Who Can Write a Review?

This past week in class we were asked, "Do you feel qualified to write a literary review?" No one confidently raised their hand and confirmed that they were qualified to write an appropriate review of multicultural children's literature. I didn't expect anyone to, but this question has been on my mind since. What does qualify someone to write a literacy review? As Yamate pointed out, there is no formal reviewing process or qualifications. This concerns me. I actually feel more lost about selecting quality children's literature than ever before. Every time I turn around there seems to be another thing to consider. Not only do you have to think about the author and the actual piece of literature, but you must also critically consider anyone who reviews the book. As Yamate mentioned, one review does not qualify a piece of literature as "good" or "bad." The perspective of the reviewer must be taken into consideration. A review from an outside perspective my interpret a piece of literature very differently from someone who has an inside perspective. It always seems to come back to the great insider vs. outside debate.

While collecting pieces of literature for me text set, I have become more aware of how to choose quality pieces of literature. This is not to say I don't still second guess myself. Until I become much more knowledgeable about children's literature, I think I will always have this nagging concern about whether or not my selections are truly quality. I can however recognize some personal growth in the matter since taking this course. I own the picture book, The Deaf Musicians, by Pete Seeger. I received this book about 2 years ago as a gift. While doing research for my final project I found out that this book as won the Schneider Family Book Award. Even though I enjoy the book, I caught myself from automatically assuming it is a quality piece of literature simply because it has won an award. Even though this book has won an award for children's literature that portrays disability, I am not including it in my text set for one important reason. At the end of the book there is an author's note by Pete Seeger. He basically says that he's never actually worked with any Deaf musicians. The closest he's come is having sign language interpreters at some of his concerts. Seeger really has no insider experience with the culture of people he chose to write about. Now, don't get me wrong, The Deaf Musicians, is a good book that positively portrays the Deaf culture, but I also know now that it is important to consider the author's insider experience or lack thereof. I don't think this will stop me from someday using this book, but it will encourage me to address this point of concern with my students to help them grow as more critical readers.