Challenging Social Norms: Red: A Crayon's Story and Sparkle Boy

Red: A Crayon’s Story

Summary

In this story by Michael Hall a captivating story is told about a crayon that appears to be red, but is truly blue. Since this crayon is viewed as red because of his external label, everyone throughout the story was shaming him for doing things incorrectly, for not doing things the “right” way, and gruesomely worked to change him. They tried to show this crayon how to do things correctly through modeling, working with others, or any other strategies they thought would help him in becoming “normal.” This led to the red crayon feeling poorly about himself and his self worth because there was nothing he could do to please anyone. Throughout all of this, no one asked the crayon what he needed or how he felt. Finally, towards the end of the story one of the other crayons asked him to draw a blue ocean, and he was able to do it fantastically! This experience allowed him to receive the praise and validation he had been searching for throughout the entire book. In the end, all of the crayons who were saying such harsh things about him all came together and shared their praises about him and his work, it was truly beautiful. This book shows that once you are able to exhibit your true potential, people will see you as you truly are and you can rise to the occasion and do great things!

My Thoughts

By telling this story the author was able to introduce different injustices that occur frequently in the real world, like gender identity and the ability spectrum. The topic of gender identity is portrayed in this story by the red crayon’s outsides not matching who he truly was on the inside. Everyone saw him as red but he was truly blue and since no one else could see that, everyone believed he was purposefully doing everything wrong, when he was actually just being himself and no one knew it. This relates to gender identity because no one can see how someone feels on the inside unless they feel comfortable enough to share and know the correct words to use. In this story, no one was able to learn this about the red crayon because no one asked him how he felt and he did not feel comfortable enough to share since they were all constantly shaming him and trying to get him to change. I think this will teach the reader that you not only need to be kind and accepting to everyone you meet but also that you should ask them questions so you understand how they feel. As previously mentioned, this book also portrays issues related to the ability spectrum. As an educator I was able to see this relationship very quickly and could even make connections to things I had experienced during my involvement in different classrooms. It is easy to become frustrated with a student when they are not grasping a concept, especially when it seems like they are not putting forth any effort, and that is how Red was portrayed by the other characters in this story. They tried several strategies in an attempt to conform him into doing what they viewed as acceptable, rather than asking him for his opinions or allowing him to express himself in the only way he knew how. I think this story would be beneficial to read in any classroom because students who feel misunderstood, much like the red crayon, could see that they are not alone and that over time they will be understood and accepted.

This story would be believable to readers of all ages because these are issues that widely occur and that many students have either experienced themselves or witnessed firsthand. I am sure a wide variety of readers could share an anecdote about a time when they or a classmate was unable to do something “correctly” because they either did not know how or did not have the necessary skills to do so and felt shamed by their educators and peers. I have included a page from the book that I think speaks volumes, leading the reader to feel sympathy toward the red crayon in this story. In this illustration you see everyone sharing their negative opinions about the red crayon, saying things like “He came that way from the factory.” or “Frankly, I don’t think he’s very bright.” These are very hurtful words that striving readers and struggling students may hear frequently. I think this story is not only a learning opportunity for students but for educators as well as it provides them with a lens into the mind of a student who is trying their best, but regardless of any assistance or guidance is unable to perform in certain ways.

Aside from the overriding injustices represented in this story, I also admired the illustrations. Although the illustrations were simplistic, they were also eye catching and vibrant which would capture the attention of essentially any reader. I really enjoyed the pages with a black background because this provided a lot of contrast to the bright colors of the crayons, causing them to stand out tremendously. I gravitate towards books with very sketch-themed illustrations because they are interesting and show young readers than any pictures can be a part of a great text, not just wondrous pieces of art that take hours to create.

For more information on the author please visit the link below:

https://www.michaelhallstudio.com/

Sparkle Boy

Summary

This story begins with a little boy named Casey admiring his sister’s shimmering skirt and newly styled sparkling manicure and receiving backlash from his sister because it is not traditional for boys to have a fondness for things that were “just for girls.” Casey’s sister, Jessie, was displeased because her views as to what was “normal” were being questioned and she did not know how to react. Other members of the children’s family, such as their mom, dad, and abuelita, had no problem with Casey experimenting with these new accessories, but Jessie did. The family members kept insisting that there was no harm in allowing Casey to express himself in any way he pleased, but Jessie had a hard time conforming to these new views that disturbed her understanding of gender norms. Jessie was not alone in this mindset as other children in the story also did not understand why Casey was expressing himself in these atypical ways. It was when other children shared their displeasure with Casey’s choices by teasing him that Jessie finally stood up for her brother, accepting that it was okay for him to express himself in any way he chose. This understanding led to a closer relationship between the siblings, allowing them to bond over what they had in common rather than focusing on what societal norms say is “normal.”

My Thoughts

Sparkle Boy challenges the stereotypes we of a society have created related to gender identity and gender expression. These are two crucial issues that a great deal of individuals experience and this book does an outstanding job at introducing them in a way any reader could understand. The concepts of gender identity and gender expression are represented in this book by showcasing what our societal norms are; boys wearing certain clothes, liking certain colors, and acting a certain way, and challenging them through the story of Casey. As opposed to forcing Casey to act and dress a certain way that would be socially acceptable, his family was allowing him to create his own interests to construct his self identity. Although allowing children to do this is a relatively new idea, the author did an exceptional job of showing readers that it truly does not matter how one dresses or acts as long as they are happy and it is not negatively impacting anyone else. This belief is shown through the comments made by family members throughout the story, promoting that it was acceptable for Casey to express himself anyway he pleased. The concept of identity is discussed in chapter one of Reading to Make a Difference, a textbook I am reading currently. This chapter introduces the concept of accepting others regardless of their differences and that is definitely a key take away from this book. I think pairing the strategies I discovered in this textbook with a lesson incorporating the book Sparkle Boy would be very beneficial, aiding me in creating a lesson around the main concept of identity and acceptance.

The author made Casey’s story unique and believable by describing his own and his family’s thought processes throughout the plot. Casey saw the sparkly accessories his sister was wearing and wanted to try them out himself because they caught his attention. He did not stop and think “Oh, I shouldn’t like that, it’s for girls” because this is not a thought that individuals have until it has been imposed on them through other’s comments and perceptions of social norms. Children unabashedly express themselves with anything that catches their interest, not what other people would want them to like. You can see the accepting side of Casey’s explorations through the comments made by his mom, dad, and abuelita. All of which stated that there was nothing wrong with Casey trying these new things, even though they were uncommon or “abnormal.” In the grand scheme of things they realized that it would not affect anyone if they allowed Casey to try these new things. On the other hand, we can see the unaccepting perspective displayed by his sister’s and other children’s comments in the book, stating that Casey should not wear certain things because they are only for girls. Showing each of these perspectives will provide anyone reading this story with the opportunity to make a text-to-self comparison by reading about their own beliefs. My hope is that through reading this book, the audience will question their opinions and views in a way that will lead them to be more accepting and discard their preconceived notions on societal norms.

Compared to Red: A Crayon’s Story, the illustrations in this book include more detailed backgrounds and contain facial expressions so the reader can perceive how the characters were feeling. On several pages you could see the displeasure on both Casey and Jessie’s faces which unquestionably added to the story. There are also instances where you can see admiration in Casey’s face when he saw his sister wearing her new, sparkly adornments. It is important for illustrators to add detail and expression to character’s faces because this will allow all students, especially those who struggle to interpret social situations, to clearly see how the characters are feeling. I also appreciated the detail added to show how sparkly the clothes and other accessories were in this story because this will be easily noticed by the reader. I can wholeheartedly understand why these new shimmering items caught Casey’s attention so quickly through this added detail!

For more information on the author and illustrator please visit the link below:

Author: https://lesleanewman.com/

Illustrator: https://mariamola.com/

Below I have included a few images from a text set lesson I created incorporating these two books.