| Have you ever noticed that there are almost no | | | | I loved fantasy adventure stories as a child and I |
| fantasy adventure books for children and young | | | | still love them as an adult. I have read these |
| adults with Black characters in them? What | | | | books aloud to my stepsons and my three |
| happened to all the Black kids? Where are the | | | | children while they were growing up, spending |
| Black heroes and heroines? Think about it. There | | | | many a thrilling hour adventuring together late in |
| are many excellent novels for young people with | | | | the evening, before relinquishing the day. Because |
| Black characters; however, they are almost all | | | | my two stepsons, my daughter, and my two |
| realistic stories that take place at the time the | | | | sons are Black, I have especially sought quality |
| book was written or during a former, historic time | | | | children's and young adult books with Black |
| period. | | | | characters. But I have not found many Black |
| Scarred by centuries of invisibility and false | | | | characters in fantasy adventure books. |
| information in nonfiction and negative portrayals in | | | | Usually I see the tried-and-true typical |
| fiction, it is no wonder that writers from the Black | | | | Anglo-Saxon settings, characters, and imagery. |
| community take full advantage of the novel | | | | Elves, giants, and dwarves. Runes, rings, and |
| format to teach the truth about the cultural | | | | castles. Knights, ladies, and dragons. Children at |
| context, experiences, and contributions of Black | | | | English boarding schools. This stuff is not |
| Americans. That's all good, but we are living in the | | | | necessarily bad, in fact it describes some of my |
| Harry Potter era. | | | | favorite children's fantasy stories. But it's not |
| Youth in the Harry Potter Era have a serious | | | | Black and it's not, well, different. I recently put a |
| "Jones" for the fantasy adventure novel. The | | | | query out to the listserve of the Young Adult |
| voice of possibility in this genre speaks to the | | | | Library Services Association (YALSA). The |
| need for something new and different to | | | | subscribers on this listserve are mostly school |
| stimulate the mind and set the endorphins dancing. | | | | librarians and public library children's room librarians |
| Like the better complex fantasy realms opening | | | | from everywhere in the country. They are some |
| up in gaming and computer-generated worlds, the | | | | of the most knowledgeable and resourceful folks |
| fantasy adventure book challenges the imagination | | | | you would ever meet and they really know |
| and offers the adrenalin-rush experience of | | | | children's literature. I asked them for titles of |
| navigating an uncharted land. Black youngsters | | | | fantasy adventures with Black characters. Emails |
| yearn to see themselves portrayed in these | | | | trickled in to me for days. But the same few |
| books for the same reasons they yearn to see | | | | titles appeared again and again, most notably |
| themselves portrayed in other books. They want | | | | Nancy Farmer's The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm |
| to recognize themselves in characters they, and | | | | (which, by-the-way, is an excellent read). All told, |
| others, grow to love. They want to see | | | | they came up with about a dozen titles, and |
| characters who look like them and hear | | | | some were not exactly in the zone (like Ursula |
| characters who talk like them. More than that, it is | | | | LeGuin's The Wizard of Earthsea, in which Ged is |
| imperative that they see Black culture and Black | | | | described as dark but is not specifically Black). |
| values advanced in the culture-at-large in a | | | | Because there is such an enormous void (truly a |
| positive light. Black children need to observe | | | | "black hole") in children's fantasy literature, I tell |
| children from other cultural backgrounds reading | | | | everyone who will listen that we need more |
| and appreciating books that take place within | | | | children's books in this genre with Black |
| Black culture. It is a matter of pride. It is a matter | | | | characters. I hope that as the golden age of |
| of education. It is a matter of self-esteem. It is a | | | | fantasy adventure continues to unfurl, we will |
| matter of motivating youngsters to read. It is a | | | | have the opportunity to journey in other realms |
| matter of positive social change and a matter of | | | | with more and more Black folks leading the way. |
| justice. | | | | |