There's been a lot of discussion about the #lauraingallswilderaward and #LauraIngallsWilder 's place in the literary canon, and a lot of it centers around nostalgia. But your nostalgia has never been a great reason to make kids read anything. So let's #DisruptTexts it!
Before we do that, let's look at some articles that help us to frame WHY we're disrupting the Little House series:
vox.com/culture/2018/6…
vox.com/culture/2018/6…
And this thread is also a really good read:
https://twitter.com/AnaMardoll/status/934583893709197312
Essentially, the texts present a narrow and biased view of American colonialism and pioneering. Even if the award hadn't been renamed, we would still want to disrupt these texts in order to show a fuller, more equitable, more inclusive portrait of this time period.
One of the people who's been working extremely hard to ensure fair, equitable, just, and accurate representation of American Indians in literature is @debreese, whose amazing website can be found here:
…ansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com
…ansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com
I'll be highlighting some texts below that could be used at home or in the classroom to disrupt or replace the Little House narratives, but the website linked above is really the best place to start.
Want to shift the narrative about America's "discovery" and the legacy of Columbus? Check out RETHINKING COLUMBUS: THE NEXT 500 YEARS, a collection of resources for approaching this dialogue in the classroom.
amazon.com/Rethinking-Col…
amazon.com/Rethinking-Col…
THE ROUND HOUSE is geared toward high schoolers and is part mystery, part thriller, part coming-of-age story.
amazon.com/dp/B007HC3UF6/…
amazon.com/dp/B007HC3UF6/…
SHI-SHI-ETKO is a children's book that portrays a girl preparing to leave her family to attend one of the government-sponsored residential schools intended to "assimilate" indigenous children into white culture. A good way to start a hard conversation.
amazon.com/Shi-shi-etko-N…
amazon.com/Shi-shi-etko-N…
Middle grade book SEES BEHIND TREES tells the story of a young boy with a special gift.
amazon.com/Sees-Behind-Tr…
amazon.com/Sees-Behind-Tr…
For high schoolers and older, WATERLILY by Ella C. Deloria explores the life of the Sioux in the 1800s. This is a great pick if you wanted a realistic fiction text to parallel the LHOTP narrative.
amazon.com/Waterlily-New-…
amazon.com/Waterlily-New-…
If you or your kids want a hot-off-the-presses text, check out TRAIL OF LIGHTNING by Rebecca Roanhorse, out yesterday!
amazon.com/Trail-Lightnin…
amazon.com/Trail-Lightnin…
I'll continue to add to this thread, but if anyone has additional texts or activities to disrupt or replace the LIW texts, please add them!
AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES is an extremely well-documented text that explores the stories and myths that have perpetuated about our nation's founding and colonization and reframes them.
amazon.com/dp/B00J6Y98UE/…
amazon.com/dp/B00J6Y98UE/…
HOW I BECAME A GHOST is a middle grade novel about a boy who dies on the Trail of Tears and comes back as a ghost in order to help others. First in a trilogy.
amazon.com/How-Became-Gho…
amazon.com/How-Became-Gho…
If you teach older students and you address propaganda, this article and the art pieces therein are worth a look. Give your students the opportunity to talk through how historical/societal narratives are created and upheld, and for what purpose.
newsmaven.io/indiancountryt…
newsmaven.io/indiancountryt…
Looking for something different? Check out this list of graphic novels and comics:
colorincolorado.org/booklist/graph…
colorincolorado.org/booklist/graph…
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