Reaching Kids Through Literature
Ask most first graders what they’ll find in a museum and they’ll say with assurance, “Dinosaurs!” I used to wonder why “museum” equaled “dinosaur” for our youngest visitors until I chanced upon a small, very bright, and infinitely mischievous monkey named George.
“Curious George” is the principal character in a series of books for primaries. This simian alter ego allows first graders to go places and do things, and it is with George that many of them first visit a museum. The monkey’s curiosity demolishes a dinosaur exhibit and gets George kicked out on his prehensile tail. However, the monkey cum 6-year-old is later enlisted by the museum director to go into space and, as the book title says, Curious George Gets a Medal.
Knowing something of the literature that children are reading will not only help docents understand their school-aged audiences, but can add another dimension to museum tours. Taking such an interdisciplinary approach is an effective way of preparing for tours, as well as another method of presentation.
Several books such as Curious George Gets a Medal (H.A. Rey, Houghton Miffilin. 1957) place the protagonist squarely within the museum milieu. Hercules, by Hardie Gramatky (Putnam, 1960), tells the story of a gallant horse-drawn fire engine who, when mechanized equipment replaces him, receives a place of honor in the local history museum. In Norman the Doorman (Don Freeman, Penguin, 1981 ), a talented mouse who works at the Museum of Art enters an art competition and wins with an exquisite — and, obviously, very small –sculpture which astonishes the panel of human judges.
Reading either of these picture books to a group of 5- to 8- year-olds as they visit the fire engine exhibit in a history museum or the sculpture gallery of an art museum brings these adult exhibits into the children’s world. Reading a story can create a mood, introduce an exhibit, or merely provide a place to rest for tired little bodies. “Story time,” which is already a familiar and valuable part of their school day, helps demystify the museum experience for first-time visitors.
Museum fiction for older children cannot, of course, be read in its entirety, but can be referred to or recommended. Often, someone in the audience will have read the book and will be excited to share his or her knowledge with the group. Asking a volunteer to read a selected passage is another way to involve students. Care should be taken, of course, to select material within the reading level of students and “nonvolunteers” should never be embarrassed by being asked to read.
Probably the -best of the museum-centered children’s fiction is From the Mixed-lip Files ofMrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (Atheneum, 1987). In this Newbery Award winning book for upper elementary children, Claudia decides to run away to return only when her family has learned a lesson in “Claudia appreciation.” Not one to give up her creature comforts, however, Claudia chooses to live for a while in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. As she and her younger brother Jamie (who is included in the adventure only because he has money!) solve a mystery, Claudia learns some important lessons about herself and about secrets. Her new-found knowledge makes it possible for her to go home in style.
A natural for any art museum, From the Mixed-Up Files … will help docents from museums of every discipline see the museum through the eyes of their fourth through sixth grade visitors. Children who have read the story will enjoy finding works by the artists mentioned in the book and will enthusiastically speculate on the possibilities of living in the museum they are visiting. (Docents might want to alert Security!)
In addition to stories that take place in museums, docents can enrich their tours through the use of topical fiction. Excerpts read from any of the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, for example, will put people into historic exhibits. Although principally about the settling of the American Midwest, these books mention artifacts found in most history museums and provide excellent descriptions of the uses of home and farm implements from our pioneer era. The Little House books were reissued in 1973 by Harper.
The Quilt Story (Putnam. 1985). written by Tony Johnston and illustrated by Toimie de Paola, is a delightful picture storybook to share with young visitors to a quilt exhibition. The book tells the history of a star-covered quilt that travels on a covered wagon, becomes a home for animals in an attic, and is finally rescued and repaired to once more comfort a child, a descendant of the original owner. This book is an effective vehicle for helping children see the stories behind a museum’s artifacts.
High school visitors, too, can have tours enriched through the use of quality fiction. An exhibit of period clothing gains new meaning when students have read Charles Dickens’s classic Great Expectations. As Pip’s status changes, so does his clothing. Adolescents in T-shirts and sneakers can better understand the social role of clothing in past generations when exhibitions and literature work together in such an interdisciplinary manner.
Children in upper elementary and middle school years are especially interested in biography. Biographies are an excellent springboards for discussion in museums with “real people” connections. For example, one such book is /, Juan de Pareja (Farrar, Strauss, Giroux, 1987), by Elizabeth de Trevino. This fictionalized account of the life of Diego Velazquez is told by his servant, Juan de Pareja. Although only the Metropolitan Museum of Art owns the painting of Juan, any art museum with paintings from the Baroque period will find this book useful. Another is Carry on Mr. Bowditch (Jean Lee Latham, Houghton Mifflin, 1955), which should be part of the repertoire of any docent in a nautical museum as well as museums with exhibits from the Revolutionary War era. Youngsters will enjoy matching museum artifacts with details from the realistic drawings of the ship chandlery where young Nathanial Bowditch began his scientific study of the sea. Both of these books are winners of the Newbery Award for outstanding children’s literature.
Another Newbery Award winner can enliven tours at museums and nature centers with insect collections. In Joyful Noise (Harper and Row, 1988) Paul Fleischman has created poems meant to be read by two readers, one taking the left-hand part and the other the righthand part. Words for both readers on the same line are to be read as a chorus. The result is a great read-aloud favorite with upper elementary and middle school students. The following example is entitled “Water Striders.”
Books in Print, available in any library or bookstore, is a good place to begin a list of children’s literature related to specific museum topics. School librarians and children’s division personnel in public libraries can help docents identify the literature popular with particular ages of children. Making a place for literature in a museum’s education program isn’t difficult, and the dividends are worth the effort. (Plus, you have an excuse to read some great stories!)
Jackie Littleton, Associate Editor
Littleton, Jackie. “Reaching Kids Through Literature,” Docent Educator 2.2 (Winter 1992): 4-5.
Water Striders
by Paul Fleischman
Whenever we’re asked
if we walk upon water
we answer
To be sure.
Whenever we’re asked
if we walk on it often
we answer
Quite often
All day through.
Should we be questioned
on whether it’s easy
we answer
A snap.
Should we be told
That it’s surely a miracle
We reply
Balderdash!
Nonsense!
Whenever we’re asked
for instructions
we always say
and do as we do.
and then put down another.
Believe me, there’s no call
at all to be nervous
But by that time your student
no matter how prudent
has usually
sunk from view.
Whenever we’re asked
if we walk upon water
we answer
Of course.
It’s quite true.
Whenever we’re asked
if we walk on it often
we answer
Each day.
Should we be questioned
on whether it’s easy
we answer
Quite easy.
It’s a cinch.
Should we be told
that it’s surely a miracle
we reply
Rubbish!
Whenever we’re asked
for instructions
we always say
Come to the pond’s edge
Put down one foot
resting upon the thin film
on the surface.
as long as you’re reasonably
mindful that you–
But by that tie your student
has usually
don’t ask me why
sunk from view
Reprinted with the permission of Harper and Row, Inc.