Viewing Children's Books Through an Intersectional Lens

Please note: this course is full. Please click here to be placed on our waiting list.

Viewing Children’s Books Through an Intersectional Lens: A Professional Development for Educators, Storytellers, & Publishing Professionals

• 4-week online program with pre-recorded material and weekly live sessions on Thursdays at 7pm Eastern (October 14, 21 and 28) and a final session on Tuesday, November 2 at 7pm Eastern.

PARTICIPANT CAP:

60

WHY THIS WORKSHOP?

Reading and discussing children’s books makes for better children’s books. Whether you are critically reading as an educator, writer, illustrator, editor, agent, or publisher, this important work must be done thoughtfully and with an intersectional lens.

Join children’s book educators, researchers, scholars, and storytellers: Dr. Laura M. Jiménez, Franki Sibberson, Clare Landrigan, Lynsey Burkins, and Grace Lin to develop the skills needed to analyze children’s books for meaningful representation, reader engagement, visual literacy, and more!

Program participants will review recorded content weekly and prepare reflections for meaningful discussions in our live sessions. Please note: the Week Four material will center participant discoveries to share with the group.

THIS PROGRAM IS A GREAT FIT IF:

• You’re a writer or illustrator of books for children. This course is especially geared toward stories in the elementary grades, but is applicable for all storytellers.
• You work in the publishing industry. Editors, agents, and publishing professionals will deepen their understanding of these essential conversations in the industry.
• You’re a classroom teacher or you are teaching teachers. Reading, discussing, and analyzing children’s books is an essential skill for teachers at all levels.
• You’re an ally in the fight for representation in children’s books. Join us to learn more and spread the word in all children’s lit spaces!
• You’re building a library. Not with hammers and wood, but with BOOKS! Whether it is a personal library, public library, classroom library, school library, Little Free Library, and/or book collection for profit, this course will guide you to a more equitable and inclusive approach to gather books for children!

TENTATIVE AGENDA:

Please note: Participants are not required to purchase all texts for the weekly readings. Instead, you are encouraged to use your local library. If you do purchase, you are also encouraged to purchase from local independent bookstores.

Week One: October 11-14
Reading KidLit With An Intersectional Lens

Monday, October 11
Pre-recorded content release for Week One (introductions and opening presentation)

• Welcome, Grace Lin
• Centering the Story: Who is Represented, Who is Not, Laura M. Jiménez
• Literature is a Liberatory Experience!, Lynsey Burkins
• Using Complex & Engaging Literature with Intentionality, Franki Sibberson
• Disrupting Nostalgia in Children’s Literature for the Classroom, Clare Landrigan

Thursday, October 14, 7-8pm Eastern
LIVE session: small group discussions

Week One Reading:

• What I Am, by Divya Srinivasan
• Kimberlé Crenshaw: The Urgency of Intersectionality
• “Amplify,” a reverso poem by Lindsay H. Metcalf from No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History (Note: this book will be used for the entire course, with individual selections each week.)
• “Ziad Ahmed: Defy,” a ballad poem by Hena Khan from No Voice Too Small
• Laura M. Jiménez: The Overwhelmingly White, Straight, and Able Face of Children’s Literature. 2019, Michigan Reading Journal, 51(1), 9.

Week Two: October 18-21
Representation in Kidlit

Monday, October 18
Pre-recorded content release for Week Two

• The Marketability and Flattening of #OwnVoices, Laura M. Jiménez
• Incidental Representation: What it Means & What it Does, Lynsey Burkins
• Benefits of #OwnVoices as a White Educator, Clare Landrigan and Franki Sibberson

Thursday, October 21, 7-8pm Eastern
LIVE session: Representation: #OwnVoices, Lived Experiences, Grace Lin

Week Two Reading:

• A Big Moon Cake for Little Star by Grace Lin
• “Jasilyn Charger: Water Protector,” a free verse poem by Joseph Bruchac from No Voice Too Small
• “Zach Wahls: With All Due Respect,” a triolet poem by Lesléa Newman from No Voice Too Small
• Lynsey Burkins: Incidental Diversity

Week Three: October 25-28
Critical Visual Literacy

Monday, October 25
Pre-recorded content release for Week Three

• Enacting Critical Visual Literacy , Laura M. Jiménez
• Lyrical Picture Books, Clare Landrigan
• Student Critical Visual Question Stems, Lynsey Burkins
• Book Composition: Front/Back Matter, Authors Notes, Embedded Visuals, Franki Sibberson

Thursday, October 28, 7-8pm Eastern
LIVE session: book talks, conversation about illustrations

Week Three Reading:

• Boogie Boogie, Y’all by C. G. Esperanza
• Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor
• “Mari Copeny: Little Miss Flint,” by Carole Boston Weatherford from No Voice Too Small
• Hee Young Kim and Angelica Serrano: Enhancing Critical Visual Literacy through Illustrations in a Picture Book

Week Four: November 2
Pulling it all together: Implications for the Classroom and Beyond
Note: no pre-recorded sessions this week.

Tuesday, November 2, 7-8pm Eastern
LIVE session: conversation on Cultural Tourism

Week Four Reading:

• Areli is a Dreamer by Areli Morales
• When Lola Visits by Michelle Sterling
• Laura M. Jiménez: Mirrors and windows with Texts and readers: Intersectional Social Justice at work in the Classroom. 2021, Language Arts, 98(3), 156-161.
• Emily Machado and Tracey T. Flores: Picturebook Creators as Translingual Writing Mentors
• Carla España and Luz Yardia Herrera: Translanguation. Choose one:
  Podcast: Transformative Power of Translanguaging in Literature
  Video: Centering the Voices and Experiences of Bilingual Latinx Students in Our Classrooms

HIGHLIGHTS FOUNDATION RESOURCES AND FAQS FOR WORKSHOPS:

• Why do we mention how workshops impact kids? Learn about the Highlights Foundation mission.
• COVID Reschedule/Refund Policy
  What’s the difference between Highlights Foundation workshop types?
• Trying to figure out how this course fits into your schedule? Read some ideas about planning for the right level of commitment.
• A note about workshop agendas and how they change and evolve.
• Nervous about critiques? See how the Highlights Foundation approaches the process here.

FROM OUR COMMUNITY:

“I learned so much from the team of experts that led this workshop. It was a life-changing experience and I’m looking forward to the next workshop in this series of Essential Conversations.”