Sunday January 17, 2010

Telling our tales By ROUWEN LIN

Multicultural books can open up a whole new world to children.

MALAYSIAN literature often falls far short of capturing our multiculturalism. And when it comes to children’s books on local tales, our voice is completely silent.

There’s one person who wants to change that and she’s looking for like-minded people to work with.

Daphne Lee hopes that OneRedFlower’s picture book contest will inspire authors to come up with thoroughly Malaysian tales for children. – SAMUEL ONG / The Star “Our children read books that reference American culture, British pop culture, but hardly ever Malaysian culture,” says Daphne Lee, 42.

“We lack quality literature for children reflecting our culture in all its diversity,’’ says StarMag’s Tots to Teens columnist and author of four picture books. She is also publishing editor of OneRedFlower Press, which specialises in multicultural literature for children and young adults.

“There is a need for good books depicting this, as it is really important for children to see themselves reflected in the books they read and the pictures they look at. It builds confidence and helps in developing their self-identity,” she explains.

Lee, who has three children, says that the long-term plan is to publish multicultural books from all over the world.

But what exactly are multicultural books? Do they feature characters from different countries speaking different languages? Do they eat different kinds of food? Do they sing different songs and play with different toys?

Lee says it is all of that, and more.

“When people talk about culture, the first thing that springs to mind is often race and religion. But culture is so much more than that; culture encompasses gender relations, sexuality, beliefs, history, mythologies, attitudes and behaviour of different groups of people.

“The books we publish will show the various aspects of life that different people experience. I want books that challenge stereotypes in life as well as books that reflect them.

“These books will represent more than the artificial view that there is just one kind of person, one kind of marriage, or one kind of family.

“Books like those don’t allow for any variation, but a child should be provided with literature that presents a broader perspective on life,” she says.

Lee acknowledges that all the misconceptions we have of children’s literature (low quality, over-priced, easy to write and not intellectual) need to be purged before her dream of multicultural literature can become reality.

“Many people are under the impression that children’s literature is not as important as literature for adults. They think that we can give children anything to read because they won’t know any better.

“This is really strange to me – just as you want the best for your child in terms of nutrition, you should also want provide them with well-written and beautifully illustrated books to read,” she points out.

There is also the belief that it’s easier to write a book for children than for adults, and Lee says that this has prompted many authors to venture down that road with disastrous results.

“Sadly, many of these people don’t actually read children’s books. A badly-written book will be very difficult to read out loud to a child because of the horrible flow and syntax,” she says.

“A good book – even books for adults – will stand up to the challenge of being read out loud,” says Lee, adding that OneRedFlower is hosting its first picture book contest in its effort to encourage authors and illustrators to tell Malaysian stories.

“The contest is open to Malaysian citizens and residents. We are looking for original stories with a local context and we want people who are familiar with Malaysian life and culture,” she says.

“I hope what we are doing will not only encourage writers and illustrators to write and draw for children, but also interest other publishers in publishing for them.

“There is a growing acknowledgement of the importance of children’s literature in the region and I see the imprint moving along in that direction.

“We look forward to playing a role in that, as well as being a part of the lives of children,” Lee says.

Visit 1redflower.wordpress.comfor details of the picture book contest. Closing date for submissions is April 30. OneRedFlower Press will publish the winning works.