|
Source: Phil Nel, 785-532-2165, philnel@k-state.edu
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/nelbio.html
Photo available. Contact media@k-state.edu or 785-532-6415.
News release prepared by: Katie Mayes, 785-532-6415, kmayes@k-state.edu
Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009
K-STATE EXPERT STUDIES 1xbet online games login IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
MANHATTAN -- Given the media blitz surrounding the last U.S. presidential campaign and that book authors are often inspired by the world around them, it's no wonder the market for children's literature has seen its share of books about the new president, according to a Kansas State University children's literature expert.
But the number of titles about Barack 1xbet online games login is astounding, said Phil Nel, K-State professor of English and head of K-State's children's literature program.
Nel recently presented the paper &1xbet online games login ;Obamafiction for Children: Imagining the 44th U.S. President&1xbet online games login ; at the American Studies Association conference in Washington, D.C.
Last he counted, Nel said there were around 60 children's titles about 1xbet online games login -- including two dozen before he was elected to the presidency and more than 35 since. The total does not include books about members of the 1xbet online games login family or Bo, the family dog.
&1xbet online games login ;For those unfamiliar with the American book market, to have this many children's books about a candidate or a president so soon in his term of office is rather unusual,&1xbet online games login ; Nel said. &1xbet online games login ;After eight years in office, George W. Bush inspired 17 fewer titles than Obama.&1xbet online games login ;
Nel's research on Obama and children's literature focuses on two books, &1xbet online games login ;Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope&1xbet online games login ; by Nikki Grimes and Brian Collier, and &1xbet online games login ;Barack&1xbet online games login ; by Jonah Winter and A.G. Ford.
What's interesting about the books, 1xbet online games login , is their portrayal of the 44th U.S. president as a hero, bridge builder and uniter.
Like in many books about African-Americans in history, 1xbet online games login is traditionally depicted as beating all odds to succeed, but Nel said this has had the undesired effect of obscuring 1xbet online games login 's racial identity.
&1xbet online games login ;Both books suggest that by embracing his biracial background, Obama is able to transcend race -- an idea that is simultaneously problematic and accurate,&1xbet online games login ; Nel said. &1xbet online games login ;In both, Obama is a bridge holding together diverse categories, somehow able to rise above politics and unite an array of people.&1xbet online games login ;
The idealism with which 1xbet online games login is portrayed is compelling because is seems to reinforce the idea that with his election, America has moved beyond race, Nel said. In reality, however, 1xbet online games login 's election is not as uniting as some have let on, he said.
&1xbet online games login ;Obama received a minority -- 43 percent -- of the white vote, 62 percent of the Asian vote, 67 percent of the Hispanic vote, as well as a hyper-majority -- 95 percent -- of the African-American vote,&1xbet online games login ; Nel said. &1xbet online games login ;These results hardly signify the irrelevance of race.&1xbet online games login ;
At K-State, Nel teaches a course on radical children's literature that examines the role of politics in children's books. He also is the co-author of &1xbet online games login ;Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children's Literature,&1xbet online games login ; which was published in November 2009 by New York University Press. The book is a collection of more than 40 stories, poems, comic strips and other pieces of literature that encourage children to question those in authority. The book includes both familiar and unfamiliar authors, and a variety of political messages reflecting the concerns of 20th-century leftist movements like peace, civil rights and gender equality.
Nel also has published books on the works of Dr. Seuss and J.K. Rowling.
