Islands in Children’s and Young Adult Literature

In anticipation of the ChLA international panel on “Islands in Children's and Young Adult Literature” held in Bellevue, WA, we present here in this post a brief selection of children’s books from around the world that share this topic. As a geographic focus, islands can evoke and encompass a wide range of themes, both literal and metaphoric. Islands may be sites of adventure or places of relaxation. They may offer a space for close-knit community or desperate isolation. They are on the forefront of extreme weather and climate change. Often they are liminal spaces, existing on the edge of nations and possessing their own distinct identities. Voices from the islands carry the spirit of these identities out to the rest of the world, and it is through children’s books that we get a glimpse of what these various islands have to offer.

We would like to thank our contributors for their participation in this post and invite you to join the International Committee and our 2023 distinguished panelists at the 2023 ChLA Conference.

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JAMAICA

A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett-Coverley Found Her Voice

Author: Nadia L. Hohn

Illustrator: Eugenie Fernandes

Publisher: Owlkids

Language: English

ISBN-13: 9781771473507

I recommend Nadia L. Hohn's book, A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett-Coverley Found Her Voice. For long centuries, the historical experiences, folk wisdom, and diverse cultures of people of African ancestry have been expressed through four main channels: song, dance, drum, and the written word. I recommend this book because Miss Lou was and remains a cultural icon among Jamaican and other Caribbean peoples. Miss Lou (1919-2006) was a literary pioneer who brought international recognition to Caribbean patois, which laid the groundwork for numerous artistic trailblazers including Bob Marley, Harry Belafonte, and Linton Kwesi Johnson. A major reason that children will love and appreciate this book because they get to experience the rich and rhythmic language of Caribbean patois. The author presents a beautiful story that is instantly relatable and fun to read. As an educator, teaching artist, and poet of distinction, Miss Lou demonstrated the enduring power of art to inspire, activate, and transform lives, hearts, and minds. Given the numerous distractions in the world, it is critical that children (particularly children of African ancestry) maintain durable linkages to their culture, history, traditions, and use those things to imagine a new world.

Lasana D. Kazembe, Ph.D. is a poet, educator, and critical Black scholar whose work examines culture, race, history, education, and the arts. A core focus of his teaching and research involves excavating and interrogating what he refers to as the ‘lost-found’ sacred histories of Africana peoples. Through that lens, he explores the rich, complex, prodigious, and sentient epistemologies (i.e., histories, expressive forms, imaginaries, creative legacies, folklore, cultural lifeways) of Africana peoples and situates them as sites of memory and cultural production in order to advance critical conversation and positive social transformation. He is a published poet, spoken word artist, educational consultant, and scholar of Urban Teacher Education, Global Black Arts Movements, and the Black Intellectual Tradition. His recent creative projects include: “The Voodoo of Hell’s Half-Acre”: The Travelin’ Genius of Richard Wright: A Blues Poetry Opera; Firedance: Body, Word & Sound as Prism; and Wah Wah and Whatnot: A Love Note to Jazz. He is currently writing a new jazz opera (debuting 2023) entitled Paul Robeson: Man of the People which explores the life, art, and activism of Mr. Robeson. Dr. Kazembe’s latest book, Keeping Peace: Reflections on Life, Legacy, Commitment, and Struggle, was published by Third World Press. Dr. Kazembe is an Assistant Professor in the IUPUI School of Education and in the IUPUI Africana Studies Program.

SWITZERLAND

Die Insel. Eine tägliche Geschichte

Translation: The Island

Author: Armin Greder

Publisher: ‎Sauerländer

Language: German

ISBN-13: ‎9783794149308

Swiss author/illustrator Armin Greder’s picturebook debut, Die Insel. Eine tägliche Geschichte (2002, reissued 2015 with an afterword by Heribert Prantl; English translation, The Island, 2007), was met with wide critical acclaim upon its release. It tells of the fate of an emaciated and naked men who washes up on the coast of an island. Because he does not look like the islanders, they do not see why they should provide him food and shelter and intend to send him back where he came from. Only the fisherman, who knows the dangers of the sea, can convince them to take the stranger in, but the people continue to ostracize and treat him inhumanely. Eventually, unable and unwilling to overcome their fear and prejudice of the man, they bind him to his raft and send him out to sea again. To ensure no stranger ever finds and sets foot on their island again, they build a high wall around it and kill all birds flying by.

The unconventional picturebook is a powerful commentary on a range of socio-political topics: ostracism, intolerance, xenophobia, and most prominently, the debate about refugees. Dark-hued chalk illustrations reminiscent of Edvard Munch's The Scream emphasize the islanders’ fear and intolerance against an innocent man whose only mistake was to ask for shelter and food. An appeal to humanity and civil courage, the picturebook unfortunately remains timeless even 20 years after its release, whether a refugee comes by water or by land.

Carla Plieth is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Research in Children's Literature at the University of Cambridge investigating the negotiation of victimisation and boyhood in the adolescent male rape novel. Her wider research interest within international children's and youth literature are depictions of interpersonal violence and trauma, picturebook adaptations, gender and sexuality, disability studies, and translation studies. Her work has been published in Bookbird and is forthcoming in several English- and German-language edited collections. She works as a lecturer in English and German studies with a focus on children's and youth literature and media.

INDIA

Sabuj Dwiper Raja / The King of the Green Island

Author: Sunil Gangopadhyay

Publisher: Ananda Publishers (1993, reprint)

Language: Bengali

ISBN-13: ‎9788170669210

Sabuj Dwiper Raja, or The King of the Green Island in English, is a classic children's book written by Bengali author Sunil Gangopadhyay. Tapan Sinha, the director, adapted the book into a film of the same name. The story takes place in the Andaman Islands, where Raja Roy Chowdhury, the former Director of the Archaeological Survey of India, and his nephew Santu have gone to investigate some criminal activity. The islands are portrayed as contradictory spaces because they are both isolated and relational, closed off and welcoming, enticing and terrifying, hostile and compassionate, secretive and telling, touristic and indigenous, commercial and unproductive, past and present, and so on. Those interested in studying islands in fiction may find plenty to work with. Kakababu stories, on the whole, are about adventure, history, and the power of the will, and they are pretty entertaining to read. It should be mentioned that, due to the time of writing, the Jarawa people are completely misrepresented in the book.

Subhayan Basu recently completed his master's degree in English and is now a freelance writer.

SCOTLAND

The Coral Island: A Tale of the Pacific Ocean

Author: R. M. Ballantyne

Language: English

The Coral Island: A Tale of the Pacific Ocean (1857) by Scottish author R. M. Ballantyne encapsulates nineteenth-century values concerning adventure, imperialism, Christianity, science, masculinity, and childhood. This novel follows our 15-year-old protagonist, Ralph Rover, and his shipmates, 18-year-old Jack Martin and 14-year-old Peterkin Gay, along an expedition to the South Pacific that proves to be a rite of passage. Written from the perspective of the adult Ralph, reflecting on his youth after a shipwreck, these boys discover paradise and trouble on the utopian, Coral Island. Continuing the adventure tradition, attributed to Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719) and later to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island (1882), the children express a national fear of native people and pirates for their “savage,” non-Christian practices. The novel’s familiar, Golden Age, ending encourages children to become Christian, environmental stewards and imperial leaders.

Aside from the theme of imperialism, The Coral Island is especially interesting for its “two voices,” from the child and adult Ralph, and its reflections on memory; the adult Ralph becomes reinvigorated as he recalls his travels. Lastly, the novel comments on nineteenth-century scientific and religious philosophy; Ralph becomes a naturalist who records his observations on The Coral Island. Through the addition of illustrations by Ballantyne, readers can also experience the wonder of water spouts, lagoons, and stalactites, as well as creatures like flying fish, penguins, hogs, porpoises, and whales.

Stephanie Montalti is an English PhD candidate and adjunct professor at St. John’s University in Queen’s, NY. Her areas of specialization and interest include children’s literature, Victorian novels, empire, illustration, fantasy, and book history. She received her Master’s from The Graduate Center, CUNY. Her academic works can be found in St. John’s University’s Humanities Review, Dickens Studies Annual, CUNY Academic Works, and on the Children’s Literature Association’s Blog.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Islandborn

Author: Junot Díaz

Illustrator: Leo Espinosa

Publisher: Dial Books

Language: English

ISBN-13: 9780735229860

I recommend the picture book Islandborn written by Junot Díaz and illustrated by Leo Espinosa because of the important collective lived experience this book offers on the theme of hurricanes in the Caribbean and how children learn about their homeland or place of origin even if they have no memory of it. The child protagonist, Lola, using her creativity and drawing skills sets out on a mission to learn more about her island and the reasons why her family left. This was inspired by an assignment given by her homeroom teacher, Ms. Obi, where she asks students to draw an image that reminds them of their homeland so she can place them on the wall in their classroom. The idea behind this is for students to have a glimpse of everyone’s home as if they were looking out a window. Lola with her cousin Leticia visit their community and ask them questions of their memories of the island. Lola draws wonderful illustrations through the picture book based on what people have told her. She would draw really cute bats with blankets for wings, she would draw the radiant sunlight and the sparkling sensation of the ocean, a feeling very familiar for those born on an island in the Caribbean. What I love about Islandborn is the discussion and conversation the picture book offers about Latinx Young and Media and the importance of diaspora narratives, and the action of inviting the reader into Lola’s journey of learning about her heritage.

Edcel Javier Cintrón-Gonzalez is a proud Puerto Rican, scholar, and graduate worker who is pursuing a Ph.D. in English Studies with a focus in Children and Young Adult Literature. When he is not working on academic things, he enjoys cooking, playing video games and writing about them in the website Gamers with Glasses and writing his monthly Children’s Picture Book review in Spanish for the Palabreadores Newsletter. Edcel has a forthcoming chapbook of poetry titled Irma, Maria, Fiona, and Me to be published in May 2023 by PRESS 254.

IRAN

Let's Agree to Disagree / مثل یک جنگجوی واقعی

Author: Hadis Lazargholami / حدیث لزرغلامی

Illustrator: Morteza Rokhsatpanah / مرتضی رخصت‌پناه

Publisher: TUTI Books

Languages: English, Persian, Farsi

ISBN-13: 9786226630757

Let's Agree to Disagree which is about a warrior stranded alone on an island. When the enemy comes to take his land, their children need a school and a teacher of course. We shall see if the warrior helps his enemy. The book is about peace and friendship, focusing on similarities and finding a common ground in disagreements. It also depicts the importance of conversation and dialogue in overcoming problems.

Shiva Azimi is the Rights Manager at TUTI Books, based in Tehran, Iran. TUTI Books won the BOP Bologna Prize Best Children's Publisher of the Year 2021 (Asia).

INDIA

Jadav and the Tree-Place

Author/Illustrator: Vinayak Varma

Publisher: Pratham Books

Language: English

ISBN-13: 9789350226773

Graphic representations like in picture books become a crucial agency to familiarise children about the rising concern of environment. With this notion three picture books--Jadav and the Tree-Place (2016) by Vinayak Varma, The Boy Who Grew A Forest (2019) by Sophia Gholz and illustrated by Kayla Harren and Island of Majuli (2020) by Andrew Curry may add to the reading list of children and researchers of this genre. Varma’s narrative mainly concerns about the character, Jadav, precisely based on the real life of National award- winning environmentalist, conservationist and ‘Forest Man of India’, Jadav Payeng (spelt as jā-dav pā-yeng). While Gholz narrates even a wider perspective of conservation, soil erosion and protection of the biodiversity initiated by Payeng as a coming-of-age character, Curry’s work focusses primarily upon the island from the rendition of a visitor, portraying Payeng as a teenager.

It is evident from all the three island narratives referring to the largest river island of the world, Majuli as documented in Erosion activity on Majuli - the largest river island of the world (2003) by P. Kotoky et al. Majuli (was also under British invasion) is surrounded by river Brahmaputra, in upper Assam, in the Northeast region of India. However, retelling the true story of the ‘forest man’ tends to create and recreate an element of multiverse of reality in graphic form considering the three narratives. Voiced in third person the narratives pave way to connect young minds to environment consciousness subtly, buttressed with aesthetic illustrations.

Bornali Nath Dowerah is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Manohari Devi Kanoi Girls’ College (MDKGC), Dibrugarh University, India. She has submitted her PhD thesis to Dibrugarh University. Her area of interests constitute English Language Teaching, English for Academic Purposes to extensive research in areas like children’s literature, queer young adult fiction, gender and sexuality, psychoanalytic studies, fiction studies, critical and creative writing. She teaches English Literature and Language to UG and PG level students as well as mentors them. Ms. Dowerah has published her research articles in numerous journals, books and newspapers. Till present she has 35 research papers published, authored 9 books, and jointly edited 3 books of critical essays. She has 10 years of teaching experience in Higher Education till 2023.

SCOTLAND

Viking Boys

Author: Jessie M. E. Saxby

Publisher: ‎Outlook Verlag (2020; reproduction of original)

Language: ‎English

ISBN-13: ‎9783752423099

In keeping with the theme of “islands,” Viking Boys (1892) by Jessie Margaret Edmondston Saxby (1842-1940) is a fine place to begin. Saxby herself was a native of Unst in the Shetland Islands and sets her juvenile adventure amongst these selfsame islands during an undefined period in the 19th century. Yaspard and his sister Signy are orphans being raised by their Uncle Brüs and Aunt Osla. Fifteen-year-old Yaspard longs for the glory days of the Vikings—an historical presence in Shetland’s past—and devises a competition with the boys of the surrounding islands. A family feud, a haunted ruin, a castaway, a pirate cave, and an oncoming storm are among the many perils Yaspard and his friends must navigate as they pilot their boats from island to island. Included on the adventures are pets Pirate the dog, Thor the raven, and Loki the cormorant. In all, their pursuit of adventure is worthy of a Viking boy—at least as imagined in the Norse Romanticism of nineteenth-century Britain. The boys are never without the comfort of Aunt Osla’s provisions! Noted by scholars as being culturally significant, this little-known work deserves more attention. Scottish colloquial words and phrases are glossed at the end of each chapter. Available free on Project Gutenberg.

Tanja Nathanael currently teaches Children’s Literature and Fantasy & Science Fiction online for San Jose State University. An alumna of SJSU, she earned her Bachelor's in 2005 and Master's in 2010. She received her doctorate from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2019. She formerly served on the international committee for the Children's Literature Association (2015-2018) and continues to support its goals as co-editor of the ChLA International Committee Blog to encourage interest in international children’s literature. She is currently co-editing Global Children’s Literature in the College Classroom [Lexington; in progress] with Dr. Sara Austin (Kentucky Wesleyan College). Her research utilizes spatiality, borders, and peripheries, and examines Children’s Lit and other literatures in these contexts.

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