Red: A Crayon Story
Michael Hall
Sparkle Boy
Leslea Newman; Maria Mola
About The Books
Red: A Crayon Story is a remarkable story told from the perspective of a narrator in the role of a pencil about a crayon labeled red but destined to be blue. Red is judged and ridiculed by his family, friends, and other people in his likeness (crayons). The story begins showing a crayon that is blue but has a red wrapper and says "He was Red. But he wasn't very good at it." How powerful of an impact a label can have on people. Labels in today's world are never-ending. Male, female, popular, loser, Chinese, African American, White, autistic, disabled; and the list goes on. This book tells the story of a label that makes Red feel inadequate, less than, and an outcast. Other crayons want to "fix" him or encourage him to try harder to fit his label. When another crayon finally gives Red the chance to perform as himself and color an ocean blue, Red discovered his true identity.
Sparkle Boy is a bright and beautifully articulated story of a boy who enjoys all things sparkly, shimmery, and glittery that his sister has. The mother, father, and abuelita in this story are supportive of Casey wanting to wear a shiny skirt, paint glittery nails, and sparkly bracelet. The most resistant character is Casey's older sister, Jessie, as she each time says "Boys don't wear sparkly things." The adult each time replies with, "I've never seen a boy wear sparkly things, until now." Showing Casey that, though he is different than other "typical" boys, he can be whoever he wants to be and look however he wants to look. The climax of this story occurs in the first public outing in the book to the library. A girl comments about how Casey is a girl because he can't be a boy with a skirt, bracelet and nail polish. And wow, did it take my breath away when Jessie stood up for her brother and goes home to play with all things shimmery, glittery, and sparkly together.
About the Authors
Author, Illustrator of Red: A Crayon's Story is Michael Hall. He wrote on his blog about the story of writing this specific story (get to the post here). He writes that he didn't know what the book would be about until fairly late into the process. He began by just coming up with funny things and puns that would occur when a crayons label doesn't match their color. "He's not sharp enough; He's not bright enough; He just needs to press harder."
Hall at this point in the creating process paused to realize that this is relative to his story. He has dyslexia. He and Red both tried to confine to their label and only defined their ability to how well they could color red. They had a supportive community who encouraged them to try harder or attempt new methods. He writes that he hopes the story of Red can inspire children of all ages to have conversations of judgments and outside labels as well as aid in their discovery of the joy one feels when they find their place in the world.
Author or Sparkle Boy is Leslea Newman. Leslea is an author of 70 books for readers of all ages. Leslea says (in this post) that she was once asked the question of "If you had nothing to rebel against and nothing to conform to, who would you be?" I don't know about you, but my mind just exploded by the depth of that question. Leslea took this question and began thinking of the norms and "rules" of identities, such as gender, that society places on us. The dream for this book is to spark discussion on gender expression and how wide the spectrum of expression may be. There is no "right" or "wrong" way to be. We have the freedom to dictate who we are and what we will be.
Connections
Both of these stories have powerful plot lines of identity discovery and the obstacles that may come along with that adventure. In college I was a WyldLife leader through the ministry of Young Life. This is an outreach ministry that has a special place in my heart where we had the opportunity to go out and build relationships with middle and high schoolers and tell them about the love of our God. I once gave a club talk on identity and labels. I referred to the scripture of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) in the tree who was labeled as a tax collector, thief, and short to the point he was an outcast but wanted the same as everyone else; to see Jesus. Jesus called Zacchaeus, who he had never spoken to before, by name to come and spend time together. When I gave this club talk, I knew it would be relatable on a wide range of topics. I related to it in being made fun of and cast out in my adolescence, but I knew that some of the people listening would be able to come up with more labels they may have felt oppressed or judged by such as race, ability, religion, and gender. These "labels", as I've been referring to them as, don't define us. They have become something our world today will hold above your head and press down as hard as it can in hope that you will crumble and conform. The point I always come around to in identity, is how boring the world would be if everyone was the exact same person with the same identity!
As educators, teachers of children still discovering their true identity, we must provide students with opportunities to see themselves in books. We must provide books, not only for read-alouds, but for our students to CHOOSE and take the time to read from our classroom library. These books should cover diverse children, family structures, economic statuses, genders, religions, races, abilities and disabilities. Books can serve as an avenue for students to begin to discover their identity beyond the label modern society has given them.
Reading to Make a Difference:
Using Literature to Help Students Speak Freely, Think Deeply, and Take Action
Chapter 1: Discovering Our Own Identities
Lester L. Laminach and Katie Kelly
Heinemann 2019
Another Book on Identity
Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun: Having the Courage to be Who You Are
Author: Maria Dismondy
Illustrator: Kim Shaw
Comments