Many Black Girls Still Say White Dolls Are Prettier

Almost two years ago, I wrote a post, here, about Kiri Davis' high school project, A Girl Like Me, which recreated the ground-breaking experiment conducted in the fifties by psychologist Kenneth B. Clark. The test was conducted again in 2009, and it seems there is a little progress, at least where boys are concerned. But the majority of girls continues, sadly, to thing that pretty is white...


   

      In GMA Test Many Black Girls Still Say White Dolls Are Prettier - Dolls - Jezebel - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Thanks to Lee and Low Books's blog for bringing that new experiment to our attention.

DAY 28 OF AMADI'S SNOWMAN GLOBAL VIRTUAL TOUR

Hello everyone,

Yesterday, I mentioned the difficulties that our friends in Nigeria were experiencing as they tried to email me the movie they've made for our tour. As it turns out, they've been without electricity for the past two days, as both generators at the New American University of Nigeria in Yola broke down. They finally managed to send me the file and I have seen it, but now, we have another technical problem : it is too big to be posted here, on Blogger, which doesn't allow files over 100 MB. It is a short movie of less than three minutes, and I still hope to be able to show it tomorrow, but as things are, I need to upset my schedule again. As luck would have it, our next guest blogger already has her post up, so, I'm happy to direct you to the blog of author Uma Krishnaswami who also happens to be my favorite teacher in the whole wide world, and a faculty at the MFA in  Writing at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has an interview with... AMADI himself. Find it at Writing with a Broken Tusk.

And now, I thought I'd show you some of the snowmen drawn by the children.

by Anushka

by Nida

by Prathith

by Ratna

by Kaushiki

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS AMADI?

In New York City, today, with William and Cameron, who seem quite intrigued by this merchant lady.

Thank you, William and Cameron !

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"This will never be a civilized country until we expend more money for books than we do for chewing gum." Elbert Hubbard.

In light of the recent horrifying events in Mumbai, I feel an urge to change a few words in that quote : This will never be a civilized world until we expend more money for books than we do for arms.

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Tomorrow, I will be publishing my questions to Martha Speirs about the Karatu Library Project in Yola, no matter what. And I do hope I will be able to share with you the beautiful movie shot by Ramesh, in which we see the children of the Learn N' Play school comment on Amadi's Snowman, and ask questions to the children in India.  See you then... 

DAY 21 OF AMADI'S SNOWMAN GLOBAL VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR

Greetings, everyone, and welcome back to our virtual book tour. We have been roaming the world and the kidlit blogosphere for the past three weeks, now, and what a journey this is turning out to be.

Today, Bri, at Bri Meets Books, shares my photo essay "Snapshots of My Life in India." You can also find Bri's earlier review of Amadi's Snowman, here. 

We then return to The Well Read Child where Jill interviews Dimitrea Tokunbo, the illustrator.

And to add even more colors to today's post, I thought I'd share the story written and illustrated by one of the children at the Vidyaranya High School, in Hyderabad. I love the way she took the existing premise of the story and made it entirely her own.

Amadi's Birthday Party

"Amadi, a Nigerian, was turning 10 next week. So he invited his friends to his birthday party. Six days had pasted Amadi and his mother made sweets, baked a cake, made juice, and blew balloons. Amadi did not know how to read. He thought that reading is not important for birthday parties. Next day, his friends came to his birthday party, they got presents and birthday cards. They played games, ate sweets and ate the cake. They had lots of fun! Amadi opened the cards. He didn't understand anything. There were pictures of people laughing, he thought they were making fun of him because he doesn't know how to read. Then he opened the presents. And saw the instructions of the toys. Then he realized that he could not read. therefore he started learning how to read."

THE END.

Wonderful job, Raziqa ! Thank you.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Books are lighthouses erected in the great sea of time." Edwin P. Whipple

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Tomorrow, we visit Annette Gulati's blog, The Writing Wild Life, to talk about writing spaces and inspiration. And we have our regular feature "Where in the World is Amadi?"

See you then...

DAY 20 OF AMADI'S SNOWMAN GLOBAL VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR

Hello Everyone,

Today is another special day, as we return to Nigeria, but this time, to Amadi's hometown of Enugu, were I lived for over three years, and were I wrote Amadi's Snowman.

But first, we have a review and a give-away at On My Bookshelf. Visit for a chance to win a copy of Amadi's Snowman.

Done?

We now go to the British School of Enugu, which happens to be the school that my daughter attended while we lived in Nigeria. At the time, they had 50 children in a small three-room house with one bathroom and a tiny kitchen that the headmistress also used as her office. There was a small garden at the back with a few games and an old set of swings.

The school has since moved to a nicer location and we see here the year 5 class, which is the equivalent of the fourth grade in the American system (the children are between 9 and 10) as they discover Amadi's Snowman.



I was able to speak on the phone with their teacher, last night, and when I asked her what the children's reaction to the book was, she reported that they were extremely intrigued by the title and the cover : What could an Igbo boy and a snowman be doing together in a setting that was so

obviously Nigerian? She said that they liked the tension, and were very excited when Amadi discovers the book waiting for him at home, in the end. They were happy for him.

Mrs. Offiah also mentioned that the book offered a wonderful opportunity for the children to discuss and appreciate how lucky they are to be able to go to school and get an education.

Unfortunately, not all the drawings reached me on time. But I have two, showing the itinerary followed by Amadi, during this special day.

And look at that beautiful snowman !

The children had questions for me and for the illustrator. Unfortunately, I was not able to reach Dimitrea Tokunbo on such short notice. But I can answer a few of the questions addressed to me:

1. What is your favorite Nigerian food?

I love the fried plantains, which is why I had Amadi's mother cook this particular dish for dinner. I can also share with you that my daughter Kora, who was 7 months when we arrived in Enugu, and was almost four when we left, absolutely LOVED pounded yam, and she knew how to eat it the right way, too, making a little ball with her fingers, dipping it in the sauce, and eating it up from the wrist up. I preferred to look the other way, honestly, because where I come from, children are scolded for eating with their fingers. We are to use a fork and a knife, as you know. Of course, we are now in India, where people also eat with their right hand, so I have come up with a rule : at home, we eat with a fork and a knife; outside of home, well, I try and go with the flow...

2. Are you coming to visit our school?

Thank you for asking. I feel that in a way, thanks to my book, we have just connected and spent a little time together. Nigeria is not exactly next door for us. But I often think that I should go back to Enugu with Kora, some day. She loved it, there, and it would probably mean a lot to her if she could visit the place where she spent so much time running around and chasing lizards, just like Amadi. Maybe some day...

3. Are other children in other parts of the world excited and/or interested to see an Igbo boy and to learn about Nigeria and Amadi's culture?

If you haven't already, go back one day and read yesterday's post with Florin, Aisha and Shali's letter to Amadi. And now that you've also seen the drawings and pictures of the children in India, the US and Haiti (as well as all the other pictures of children around the world) you know that Amadi has been traveling quite a bit. So, the answer to your question is a resounding YES. And I am, myself, excited to know that this tour has offered you a glimpse into the lives of children in other parts of the world. It is all about creating bridges so we can better understand each other.

Thank you for these great questions.

Tomorrow, Mrs. Offiah is taking the whole class to the UNICEF office in Enugu, so they can access a computer and the Internet and see themselves and their work featured in our tour. I have asked them to take pictures and to send them to me, so I can post them later.

In the meantime, I want to thank all the children of the British School of Enugu for their participation. Thank you also to their teacher, Mrs. Irene Offiah, and to the school's headmistress, Mrs. Isobel Ndupuechi. And finally, thank you so much to my friend Dr. Theresa Madubuko for running around to deliver the book, the drawings, and generally making sure that things got done. Finally, thank you to M. Saaondo Anom, at the UNICEF office, for his continued support, and to M. Paul Chime and Mrs. Aranotu. It takes that many people, when infrastructures and communications are not the best, but the children of Enugu are partaking in our celebration, today, and this is another proof that where there is a will, there usually is a way...

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"A book is a part of life, a manifestation of life, just as much as a tree, or a horse or a star. It obeys its own rhytms, its own laws, whether it be a novel, a play or a diary. The deep, hidden rhythm of life is always there -- that of the pulse, the heart beat." Henry Miller

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Tomorrow, you'll find a photo essay by yours truly at Bri Meets Books, an interview with Amadi's Snowman's illustrator, Dimitrea Tokunbo, at The Well Read Child, and a story inspired by Amadi written and illustrated by a child at the Vidyaranya High School, in Hyderabad. See you then...

DAY 19 OF AMADI'S SNOWMAN GLOBAL VIRTUAL TOUR

Hello, this is Amadi ! How is everyone? I hope you like this blog tour as much as I do. It is a big joy to read all the reviews from people who love the book, and to discover why, and what it is they love the most. It is a great adventure. 

So, today, we continue our blog visits and return to The Well Read Child for an interview with Mama Katia. 

And when you come back, you can see and read...

... a letter I received from Italy. Yes, yes, Italia, Europe. I have three friends there and look at the beautiful letter they sent me. 

As it is in Italian, and I don't speak that language (I speak Igbo and English only), their mother translated it for me.

Jambo ! (Hello in Kiswahili)

Dear Amadi, we are three sisters, Florin, Aisha and Shali, and we are half Kenyan. Our father is Kenyan and our mum was born in Rome-Italy. Usually, our mum reads us stories. Do you like listening to stories? My mum told us that still nowadays in small villages around Africa there are storytellers who continue to transmit their traditional stories. Our parents taught us to build toys using recycled stuff and we enjoy it. What are your favorite toys and games? Do you also build them yourself? Would you like to travel and see other countries? We'd like to go to Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco and India. How is your house? Do you like animals? We love them and we have a cat, Matisse. What are the most important feasts at your village? We enjoyed reading your story because when we learned how to read, we discovered that it is adventurous and makes us travel without moving. Thanks to Mama Katia, we've been to Nigeria and we have met you!

Kwaheri (Bye Bye in Kishwahili)

Signed : Florin Mwaniki (the wise one), Aisha Mwananna (long life), and Shali Mwanalulu (pearl) in Lerici, Italy.

And that was our picture today for our feature "Where in the world is Amadi?" Continue to send us photos of your children reading Amadi's Snowman at katianovet@gmail.com.

Please, see below my letter to my friends in Italy. 

Dear Florin, Aisha and Shali, 

Kedu ! And thank you for your letter. I'm happy that you like our book, and even more happy that you want to visit our great country of Nigeria. I have grown a lot since Mama Katia started writing my story and now I'm really an Igbo man of Nigeria - no longer just a boy. So I don't play as much as before. But I remember that more than anything, I loved chasing lizards and trying to catch bush rabbits. They are grass-cutters, even though Mama Katia says they look like long rats, and we love to eat them. I also played with seeds. But going to the market was always the best. It is good that your parents taught you to recycle objects and make toys with them. Now that I have traveled to be with Mama Katia and Mama Dimitrea, I see that in other countries, they have lots of toys, and there is a lot of waste, too. As we don't have much money, we try to use things as long as they have some use for us. Of course, I also wish we would be a little cleaner in Nigeria, rather than using our roads as garbage dumps. I often scold the children in our village when I see them throwing their wastes everywhere, and I tell them to pick it up. They don't like it, but they must obey me, because I'm their elder. I still live with my mother, and we have two rooms in our house. It is quite comfortable. We have many festivals, but the most important ones are the New Yam festival, in August, and the Masquerades (Mmanwu) in November. Our traditional weddings and funerals are also great ceremonies with lots of dancing, singing, and eating. If you ever come to Igboland, please come and knock on our door and I will be your guide.

Kodi (Bye in Igbo). Signed : your friend, Ifeanyi Amadi.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read." Abraham Lincoln

_______________________________

Tomorrow, we go to On My Bookshelf for a review and a giveaway, and we return to my hometown of Enugu, in Nigeria, for another school visit. See you then...

DAY 17 OF AMADI'S SNOWMAN GLOBAL VIRTUAL TOUR

Hello everyone,

Today, we are going back to Nigeria, and I will leave the keyboard to Amadi, after a brief invitation to visit Maw Books, where photographer, Master Gardener and mom Natasha Maw reviews every book she reads. Today, Amadi's Snowman is in the spotlight !

Hello, it's me Amadi. As Mama Katia promised, yesterday, we return to Nsukka to see Professor Virginia Dyke. We first met Pr Dyke at The Children's Center, on the third day of the tour. Since then, she has been working hard to introduce the book to more children in her area. She sent us drawings from the 5th graders at the Central School I. And here is what she wrote :

"It's been rough here with no light and no server and all sorts of problems. The children liked the book very much. They are convinced of the value of reading and those at Children's Centre knew about snow through their reading. Later we were able to share the book at a school in town. Those children didn't know anything about snow and were fascinated by the librarian's explanations. They also talked about their favorite books. This showed me the scantiness of reading materials available to them. Most cited stories in their English language reader or those in other textbooks."

Girl in snow in India

The drawing above, by Uchenna Ugwuoke, one of the 5th graders in the class that read Amadi's Snowman, is the illustration of the text below and refers to a book titled "Back to School," from their Macmillan English textbook :

"It was the first day of the school year. Emeka and his friends Wakama and Kunle were walking to school. Emeka was trying to read his book as usual. Kunle and Wakama were in front of him.

Come on! They called. We'll be late. Emeka closed his book and reading to catch up with them.

I was reading about Nigeria, he said. Do you know that only fifty years ago there were very few towns in Nigeria. Nearly everyone lived in villages. Only a few children went to school. They went to market but they didn’t learn to read and write. I know, said Wakama. My father said Port Harcourt town when he was a boy, he used to do his homework by the light of a kerosene lamp. My father used to walk ten kilometers to school."

Thank you, Uchenna. This is all true. And as Mama Katia mentions in her website, we still see children walking a long way to school nowadays, carrying their bench on their head. Thank you to Professor Dyke and to the children of Nsukka for their beautiful artwork.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"You may have riches and wealth untold - caskets of jewels and baskets of gold. But richer than I, you will never be, for I had a mother who read to me." Gillilan Strickland

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Tomorrow, we go to The Well-Read Child for the first of three visits, we have our Tuesday Quizz, here, and a truly heartwarming surprise from the community of children's writers and illustrators in Austin. See you then...

DAY 15 OF AMADI'S SNOWMAN GLOBAL VIRTUAL TOUR

Hello everyone, 

Today begins the third week of Amadi's Snowman's incredible journey around the world, and I'm very happy to take you to Kelly Starling Lyons' blog, Kuumba, for a conversation about diversity in children's books. Kelly is the author of "One Million Men and Me," and "NEAT: Eddie's Ordeal", both published by Just Us Books, and she has two forthcoming picture books with Penguin/G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers. She is also one of the founding members of The Brown Bookshelf initiative. Kelly wanted us to broach one of my favorite subjects : the need for children's books to mirror our diverse world, to represent children of all colors and backgrounds. Come and join us.

And now, as promised yesterday, here is a gallery of the artwork done by the second grade children at Poupard Elementary School, in Harper Woods, Michigan, USA.

Thank you very much to the second graders at Poupard Elementary, in Michigan, and their teacher, Cathy Lee, for participating in our global blog tour. I hope you all continue to enjoy reading as much as your already do.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Without books the development of civilization would have been impossible. They are the engines of change, windows on the world, Lighthouses as the poet said erected in the sea of time. They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind, Books are humanity in print." Arthur Schopenhaur

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Tomorrow, we visit National Book Award winning author Kimberly Willis Holt at her blog, Jambalaya. And we have our regular features : the Sunday Trivia and "Where in the World is Amadi?" See you then...

DAY 12 OF AMADI'S SNOWMAN GLOBAL VIRTUAL TOUR

I'm so pleased to announce yet another chock full, happening day, today.

First, we return to the Through the Looking Glass blog for a... giveaway.

Then, Anamaria gives us a review at Books Together , a blog "For kids and Their Grownups."

And now, Amadi and I are both really excited to take you to the third grade class at the Quisqueya Christian School, in the capital city of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. 

Haiti was recently hit by four terrible hurricanes, and the beginning of the school year had to be postponed until the beginning of October. But as soon as she heard about our project, Mrs. Jean Graham, the third-grade teacher, sent me an enthusiastic email saying she would love for her students to participate, and how could she get her hands on the book? The only copy available in Haiti, at that time, was at my mother-in-law's house, and Mrs. Graham drove up to Fermathe, in the mountains above the capital, to borrow it. A week later, she sent me all the material, pictures, scans of the drawings, etc. Now, that's what I call being efficient.

I asked Mrs. Graham about the children's reactions to the book, and here is what she wrote:

 

"The class really liked the part of the story when Mrs. Chikodili bought the book. They were predicting that he would not get to see the book again... some thought that she would read it to him... They were pleased to see that she gave the book to Amadi. They related very well to the merchants and the market scene... very common here, too. Many smacked their lips as the mango part was being read... the season for them is just now beginning again, so they sound really good to eat. We looked at the globe to see where India and Nigeria are, and discussed traveling there and how long it would take to get there by plane. We also discussed the types of foods that are the same here and there."

And, so, Amadi and his story continue to build bridges across the world, this time from Haiti to Nigeria, and from Haiti to India. And look how cosy and happy Amadi's Snowman looks among all these beautiful children.

Below is a small selection of the material I received. I could not publish everything because the drawings and letters did not all come through as clearly as I would have liked. But we still have a lovely sample of the work done by the third grade class at Quisqueya. 

 

"The first book I read was Batman. The book I can read over and over is X Man. My favorite book is Green Eggs and Ham. I like it because it's funny. When I first learned to read I was happy."

"The first book I read was "Cuga, Cugu, Cooko." I love reading fairy tales. My favorite book is Amadi's Snowman. I felt like I was grown-up. Being able to read is fun. I feel sad about people who can't read."

The children also asked questions in their letters, and I will compile them and publish them later in the tour. Find below a picture of the classroom, and another of the lunch area, in the shade of a gorgeous tree.

Thank you so much to all the third graders at Quisqueya. Thank you for your great work and enthusiasm, and thank you for your kind words about Amadi's Snowman.  And finally, a million heartfelt thanks to their teacher, Mrs. Jean Graham, for involving her students in our global virtual tour, in spite of all sorts of logistical difficulties (like scanning and emailing all the material to me ; and by the way, thank you also to Ralph Pereira, at Comp'Haiti, for offering the use of his scanner and his time to make sure I received everything, and to my mother in law, for lending her copy of the book).

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Everything in the world exists to end up in a book." Stephane Mallarmé.

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Tomorrow, we will visit two of incredibly energetic author Anastasia Suen's blogs and we'll see our first video clip. See you then...