As featured in March 1997
The African-American Playhouse:
New Building Blocks Create High Towers of Self-Esteem
By Wanda S. Franklin
Developing self-esteem. This phrase is on the lips of every participant in many conversations taking place today on the topic of childrearing. Parents, educators, and many others who realize the importance of helping children develop high self-esteem from the earliest ages, have brought a diverse array of creative ideas to the table for discussion.
African Americans add a unique dimension to the discussion. The challenge of helping black children develop high levels of self-esteem is twofold. The first step is to create exciting activities that educate as well as entertain them. The next step is to give them positive images that reflect the beauty of African-American culture and a heritage they can take pride in.
Extraordinarily talented African-American artists of all kinds have risen to the challenge by creating books, puzzles, toys, and videos specifically designed with the black child in mind. By combining cultural education and entertainment with positive images, these products mirror the historical greatness of African-American people while encouraging a strong sense of cultural identification and self-esteem within children.
Video Images
Throughout her 11-year career in the cable television industry, Juanita
B. Johnson grew increasingly displeased with the lack of quality programming
for black children. Coupled with her desire to "plant the seeds of
self-esteem early within children," she created and produced Brown
Angels, a 30-minute video that captures African-American infants and
toddlers in the cutest of moods.
The infectious charm of Brown Angels, the first video release from Johnson's company, Village Children's Productions in Trenton, New Jersey, is spreading to the young and old alike. "While testing the video, we found that it held babies in rapt attention, while toddlers laughed, clapped, and pointed," Johnson says. Adults, on the other hand, who have known the pure magic of a baby's smile will simply be enchanted by the beautiful brown babies.
"My goal was to create a product that would foster self-esteem in black children. From six months of age, babies love watching other babies. Since visual mediums are so powerful, I thought a video exposing children to images he or she recognizes would be the ideal way to help them gain an appreciation of black beauty," Johnson says.
All are sure to enjoy the traditional lullabies heard in the background of Brown Angels. The uptempo renditions performed by New Orleans jazz masters add to the fun while accentuating African-American culture. The smooth blend of heavenly jazz notes make Brown Angels a delightful learning experience to be enjoyed by black families.
Additional applications for Brown Angels include use as a daycare learning aid as well as a tool to assist in cognitive skill-building. To that end, the video includes a voice-over that encourages parents to ask their children to identify gender, colors, sounds, and body parts.
Brown Angels' retail price is $14.95. To order, call Village Children's Productions, 1977 N. Olden Avenue, Suite 320, Trenton, New Jersey 08618, phone (609) 637-0199 or fax (609) 530-0660.
Musical Notes
Home libraries are a growing trend in African-American homes, and along
with videos like Brown Angels, multicultural books and tapes are
appearing on the shelves. From the creative genius of Cheryl Warren Mattox
comes two songbook/tape sets that give children a colorful introduction
to the rich history and traditions of African-American music.
Shake It To the One That You Love the Best combines stunning color illustrations from the works of world-renowned artists, Varnette P. Honeywood and Brenda Joysmith, with Mattox's imaginative musical arrangements of African, African-American, Creole, and Caribbean songs in jazz, reggae, gospel, rhythm and blues, and classical styles. The result is a unique collection that presents the history of African-American musical traditions in a way that will keep children of all races "tuned in."
Mattox's strong commitment to creating musical products for children that are inspired by black traditions is rooted in her childhood. Her mother, a talented musician, taught her the importance of learning the history of African-American music and encouraged her to perform it. Mattox took that knowledge to heart, and Shake It To The One That You Love The Best resounds with the love she developed for the vibrant sounds of black culture.
Her unique arrangements of popular play songs-such as "Little Sally Walker" and "Mary Mack," as well as lullabies including "Kumbaya" and "Short'ning Bread"-feature exciting sound effects as well as superb vocal renderings by world-renowned artists Taj Mahal (winner, Notable Children's Recording, American Library Association) and the Shake It Children's Chorus. Such brilliant artistry makes Shake It To The One That You Love The Best a lively lesson in musical traditions that our little ones can be proud of.
"Playing musical games under the shade of a big, old tree; clapping, jumping, and sashaying to the beat of these well-loved play songs, are pastimes of the young that not only create priceless childhood memories, but keep important musical traditions alive," Mattox states.
Keeping true to the tradition of the ring, line, and clapping games associated with songs like "Little Sally Walker" and "Mary Mack," and "Shake It," the songbook contains instructions for these games. Other features include lyrics and full piano scores for each song as well as historical facts about the songs. The recording is available as a songbook and cassette tape set or a musical activity book with electronic keyboard.
On the heels of Shake It To The One That You Love The Best comes Let's Get The Rhythm Of The Band, another songbook/tape set that is sure to become an influential work in African-American music and culture. The diversity of African-American music styles are represented in Varnette P. Honeywood's songbook cover illustration of musicians dressed in the traditional garb of a marching bandsman, an African drummer, a gospel choir singer, and a jazz man.
Again, Mattox captures the rhythm of black musical traditions from the talking drums of Africa, to the turn of the century's ragtime craze, to the rap music of today's hip hop generation. Let's Get The Rhythm Of The Band's 17 songs take listeners of all ages on a soulful journey into the heart of African-American culture, and leaves them beaming with pride in the vibrant origins of the music of this great people.
The retail price for both "Shake It To The One That You Love The Best" and "Let's Get The Rhythm Of The Band" book and cassette tape sets is $19.95. Books and tapes may also be purchased separately. To order or obtain a books and toys catalogue, call or write JTG of Nashville, 1024C 18th Avenue South Nashville, TN 37212, or phone 1-800-222-2584, fax (615) 329-4028.
Puzzling Pieces
Children love hands-on activities, and JTG's Award Puzzle series combines
the fun of puzzling with the excitement of seeing a finished product that
reflects the African-American child's image-black and beautiful. The Award
Puzzle series contains picture puzzles derived from the artwork of winners
of the Caldecott Medal, which was created over 50 years ago to honor illustrators
of children's books.
Two years ago, JTG created an additional award series: The Coretta Scott King Collection, which features artwork from books illustrated by African Americans. Since 1969, the award has been presented annually to a black illustrator whose book "is an outstanding inspirational and educational contribution to literature for children and young people."
Titles available from the Coretta Scott King Collection include Faith Ringgold's Tar Beach; Gerald Pinkney's Mirandy and Brother Wind; Joe Steptoe's Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters; and Leo and Diane Dillon's Aida. Truck and Freight Train, two puzzles from African-American illustrator and Caldecott Award winner, Donald Crews, are also available. The complexity level and number of pieces of the puzzles correspond with the age level, 4- to 7-year-olds, for which the book was written.
The Award Puzzles are painstakingly constructed with deep respect for the artwork from which it was derived. Top-quality materials and color reproduction methods are used to ensure that the puzzle will reflect the beauty of the African-American images it portrays.
One of the unique features of Award puzzles is the "starter hole" which facilitates easier removal of the pieces from the tray, eliminating the need pick at the pieces from the front. Additionally, the full-color back side of each puzzle provides information about the illustrator and the book from which the artwork was selected.
The general consensus among librarians, teachers, parents, and most importantly, children, is that Award Puzzles are an item that combine beauty and fun all rolled into one.
Award Puzzles are available from JTG of Nashville, 1024C 18th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37215. Call (615) 329-3036 or fax (615) 329-4028. Suggested retail price is $6.95.
Colors Galore
Since its inception in 1989, Identity Toys Inc. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
has made innovative strides in fulfilling their mission-"Helping Children
Grow Up Proud." Through a line of products, which include board and
card games, puzzles, posters, dolls, soft toys, and calendars, the company
seeks to promote black pride and awareness in children of all ages. Now
with a few crayons, lots of imagination, and an Identity Toys Inc. Color
Me Proud coloring book, a child can truly color themselves in the likeness
of great historical African Americans.
The fun-filled Color Me Proud coloring book contains 50 pages of colorful fun-from images of notable African-American men and women, to families celebrating Kwanzaa, to a proud student holding a report card with an A+ grade in every subject. Also included are two full pages of colorful stickers touting phrases such as "I Love My Heritage," "Dream Big Dreams," and "I'm Loved."
"We develop products that specifically address the needs of black children," says Lucy Holifield, owner of Identity Toys Inc. "Through our products, we seek to inspire and motivate children to take pride in who they are by teaching them about the history of African-American people."
Unlike other coloring books that may lose their appeal after all the pictures are colored in, Color Me Proud contains a special feature that will encourage children to keep the book on hand. After learning important facts about the lives and contributions of famous African Americans and coloring their pictures, the last page is reserved for the most beautiful picture of all-the one the child draws of him or herself. On the other side of that page are instructions on how to create a personal scrapbook of African-American heroes from old newspapers and magazines.
On the back cover of the coloring book is a special Color Me Proud Certificate of Completion. Few parents will be able to resist the temptation to remove it for framing. Whether the back cover is left intact or not, Color Me Proud is a book you'll want to keep for future reference.
Also from Identity Toys comes a special story told with a "royal" twist. Akan, The Royal Bear tells of the history and tradition of the Asante weavers of Ghana, West Africa, the art of kente cloth weaving, and the significance of the fabric. Rooted in fact and using the kente cloth colors as the magical key, Akan invites readers to explore their imagination and gather in a message of cultural unity. Akan, The Royal Bear, which was written for the age 5 and up audience, is sure to enchant and entertain children while showing them one of many facets in the royal crown of their heritage.
Akan also stars in a second book, Grandma's Teddy. With only two days left before her grandma's birthday, a young girl searches for the perfect gift. She enters "Our Store," which is filled with pottery, clay figures, masks, and magnificent African paintings. Suddenly, on a shelf, the perfect gift for her teddy bear-loving grandma appears-Akan, a teddy bear made of kente cloth! Grandma's Teddy is an adventurous tale that sings a jubilant song of pride to the hearts of readers of any age.
An 18" stuffed kente cloth teddy bear may also be purchased ($19.99) as the perfect complement to the books which retail for $7.95. Puzzles and coloring books retail for $5.95.
To order or obtain a free Identity Toys Catalog, call or write Identity Toys Inc., 2821 N. 4th Street, Suite 430, Milwaukee, WI 53212, or phone (414) 562-7776.
Spinning Tales
Children can stay awake or fall asleep listening to their "Storyteller Dolls" spin magical tales. An inventor from Pennsylvania has designed a charming line of multicultural dolls, complete with storytelling tapes. The unique design allows the parent or child to insert and remove the tape in the doll's back, or use it with their own cassette player and headphones.
Among the line of dolls, which includes male and female, are African storytellers complete with African garb, European storytellers, Asian, Hispanic, and American Indian. There is even a clown who tells silly jokes.
The storytelling tapes are produced by professional storytellers and additional storytelling, educational, and language tapes are in the works.
The dolls can be purchased in the form of patterns, kits, or finished products and are available through Mika Products, 515 W. Hutchinson Avenue #3, Pittsburgh, PA 15218, or phone (412) 244-6467, fax (412) 244-6469.
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