Spicy Reads

I’ve found another fabulous kidlit blog–Ed Spicer’s Teen Book Reviews.  As the name suggests, this site focuses on books for teens, but the reviewer did a really interesting reading of BIRD that I wanted to share:  “Brother’s Keeper?” I like this review for a few reasons: 1) he clearly spent time reading the text closely, and 2) his interpretation is original and not pulled out of thin air.  I’ve noticed some online reviewers bring their preconceived notions about black famlies and urban youth to their reading of BIRD.  And that’s to be expected–I know that much as we urge children not to, we do at times judge a book by its cover.  And for many readers, a black child on the cover of a book “about” addiction signals certain things.  One library has BIRD listed as a book about “life in the ghetto.”  Another blogger explains Marcus’ decline as a result of his involvement with gangs.  There’s no mention of gangs in the book, but I understand that when I write about “the drama of the street,” that’s the conclusion folks may draw.  Ed Spicer’s review struck me because he’s the first person to notice (or, rather, to complicate) class–he examined the illustration showing Bird’s parents, and noted that their clothing suggested they were middle class.  He also read Grandad as a stern, authoritarian figure who cares for Bird while his parents are at work, yet condemns Marcus for going against the family’s values.  Very interesting!  And entirely plausible.  I’m not interested in saying who’s right and who’s wrong–the point of writing is to generate narrative possibilities, and those are virtually endless.  But I really appreciate when someone bases their ideas on the text itself, rather than resorting to prepackaged ideas of what urban black families are like.