Author: Varian Johnson
Copyright: 2018
"We hear what we want to hear. We see what we want to see" (Johnson, 2018, p. 265)
Varian Johnson in the video below had a difficult time as a child finding books where they mirrored him as a reader. It wasn't until he found his favorite author that he was able to read about a character like him by an author like him. Just throughout his book, Varian Johnson uses his #OWNvoice experience in being racially profiled when he was an older teen. This experience of racial injustice and prejudice that still occurs today was a spark in wanting to develop a book that prompted themes of social injustice and desire to change for equality.
One of the first things that I noticed about the book cover was that two characters that represent a marginalized population in the U.S. are riding their bikes toward an area that is gray, or black and white from old televisions. There is also different aspects in the "older" part of town which is the 1950's type car and people getting their shoes shined at a local restaurant. The more vibrant side of town looks like it is representing today's time period with a newer model car and a boy in the background looking at his phone as he is walking. It is like the two towns are divided and the girl's expression shows she is determined to go into that time period and the boy looks a little uncertain, or looking for her for guidance.
Summary: Candice just moved into her late grandmother's house with her mother in Lambert, South Carolina. No computer + no wifi = boring. Well, according to Candice it was. Until she met her neighbor Brandon who is one year younger than her and is just as easily entertained by books. Their interests of reading and finding a letter in a labeled box to Candice in her grandmother's attic has them both searching for the inheritance of $40 million dollars! What would you do with $40 million dollars?
Varian Johnson exquisitely entangles 2018 with 1957 in the interlocking story of Candice's grandmother's search in understanding a letter with clues, and the history of where the clues developed with the Washington family. Johnson's use of sensory metaphors and similes throughout the book made the writing intriguing and entertaining. For example, as Candice and Brandon are investigating yearbooks from the years 1956 and 1957 for clues of identity of who sent the letter, Johnson describes a soft smile of a woman as being, "more like the woman in the Mona Lisa" (Johnson, 2018, p. 84). Simple visual metaphors and similes allows the readers to easily develop visual characteristics of characters and setting. The setting of Lambert, South Carolina was essential to the book's plot. It made the story representative of "the south" during the time prior to the Civil Rights Movement.
One character that I was intrigued to learn more about was Reginald Bradley. He was Siobhan's first love in high school. He was short tempered and was a tennis player. Siobhan's father however did not like his relationship with his daughter so he did everything possible to keep them a part. It wasn't until the end of the book that it brought a new light in racial stereotypes and how it influenced Reggie. He turned white. Well, he could pass for a white as long as he acted like it when he escaped after a brutal attack that was racially profiled. Reggie learned how "being white" means being more privileged in society. A better job. Better opportunity to move up in a business. Taken more seriously. Seen as more educated. Better future. Happier? Even some of the characters throughout the book near the end describe how lucky Reginald Bradly was compared to other characters because of his ability to "escape being black".
It would be interesting to provide students with statistics of job equity and race relations within certain occupations within the U.S. It would support seeing Reginald Bradley's character development change because of being considered a different race in relation to real statistics. This would help students to determine the accuracy and relationship between race and wealth in an occupation in America.
The flashbacks to 1957 helps the search for clues in 2018 become more personal and allows the readers to develop empathy for the characters' experiences in the fifties prior to the Civil Rights Movement. As the clues become more representative of members of the Washington family, the flashbacks brings those untold stories to life that Candice and Brandon don't necessarily know. Along with this, it allows readers to develop how the prejudice in Lambert is not just within the past when researching and interviewing the community, but it still occurs. For example, when Candice and Brandon were researching and analyzing year book pictures for clues, the assistant principal's bias was shown when he confronted them and demanded for IDs and evidence that they didn't break into the school and weren't stealing.
The main characters of Candice and Brandon represent a marginalized population in the U.S. and Varian Johnson explicitly and purposefully includes oppressive events that support the theme of social injustice. There were so many historical topics throughout the book that built the backbone of the "original" story of the letter full of clues. Some of this historical events I was familiar with, and some I was not aware of and ended up researching. The topics include, but are not limited to:
-Brown v. Board of Education: separate but equal
-Briggs v. Elliott: one of the five cases that brought more attention to the Brown v. Board Education that defined the equality of transportation and resources for school
-Juneteenth: June 19th, the anniversary of the abolition of slavery that is celebrated each year
-Colored/African American: politically correct terminology
-"brown paper bag" test: the more lighter of complexion an individual was, the better they were treated
-lynching
-segregation
What makes good diverse children's literature: authenticity and accuracy, visual and verbal sensitivity, and ideology
(Boyd, Causey, Galda, 2015, p.6).
In addressing the accuracy of diverse children's literature, Varian Johnson's inclusion and accuracy of these topics stated above support the authenticity of his details. It provides students background knowledge of the social injustices that occurred when the Civil Rights Movement was still developing and being implemented throughout the country. It prepares readers in supporting their experience as a reader becoming connected to the characters to the actual historical experiences that black people had to go through.
Along with this, Varian Johnson's visual and verbal sensitivity to the harsh treatment of black people in the fifties provided readers a "movie reel" of details that brought to life the physical and emotional harm that threatened this marginalized community during this time period. The descriptions of Coach Dubb being beaten up after the tennis match are detailed in understanding how his face was beaten to become almost unrecognizable. Along with this, Johnson's inclusion of a description of a doll representing Siobhan that the players from the other high school painted being shown being lynched is a visual component of treacherous fear of feeling unsafe and feeling that the only way to feel safe outside of Lambert was to move north. Varian Johnson not only wrote in a way that a reader could visualize the plot and characters through sensitive topics and themes of injustice toward black people, but he also discussed the language sensitivity throughout the book. Explicitly, the narrator of the book describes the difference between the terms colored, black, African American, and other derogatory use of words with specific plot examples that support how these words provide other races to use these as a way to demean this population. The use of derogatory terms were mostly presented during the fifties flashback to describe the Washington family and high school students. However, Brandon's grandfather in particular used derogatory terms to describe Brandon when he was misbehaving which demonstrated that Brandon felt uncomfortable with being called anything but African American. This inclusion of verbal sensitivity also provides readers with background knowledge that are not a part of this racial community to read and develop social consciousness of prejudice and racism in America throughout history and how it relates to words that they may hear people use today.
Ideology of racism and racial profiling throughout this book was made evident when Varian Johnson combined flashback historical events and present day racism. One specific example of ideology of racial profiling was when Tori explained how nervous she was for speeding. Her background fear of knowing that if she got pulled over there would be a higher chance of being found guilty
According to Lisa Ciecierski (2017), it is important to incorporate intertextuality with connected texts for better comprehension and development of background knowledge. Connecting texts in order to support, contrast, or compare texts allows readers to determine important components of text from various genres, multimedias, or authors.
Cluster Text
Copyright: August 17, 2010
Description: This is a two minute clip that theatrically uses monologues of the wife of the coach of NCCU basketball and her husband’s decision to lead a team to secretly play an all white Duke University team. It also sets a tone of what segregation was like within sports and how people oppressed black people.This clip was a part of the film “The Secret Game” that was based on Scott Ellsworth’s book. Scott Ellsworth is a historian that personally interviewed and discussed this “secret game” with John McClendon who was the coach of the NCCU basketball team for this game.
Affordances: this is a short clip that is engaging and brings to life the story of this basketball game that occurred secretly.
Challenges: It is one-sided in terms of perspective of the choice to play against an all white team secretly.
This video could be considered a cluster text because it allows students to develop a deeper meaning on the importance of the “secret game” within the novel and in reality as well and how they both prompt a topic of social injustice in having to have a secret game.
I think the best use of this video would be to show it in addition to providing a more specific text about this basketball game after reading the chapter of Coach Dub bringing his team to the tennis courts to play against the all white team. Doing this provides students with a real life example of a “secret game” that occurred in North Carolina. Students after reading and watching this video can complete and compare and contrast discussion or writing on what was presented in the book compared to this text. I believe this video also provides a personal account of what Leanne had to go through as well as the wife of the coach.
Companion Text
I think it would be interesting to show this image to the class after reading the entire book. I wold love to hear what students think about this image in relation to Candice and Brandon's mission to solve a mystery. Even though the excitement throughout the book was solving the mystery to find money, this image shows the root influence of this mystery. I would like to see how they can relate the two time periods of 2018 and 1957/58 and how each represented race relations and prejudice.
References
Boyd, F., Cusey, L., Galda, L. (2015). Culturally Diverse Literature Enriching Variety in an Era of Common Core State Standards. The Reading Teacher, 68 (5), pp. 378-387. doi: 10.1002/trtr 1326.
Ciecierski, L. (2017). What the Common Core State Standards Do Not Tell you About Connecting Texts. The Reading Teacher, 71 (3), 285-294. doi 10.1002/trtr.1616
Johnson, V. (2018). The Parker Inheritance. New York: Scholastic Inc.