Literacy Matters - Vol 21 - Winter 2021

Award/Organization

Website

Description

Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award Asian/Pacific American Award Coretta Scott King Book Award

http://www.alan-ya.org/ awards/walden-award http://www.apalaweb.org/ awards/literature-awards http://www.ala.org/rt/ emiert/cskbookawards http://www. indigenousliterarystudies. org/-indigenous-voices-award https://www.literacyworldwide. org/get-resources/reading-lists http://www2.ncte.org/blog/ category/booklists/

Awarded by the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) for a young adult novel with wide teen appeal and literary merit Honors and recognizes a work with literary and artistic merit that features Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage

Honors outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values Supports diverse and complex Indigenous literary production, honoring the sovereignty of Indigenous creative voices while rejecting cultural appropriation Three annual lists: Children’s Choices, Teachers’ Choices, and Young Adults’ Choices Blog posts with a goal of building teacher knowledge and book choices related to different topics, such as race, grief, and compassion Various Children’s Book Awards, such as the Orbis Pictus Award, the Charlotte Huck Award, and an Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children

Indigenous Voices Award

Literacy Matters Critical Literacy Matters International Literacy Association NCTE Build Your Stack National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Children’s Book Awards

http://www2.ncte.org/ blog/2018/11/2019-book-awards/

Pura Belpré Award

http://www.ala.org/alsc/ awardsgrants/bookmedia/ belpremedal

Honors a Latinx writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth

Schneider Family Book Award

http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/ schneider-family-book-award

Honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences

Table 1 Resources for Locating Diverse Texts

Text Complexity and Trauma: How It Went Down

determine whose accounts are reliable, all while forming their own opinions of what happened the day Tariq died. Traumatic Experiences Although a fictional account, How It Went Down delves into multiple real social issues, which require the reader to be personally and emotionally invested. The most obvious theme is the shooting of young Black males by White men. Whether through personal experience or viewing it through the media’s lens, most secondary students are aware of real-life instances, such as Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery. Just as the novel presents multiple perspectives, students will come to the classroom with varying views and levels of connection to this issue. Such views will likely be influenced by and intertwined with another theme in the book, classism and racism. Throughout the novel, whether or not Tariq himself was a gang member who “had it coming”was a matter of contention (Magoon, 2014, p. 31). Another traumatic theme in the novel that will, unfortunately, be relatable to some students is domestic abuse. Two of the narrators suffer abuse at the hands of a loved one. Tyrell was emotionally abused by his father, who believed he was not manly enough. Jennica was both emotionally and physically abused by her boyfriend. Yet, she often excused his behavior because she thought he loved her. Although these characters

In How It Went Down , everyone can agree Jack Franklin, a White man, shot and killed Tariq Johnson, a 16-year-old Black male, on Peach Street. Whether it was self-defense, cold- blooded murder, or something in between is a matter no one can agree. To some, Tariq was a bully, thief, and gangster carrying a gun. To others, he was a kind-hearted, smart young man with a bright future carrying a Snickers bar for his sister with a cognitive disability. The truth of how it went down lies somewhere in between all these perspectives. Text Complexity In this text, complexity is created in many ways, including plot, structure, and language. However, the most significant elements of complexity in relation to classroom discussions of trauma are themes and realistic, dynamic characters. Kekla Magoon created 18 such characters by using varied language styles, dialects, and dialogue for each narrator. Giving each character a unique and not always sympathetic voice creates a cast full of authentic narrators. The presence of multiple perspectives also contributes to the structure and plot complexity. Readers must keep track of each character, remember their importance to the story, and

| 16 | Literacy Matters | Volume 21 • Winter 2021

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