In seventh grade, for silent reading, I took to school PHILIP
HALL LIKES ME I RECKON MAYBE by Bette Greene. It’s one of the books in a
Newberry Awards Library box set I received as a gift. The other titles in the
collection are: THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND by Elizabeth George Speare, JOHNNY
TREMAIN by Esther Forbes, ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS by Scott O’Dell, and THE
CRICKET IN TIMES SQUARE by George Selden. I chose to read Greene’s book last
because the others featured white characters. Why was I surprised I love this
book too?
A classmate asked if she could borrow Greene’s book. Her shock
that I agreed to lend it to her wasn’t surprising. In 1977 it was unusual for a Black child in a predominately white school to ask a strange white child a
favor.
As the school year ended, I worried that the following year
I wouldn’t be in any of my fellow student’s classes for her to have the
opportunity to return the book. On one of the final days of school, I asked her
for it. She told me she had given it back.
My heart dropped. I didn’t own many books. And my only box
set collection was incomplete without PHILIP HALL LIKES ME I RECKON MAYBE. I
replied that she didn’t give it back. She insisted she did. The expression on
her face was one of offense, but not surprise. She thought I was accusing her
of stealing. I walked away sure that she still had it and didn’t know it.
The next year, before my family moved again, this student
approached me holding out the book. Its cover was bent, and the pages puffed
out in the way much loved books are. An apology showed on her face. She must
have really enjoyed the book. Maybe a sibling or a friend also read it. I
almost told her to keep it. But I didn’t want her to think I was offended by her
or the condition of the book.
As I seek to publish children’s literature, the reason why that
student was bold enough to approach a strange white girl for a book is evident.
She was thirsty for literature that represented her. How sick she must have
been reading stories with characters in which she couldn’t identify.
Today, amongst the vastness of white stories, it’s easier,
but still challenging, to find books with Black characters that tell stories
other than ones on injustices. We need these books, and more of them. However, there’s
also a scarcity of books with non-white characters in other everyday situations.
Ones that feature topics any child would like to read: friendship, pets,
relationships, adventure. No wonder that classmate longed to read PHILIP HALL
LIKES ME I RECKON MAYBE.
I’m glad the author isn’t pictured on the inside cover. If that
seventh grader could’ve googled the author, she’d face a white Bette Greene. How
disappointing would it have been for her to not find an own-voice author?
I hold PHILIP HALL LIKES ME I RECKON MAYBE in my hand, thinking
about that student. Fellow story-lover, if you’re out there, I hope you found
other books as a child that you could love as much as Greene’s. Maybe you
didn’t. Maybe you’ve had to write them yourself.
What an excellent post, Dawn! Seriously, I'll need to check out PHILIP HALL LIKES ME I RECKON MAYBE as well as the other books you've mentioned. I've read Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s Shiloh, and
ReplyDeleteE. L. Konigsburg’s middle-grade novel From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
Thanks for a great post. All best to you.
Thanks Victoria. I read Shiloh years ago to my son. I'll have to check out the middle-grade one you mentioned.
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