity by treating the text or movie as something to interact with, instead of it being a static object to put down as soon as you are done consuming it. But why does the world in any text have to end with the last written page and then reshelved? Fanfiction can help solve this dilemma and keep all you love from the fiction world alive. These fan writers can take the canon material and begin anew with those same characters, reminding us that, as Bronwen Thomas states, “storyworlds are generated and experienced within specific social and cultural environments that are subject to constant change.”

Fanfiction builds community, gives solidarity. It isn’t just about reading or watching the canon stories and then writing your own take on it. It allows fans the opportunity to set up special interest groups and expand on representation that might otherwise be lacking. While male members of fandoms are generally thought of as the keepers of fact and canon, it is the female members who create: They alter fandom because, often, popular media and its canon works do not serve their female members. Men, and more specifically straight, white, cismen, are ubiquitous in popular narratives. Thus, in order for canon to fit the “other” (female, queer, POC), they must attack canon and rebuild it, and that takes creation and imagination and engaging closely with the material, far beyond memorizing facts and timelines within said canon. It might be said, then, that fanfiction allows the more feminine aspect of fiction to blossom along its male counterpart. 

While some might say that recreating what others have already created is a waste of time, those who have roamed the forums of fanfiction.net will politely disagree. Nothing imaginative or world building should ever be frowned upon, even if the social hierarchy suggests otherwise and makes us accustom to rejecting creativity when we see it. Therefore, it is crucial to encourage and nurture young children as they play with words and allow this creative landscape to grow. Or you’re welcome to encourage an adult near you as well!

Notes:

• Thomas, Bronwen. "What is Fanfiction and Why are People Saying Such Nice Things About It?" StoryWorlds: A Journal of Narrative Studies. 3. (2011): n. pag. Web. Project MUSE. 16 Sept. 2015.

Miyazaki Land- Where Children Come Back to Nature

In recent news, Japanese filmmaker and childhood animator Hayao Miyazaki announced a plan that is as enticing as Disneyland and chocolate cake mountains. Seventy-three-year old Miyazaki is spending about $2.5 million US dollars to build his own imaginative playground, replicating scenes and images from his movies that bring nature and childhood together in yet another way. This new “utopian” theme park will be built on a remote island with an                                                                    intended completion date set for 2018.

Miyazaki is a name that contains a vast area of study amidst the academic community, from the imagination, to the steam punk influence, to childhood fears of parents and the unknown. With nothing but the most satisfying fantastical and steam-punk-esque stimulation of the senses, Miyazaki’s animation no doubt holds creativity and world building that prevails in the film community. These children’s films contain a variety of intriguing tales that are closely woven into representations of the adult world around us from a “childlike” perspective. The stories become even more powerful because they easily become embedded within the imaginations of all who watch them and also simultaneously provide a sort of social commentary. These not-so-subtle hints of “what our world has devastatingly come to,” one might say, are sure to be lessons for children to learn the responsibility of improving our planet from both an environmental and social standpoint. All Miyazaki’s films are told in a playful, carnivalesque tone that includes a contemporary and realistic view of the world, where soiled land and forgetful parents tend to be seen alongside the climatic hook of the movie. Ponyo, is one example. With underwater scenes of trash filling the beautiful ocean scenery, the movie furthers the call to action from the ocean king’s didactic voice of how the unconcerned human pollutes these waters and creates a major gap between man and nature.

One critic and researcher of Japanese mass media and popular culture, Alistair Swale, discusses Miyazaki’s work in context of nostalgia and learning form our past, followed by the influence or use of magic. “We might also describe it as a "culturalist" approach, given that it tends to prioritize the aspects of Miyazaki's work that engage in nostalgia as a means to reclaim a lost past—an attempt to retrieve something essential to Japanese culture” and might also be one we can all learn from. With the use of magic, what is found is the connection between the imagination and viewing the past, helping the continuation of nostalgia. This is quite apparent in Spirited Away, the title that Swale focuses on most carefully, with the transformation of the real world for Chihiro into a fantasy world where her parents get turned into pigs and she must learn to be brave all by herself—a similar sort of advice a child moving to a new city might hear, which is Chihiro’s story.

In this sense, the past that these movies convey is lessons children must learn when they are growing. Miyazaki’s movies manifest dream-like worlds and characters, becoming costumed real world experiences and current issues, to allow children to interact with larger and often scary ideas these movies encompass. It will be a hard wait until the completion of this very special theme park, which will work to bridge the gap between children and nature, moving them into a space closer to nature.

Notes:

• Swale, Alistair. "Miyazaki Hayao and the Aesthetics of Imagination: Nostalgia and Memory in Spirited Away." Asian Studies Review, 39.3 (2015): 413-429.
• http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/hayao-miyazaki-is-opening-a-nature-sanctuary-for-children-on-a-remote-japanese-island-10488123.html

NCSCL Welcomes Everyone to the Fall 2015 Semester!

The NCSCL would like to welcome everyone to the Fall 2015 semester.

Back again, for another fantastic semester of blogging and fun NCSCL work, is Cristina Rivera. Cristina has officially begun her second year of the graduate program at San Diego State University, emphasizing in children’s literature, of course. After a year of graduate studies, she has once again found her love of folktales and psychoanalytic theory and spent the summer rereading some YA favorites. She hopes to graduate in May of 2016, after spending what she predicts to be a large number of sleepless nights writing her thesis. Although, the stone is still setting for the official thesis project, Cristina is considering the topic of repressed adult behaviors (more so, sexual tendencies) in children because of scary folktales and stories parents tell their children to make them behave. This idea came about from a paper written specifically on The Sandman and the effects of sexuality and a child’s instinctual behavior and conduct, and closely examined how the childhood story corrupted the main character of E. T. A. Hoffman’s version, ultimately creating sadomasochistic tendencies.

This semester our graduate students have the opportunity of taking two very interesting children’s literature courses: Dr. Phillip Serrato’s Children’s Gothic and Horror and Dr. Joseph T. Thomas’s Edward Gorey and Nonsense.

And here to introduce herself is our newest edition to the NCSCL team, Susan Shamoon. We are very excited to have her!

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Hello everyone!

Welcome to the Fall 2015 semester — let me hear you cheer! (Or at least make a little noise to let me know you’re awake. Anyone?)

My name is Susan Shamoon, and I’m the newest addition to the NCSCL team here at San Diego State University, and I can’t explain how excited and honored I am to be given this opportunity. I accepted this position by literally responding with, “Yes. A thousand times yes.” No lie, I did. I am a first year graduate student here at SDSU, working for my M.A. in English Literature with a specialization in Children’s Literature.

I believe understanding our fellow human beings starts young and with good stories. And, really, who doesn’t love metafiction about the very last unicorn in the world, where the fantastic and the everyday blur together when they meet, and become virtually indistinguishable? Someone who hasn’t read The Last Unicorn that’s who, and that’s a sad, deprived child indeed. I will forever support the Oxford comma and buy more books than I could ever realistically read during the school year.

Looking forward to a great semester!

And as always, if you haven’t done so, please follow us on Twitter (@NCSChildLit) and on Instagram (NCSChildLit).