Protests over picture books: LGBT+ inclusion by Juliet Clare Bell

Many people will have read about the protests outside two primary schools in Birmingham recently, with protesters arguing against the reading and discussing of certain picture books at certain ages in school.

This is very close to home -literally- and I'm a member of SEEDS (Supporting the Education of Equality and Diversity in Schools), which was set up in the wake of the protests. At Birmingham Pride this year, we marched alongside people from the Muslim LGBT+ community and for the first time, the parade was led by prominent Muslim LGBT+ members Khakan Qureshi and Saima Razzaq, and also Andrew Moffat, who created the No Outsiders Programme. The joyful nature of the parade felt a long way from the protests and felt like a massive celebration of the wonderful diversity of Birmingham, and of teaching of acceptance and love. Very different was the meeting soon after in a highly charged setting with our local MP (who has, controversially, backed the protesters, directly at odds with his own party). As a picture book author and local parent, I’d like to talk about some of the books that are being read in the schools in the light of the protests.

No Outsiders Programme 

Created by Andrew Moffat, deputy head at Parkfield Community School in Birmingham, No Outsiders is a programme followed in some primary schools, using 35 picture books (five each year from Reception through to Year 6) to help open up discussions about inclusion and equality, alongside all the many other books the children will be reading/have read to them. Here are the picture books deemed controversial by some:

Mommy, Mama and Me (Leslea Newman and Carol Thompson),

                                                           (c) Carol Thompson (2009)

King and King (Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland)

                                                                (c) Stern Nijland (2002)

And Tango Makes Three (Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell and Henry Cole)

                                                           (c) Henry Cole (2015)

and My Princess Boy (Cheryl Kilodavis and Suzanne DeSimone).

                                                         (c) Suzanne DeSimone (2011)

In addition to these four books whose main characters/families are in same sex relationships or who do not conform to gender norms, there are two others about families in general which include mention (and pictures) of same sex couples in families alongside many other non LGBT+ families:

The Family Book by Todd Parr (used with Reception children)

                                                                 (c) Todd Parr (2010)

                                                                 (c) Todd Parr (2010)

“Some families have two mums or two dads. Some families have one parent instead of two.”
                                                                 (c) Todd Parr (2010)

And The Great Big Book of Families, by Mary Hoffman and Ros Asquith (used with Year 2 children)

                                                               (c) Ros Asquith (2015)

The book talks about lots of different families before moving on to different homes, holidays, food etc. It’s a beautiful, inclusive book.

"Some children have two mummies or two daddies.  And some are adopted or fostered."
                                                               (c) Ros Asquith (2015)

But back to the four books that have caused the most controversy. As with so many books for young children, these are about relationships and love. It seems almost absurd to mention it but because of all the misinformation, it’s worth stating that they are in no way whatsoever about sex.

Mommy, Mama and Me (read in Reception, with five- and six-year olds) is about a loving family unit with two parents doing ordinary, everyday things with their child. 

                                                            (c) Carol Thompson (2009)

“Mommy gently combs my hair. Mama rocks me in her chair”
                                                           (c) Carol Thompson (2009)

“Mommy packs a yummy snack.  Mama rides me on her back.”
                                                         (c) Carol Thompson (2009)

At the end of the simple story, Mommy and Mama kiss the child good night.

That is all. It’s like many other lovely picture books for young children about the important adults in their life.

King and King (Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland is read in Year 4 (with eight- and nine- year-olds).

                                                             (c) Stern Nijland (2002)

It’s a fairy tale about a prince whose mother, the Queen, is trying to marry him off to a princess. He’s not interested in any of the princesses she’s lined up for him. Instead, he falls in love with the brother of one of the princesses, and as with many fairy tales: "it was love at first sight":

                                                               (c) Stern Nijland (2002)

and the two princes marry instead.

In year 5 (where the children are nine- and ten- years old), And Tango Makes Three is introduced.

                                                               (c) Henry Cole (2015)

This is the true story of two male penguins in Central Park Zoo who paired up and eventually (after trying to incubate a stone)

                                                               (c) Henry Cole (2015)

were given an egg that needed looking after. They incubated the egg, which hatched successfully and they brought up the baby penguin as their own.

In Year 6, the final year of primary school, where the children are ten and eleven years old, they read (alongside the other books in the No Outsiders programme, and countless other books)

Suzanne DeSimone (2011)

My Princess Boy

This is another story of love and acceptance, written by a mother about her son who likes to wear dresses and who is completely loved exactly as he is.

Suzanne DeSimone (2011)

These are the books that have proved so controversial (you can see the full No Outsiders reading list here:)         No Outsiders book list

As with the other books on the list (including our own 'Denner's You Choose -Pippa Goodhart and Nick Sharratt, Elmer -David McKee and Red Rockets and Rainbow Jelly -Sue Heap and Nick Sharratt), these books are about acceptance and love, saying that it's ok to be you, showing children that different people like different things.

These books cover protected characteristics in the Equalities Act 2010. It is illegal to discriminate against someone on the grounds of their gender, or gender reassignment, or race or religion, and (with the shocking exception of Northern Ireland) same sex marriage is legal here and holds equal weight in law with marriage between a man and a woman. This is not controversial subject matter for this country. These books are merely reflecting reality and ensuring, for example, that the many children of two mums can see themselves in a book, and those children without two mums can see that a slightly different family set up is still in many ways similar to their own. 

We need to encourage empathy in children, and picture books that reflect the wonderful diversity of the place we live in are crucial. Children need to see themselves and their families, and they need to see other families that are different from their own, in picture books. This includes children of different ethnicities, with disabilities, and families and children from the LGBT+ community. One protected characteristic does not over-ride another. All these characteristics are protected. We don't get to say one should be more protected than another. Our job -and the legal duty of schools- is to protect them all. What better way than introducing them in attractive picture books that are engaging and welcoming?

And yet we are witnessing some very uncomfortable scenes, far removed from the loving and accepting nature of these books...

Anderton Park School (one of our local schools) currently has an exclusion zone around it so that children and staff are not intimidated and/or frightened by the protesters who were standing outside at the end of the school day, chanting. Having been banned from outside the school, the protesters are now protesting slightly further away outside the exclusion zone, though on some days their shouting can still be heard near the school. When a group of us from SEEDS went to our local MP’s surgery to talk with him about his views on the age-appropriateness of these picture books, the police were out in force to ensure our safety. This was at an MP surgery session –to talk about the picture books mentioned above. These are books about acceptance and love. 

Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson, the head teacher, said last week at a meeting on Defending Equality, that this protest has “at times, crushed my soul”. She said how she loves that it is her duty as head teacher, to foster relationships between those people with protected characteristics (under the Equalities Act 2010) and those without, and that equality is woven “into everything we do”, and that although the ongoing protest “has broken our hearts… we are not broken because Anderton Park is built on equality”.  Anderton Park School doesn’t follow the No Outsiders programme. They use many hundreds of books throughout school including some of the same books mentioned above (Mommy, Mama and Me; My Princess Boy, and And Tango Makes Three). She said at the meeting that they didn’t have consultation with the parents about using those specific books in school because they are doing nothing different from what they are always doing –teaching acceptance and equality.

There has been so much misinformation about the books being used in schools. I do not want to write too much about the protesters as I do think that the story has been manipulated by the media to make it look like it’s a more generalised problem than it is. The vast majority of schools are not experiencing these problems -including the vast majority of schools in Birmingham. But It is really worth watching the statement made by Nazir Afzal, former Chief Crown Prosecutor for North West England, who was brought in to try and mediate between Anderton Park School and the protesters:

Nazir Afzal's comments on the protests (scroll down on his site for his excellent video statement. It should be essential viewing)

In the Defending Equality meeting last week, MP for the nearby constituency of Birmingham, Yardley, Jess Phillips, talked about her concern and upset about the misrepresentation in the press of these protests. Although she was filmed challenging the main protester (who is not actually a parent of anyone at the school), she wanted to point out that in her own nearby constituency with approximately 40% of constituents of Bangladeshi- and Pakistani- origin, not a single person has mentioned it to her. This is simply not the fight that is most important to most people, she said, and she hates that it has been portrayed as such in the media.

Many Muslims in the UK have experienced an increase in Islamophobia and general racism in recent years and are feeling vulnerable. Many people in the LGBT+ community are also feeling vulnerable at the moment. Those who are LGBT+ within the Muslim community are some of the most vulnerable of all. We are living in very uncertain times politically. If people felt less marginalised, there would be easier dialogue and discussions and considerably less likelihood of outside parties managing to spread misinformation (as discussed by Nazir Afzal, above). Let’s work together –as writers, humans, parents, neighbours, teachers, citizens to ensure that we don’t choose one protected characteristic over another -that we fight racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, discrimination against those with disabilities together. As picture book writers, let us keep writing books that encourage empathy, with diverse characters so that everyone can feel seen. Publishers, let us see more diverse writers and illustrators being published and greater authentic diversity in our picture books. Let's be less defensive and more willing to have difficult conversations, accept that we will make mistakes along the way as we learn, and allow others to make mistakes and learn from them, too, as we try to celebrate diversity in all its richness. But one thing is clear: showing diversity in books should not be a debate. And nor should sharing those books with young children. It should be our duty.

Would reading more diverse books have helped you as a child? If you're happy to say how, please do comment in the comments section, below. And if you have any other thoughts, please share them. Many thanks.

Juliet Clare Bell is a picture book author, whose next picture book (which she will be able to announce soon) is due for release in 2020. Her experience of doing author visits in schools in this area has been overwhelmingly positive and still believes that this is solvable. Love, ultimately, will win.

www.julietclarebell.com

Please feel free to comment, below. Many thanks.