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Do you read in colour?

And by colour I mean race. I am busy compiling a library for Lucas (poor Lucas) for when he gets older. One of the books I've picked which I loved, is the the second of a series, Dolphin Song by Lauren St. John. I read a review of this book, and the reviewer didn't give the book as good a rating as others did. One of his criticisms was that although the book was set in South Africa, the heroine was of European descent. "Would it have been so hard to make her African?" was his lament.

It made me stop and wonder. I never really consider race when I read (unless that is part of the plot). When I was growing up, I went up in a Wishing Chair and had adventures, I solved mysteries and had adventures (Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Famous Five, Secret Seven) I invented things and had adventures (Tom Swift). It didn't matter that the protagonists were Caucasian in all the books I read. When I read - it was me.

Perhaps because it was my multi-racial environment, but it never occurred to me that I couldn't be doing those things. It never occurred to me that there are children out there who need to have such explicit role models to help transport them and to help them visualize a life they may not otherwise feel is within reach. I felt totally oblivious and ignorant when I thought about that. In this way, my Trini upbringing was a plus I guess.

I tried to find out indirectly what Lucas imagines when he reads, and as best as I can tell, society hasn't handicapped him yet.

What is it like for your child?

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