Many of our young men right now are struggling with feeling, with existing in this troubled world. As a former elementary school educator, mentor of young men of color, and now full time Lecturer in Multicultural Education and Early Childhood Education/Childhood Studies, my pedagogy is rooted in proving a place of solace and salvation, for students and educators everywhere. It is the late bell hooks that reminds us in All About Love: New Visions,  “Redeemed and restored, love returns us to the promise of everlasting life. When we love we can let our hearts speak.” Drs. Don Vu and Gholdy Muhammad stress the importance of immersive, culturally relevant pedagogy where our students are at the front and as an English Teacher, I have often wondered who can I turn to as a man of color to help build a connection between my male students of color and literature. ​

This series alone set the precedent in my ELA classroom for implementing all things SEL (Social Emotional Learning) and using the character development of Tai, to show my male students what it means to embrace their emotions, no matter how fluid they may be. My boys, no matter what their ethnic background and upbringing,  for the first time truly saw themselves reflected within the pages of a book. Thanks to Minh, they were able to witness a character grieve, love, and embolden themselves to face the world head on - fearless and ready to step into their destined power. 

Reminiscent of the practices of both the late bell hooks and Thich Nhat Hanh, Minh shows us that love cannot and will not be lost in translation, especially if we continue  to advocate for books that reflect exactly what the world needs to see - authenticity, vulnerability, and most importantly, radical love. With his writing and service to the field of diverse literature and education,  Minh is doing what I like to call the “heart work”, meaning that lets the words flow from his fingertips out onto the page. As the days get closer to the debut of his upcoming release Enlighten Me, a stunning graphic novel and future award winner that's find a young boy by the name of Binh learning the power of meditation and coming to terms with his own feelings, I know Minh will only continue to rectify and restore what it truly means to let our souls speak, reverberating love from the depths of his veins. ​

The lenses used here are from, or inspired by, Deborah Appleman’s (2015) Critical Encounters in Secondary English: Teaching Literary Theory to Adolescents. Our post for YA Wednesday anticipates the fourth edition of Critical Encounters, coming out in just two days on December 22, 2023. Appleman’s new edition includes an entire critical race theory (CRT) chapter and supports introducing contemporary literary theory to “both pre-and in-service teachers.” We are excited about these additions, as we, too, had discussions about which lenses still need to be included–CRT was on our list. ​

In addition to the three examples, consider other possibilities. Maria Rios-Zendejas, a high school teacher in Santa Rosa, California, uses Tara Yosso’s community cultural wealth model as a literary lens with The Poet X. I have been exploring lenses related to climate change at the suggestion of a colleague, Kim Hester Williams. For example, ecofeminism paired with Latinx Environmentalisms would draw out new dimensions of novels like The Last Cuentista or The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind. 

While there has been much discourse on the major players of novels, some don’t receive as much attention and fall into the background. In fact, these characters are often labeled as such. The “Through the Eyes of the Powerless” lens examines how the heroes in their stories affect these “background” characters. Heroes are powerful–they drive stories, but this creates a link between the idea of power and the idea of what is good and justifiable. Sometimes, those in power don’t make decisions that are for the good of others. This lens explores that power dynamic and how we conceptualize justice and morality in the heroes we immortalize.

One way to apply this lens is to look at “background” characters as if they were the main characters of their own story. These background characters often lack the agency that protagonists do. Even though a protagonist may view themselves as not having other options, this same idea often applies to characters the protagonist impacts. This lens applies very well to the Hunger Games. While Katniss views herself at a major disadvantage in the games, she comes out on top with the help of others and her hunting skills. Many of the tributes aren’t even deemed important enough to receive names, often being referred to as “the girl from District ____” or “the boy from District____.”  Focusing on the other tributes in the games allows the user of the lens to see the power differentials that emerge in the novel. ​

While the lens could focus on many characters, one that stands out is known simply by the nickname Katniss gives her, “Foxface.” While not receiving a lot of focus in the novel, Foxface is characterized for her high intelligence, only being defeated by accidentally ingesting poisonous berries. Power is visible when Katniss uses her influence with citizens of the Capitol to receive sponsored gifts of medicine and food, while Foxface is forced to scavenge to survive. When Foxface is killed, her body is described as emaciated, clearly starving. This lens allows for a different approach to viewing characters, pushing the reader to imagine the lives of characters only glimpsed from the words on the page. Later novels in the series focus on the rebellion between the Districts and the Capitol, which becomes all the more inevitable from the perspective of characters in the periphery. 

Through the lens of Queer Theory, this is a possibility that brings new meaning to this book. Queer Theory, a literary lens, is used to reexamine a text by closely reading it and challenging heteronormativity. A Queer Lens is used to explore homosexual desire and celebrate those who have been marginalized. Therefore, if Charlie were queer, the non-heteronormative characters in the novel, like Patrick and Brad, would no longer be relegated to the background--rather, they would be in the forefront, and queerness could be thoroughly explored. Additionally, when teaching this novel to a classroom of students using the lens of Queer Theory, queerness would no longer be demonized nor hidden, and queer students themselves could project on a main character who is celebrated for his non-heteronormative lifestyle. Indeed, through the lens of Queer Theory, new meaning can be made out of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and queer students could positively project themselves onto the protagonist, Charlie.

For instance, through the lens of Queer Theory, the very structure of The Perks of Being a Wallflower takes on a new meaning. This book is written in an epistolary style--Charlie writes letters to an anonymous "friend" and details his daily interactions. Through a queer lens, these private and hidden letters could symbolize Charlie's hidden sexuality. Instead of openly discussing his feelings with a real-life friend or family member, Charlie writes to someone anonymous because he fears judgment from the people he knows in his life--not unlike how queer people remain in the closet because they also fear judgment. Additionally, Charlie will often end his letter with the following farewell: "Love, Charlie." Again, through a Queer Lens, Charlie's use of the farewell "love" could represent his true feelings for his queer self. Charlie may love his queer self but has to keep that love hidden for fear of social repercussions. Truly, Charlie's suppression of his true feelings, through a queer lens, could represent the negative effects of a heteronormative society, and the only way to express these queer feelings is through letters to an anonymous friend who will not judge him. ​

Ultimately then, through the lens of Queer Theory, new meaning can be made out of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and queer students could positively project themselves onto the protagonist, Charlie. The exploration and destigmatization of queerness could prove to be beneficial for students who are experiencing similar feelings. What's more, the practice of using Queer Theory can also help students learn that many forms of art can take on unique interpretations. 

Monster engages readers in a thought-provoking exploration of the blurred lines between guilt and innocence, challenging preconceived notions about individuals and the labels society assigns to them. This YA novel raises questions about morality, race, and the complexities of the American legal system, making it the perfect novel for students in secondary school. This literary work would be ideal for students in my 8th-grade classroom because it combines a captivating narrative style with relevant themes, strong character development, and opportunities for critical thinking and discussions while exploring complex issues in society.

A Marxist lens is a perfect lens to introduce this novel. A Marxist lens is unique because it highlights portrayals of social class and power structures throughout the novel. Through a Marxist lens, readers can ask questions such as “Which characters from the novel are from a higher or lower social class?” “How can you tell?” “What are some characteristics of social class?” “How does one's social class affect them?” Questions like these can apply to the characters in Monster, namely the main character, Steve Harmon, and how social class status affected his life.​

A Marxist lens brings out important aspects of the novel regarding one's social status. It also provides an introduction to race and gender lenses by asking questions about the advantages and disadvantages one may see in life based on the intersections of race and gender. The Marxist lens also sheds light on an important aspect of the novel–the trial. The main character's social class may play a role in a fair trial. The lens also provides information about the characters’ circumstances and can provide clarity in regard to their development throughout the novel. 

​Thanksgiving is gone, the holidays will blur pass, and January, longest, dreariest month of all, is nearing.  Teaching/discussing one YAL, or other, title with a class was exciting in September, but now, well, a bit tired, with more worries of who has actually read it, how to converse with more than the same five individuals, if examining too much story and too little literary elements or vice versa, and was it understood as desired?  Many of us are hastily recalling our strategies and ideas, seeking something energizing, rather than enervating.
 
January is a tall order, but Reading and Discussing a Book in an Hour is a new and different way to present novels that’s also interesting, entertaining, and extremely effective. This technique literally allows a class to read/discuss an entire book in record time, although usually needing two 55-minute class periods, rather than one.
 
Students must use multiple critical thinking skills as prediction/projection, reading between the lines, questioning, making connections, applications, and summarizing.  It also allows the construction of meaning and learning what students’ view as important in a novel compared to peers and educators, and how these are related, yet different.  
 
The whole class and the educator are involved in discussion, prediction, and explanation of the title selected; even better, students will retain and understand its plot/themes/meaning and continue recognizing similar techniques in subsequent works. 
 
The activity works best with mystery/suspense, as these provide more questions regarding the story and illustrate the importance of foreshadowing, sequencing, predicting, and close reading in understanding plot.

This plan is perfect to begin now as it’s time-consuming to create initially. Do not attempt to complete in a day; it’s less onerous to do a few chapters at a time, and what appears as a short-cut usually isn’t, so follow these instructions for a faster finish. 

Materials Needed

• Scissors or Paper Knife
• Binder Clips
• White Printer Paper
• Clear Tape/Rubber Cement/Glue Stick
• Plastic (clear) Page Holders
• Butcher Paper
• Markers (dark shades)
• Masking Tape
• Inexpensive Novel Copies (purchase two used online)

Copying Novel Pages
Xerox the novel’s pages; scanning means they’ll be far more difficult to read/manipulate.
Xeroxing        

• Remove the first chapter’s pages from one novel, clipping together and keeping intact. That is, if Chapter 2 begins on Chapter 1’s last page, place white paper over its beginning and remove when ready for that chapter. 
• Follow this procedure for subsequent chapters, separating each and clipping.  If the novel has a prologue long enough to stand on its own separate from Chapter 1; otherwise, place with it.
• Take Chapter 1’s first page and place on a sheet of white paper.  It’s easiest to use two pieces of tape to secure it to the paper; yes, it will show, but perfection is overrated.  A glue stick or rubber cement may be used, but before flipping the page they must be dry or removed.
• Continue until all of Chapter 1’s pages (1, 3, 5, etc.) are on white paper, aligning so they are in the same position.  Page example (the backsides are blank):     
  
• GRAPHIC ON SEPARATE PAGE
• Print one page and determine if shading or other adjustments are needed.  Place additional pages in the copier’s feed, making five (or more) copies of each chapter page.
• Remove the pages from the white paper, and flip so pages 2, 4, 6 are right-side up.  Place on the paper (on the unused back side).  Again, make five copies of each page.
• Gather the pages, placing in numerical order, for five separate copies of Chapter 1.  Clip, don’t staple, and place in one pile. 
• Follow the same procedure for all subsequent chapters.
• Next, begin with Chapter 1, and place pages 1 and 2 (front to back) in a clear page holder (several boxes will be needed), continuing until the entire chapter is enclosed.  When finished, there will be five separate chapter sets.  Clip each set together and using a Sharpie, write “Chapter 1” on the front page of each set without obscuring the text.  Seal the holder’s opening with transparent tape so pages can’t be removed.
• Again, follow the same procedure for all subsequent chapters. When completed, there will be five sets of each chapter.
• One copy is the instructor’s, with the rest for class groups.  Stack all chapter copies together (i.e., one pile of Chapter 1’s, etc.).

Step 1:  Reading 
 
Place students into groups, with the number of groups the same as the number of chapters.  If a small class, some groups will read more than one chapter; give them subsequent ones, such as Chapters 5 and 6.  The educator may be also given a chapter to read, if desired. Each group member receives a separate copy of the chapter assigned.

• Provide each group with markers and several sheets of butcher paper (one to write upon, two or so to put underneath so markers won’t bleed through onto desks or floor).
• Each group begins reading their chapter (the younger the student, the longer this takes).  While reading, members write questions on the butcher paper regarding what they need to know for their chapter to make sense. Examples:
  • What happened to Tony?
  • Why is Emma so angry at her mother?
  • Why was Mark suspended from school?
  • Why are Amanda and Marissa hiding by the lake?
  • Why is Simon in jail?

Step 2:  Posting and Discussion 
When students have finished writing their questions, they use masking tape (have several rolls in a central classroom area) to place their papers on the classroom’s walls/board.  Their group/chapter number should be on the butcher paper.

• The group creating questions for Chapter 1 stands by their paper and asks their questions aloud.  Someone, and likely more than one person from reading subsequent chapters, will have the answers to the questions asked.
• When the questions for Chapter 1 have been answered, the group with Chapter 2 then asks their questions, and so on, completing each chapter in order until finished.
• As the questions are answered, the book’s storyline and components become evident. Students are solving a mystery within a mystery AND discussing the entire novel. 
• The teacher serves as moderator and assists as needed, such as providing clarification, definitions, examples, and reviewing each chapter before moving to the next.  Incorrect answers are rarely given and if so, usually corrected by a student.  If not, and/or an important question is not asked, teachers should pose or otherwise guide students to the information needed.  
  • Educators may want to note literary devices in question form, such as What is being foreshadowed by the description of Lexie’s hometown? What is the mood of this chapter? When did it begin to change? when appearing in each chapter.​

After recapping and discussing the book, the teacher decides if additional activities will be completed.  This assignment is best left as-is; the point is the group will have “read” an entire book and discussed thoroughly by working together.  Once this activity is completed, students should be so familiar with the novel that additional assignments aren’t necessary, but still the teacher’s discretion.  

Suggested Novel

​One of Us is Lying by Kate M. McManus                                       The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin                                                 I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick  
The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson                                 Escape Room by Maren Stoffels
The Cellar by Natasha Preston                                                       Hiding by Henry Turner                                      
The “Janie” series by Caroline Cooney                                          Monster by Walter Dean Myers                                                
Doll Bones by Holly Black                                                                Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Lies Like Poison by Amanda Dolan                                                Shattering Glass by Gail Giles
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Barnes                                   The Killer’s Cousin by Nancy Werlin                                 
Invisible by Pete Hautman                                                              What Jamie Saw by Carolyn Coman

Historically, when you hear “Disney” or “the Disney treatment,” thoughts of white-washed, Euro-centric stories reinforcing hegemonic ideologies complete with merchandising opportunities come to mind. While Disney has not reckoned fully with their historical perpetuation of whiteness and racist caricatures, traditional gender roles, and heterosexuality, there has been a noticeable recent increase in the number of stories told by, for, and about people of Color across Disney properties, particularly through streaming offerings on Disney+.
 
Some of these stories are new intellectual property, but remakes of pre-existing Disney properties and adaptations of recognizable properties that are created by or starring people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds have also proved lucrative for the studio. These movies and shows and the merchandise ecosystem that accompany them offer big and little screen mirrors for millions of children who identify with the diverse actors of Color cast in starring roles. However, diversifying stories previously cast or imagined with white actors has led to racist backlash online. A recent example of this was the online outrage about the casting of Halle Bailey, a Black actress, as Ariel in the remake of The Little Mermaid (2023). These manufactured conflicts, fed into an “outrage machine” through social media channels, often contain rhetoric of “loss” for dominant groups (Sackl, 2022).
 
In this contested and often hostile space, studios and networks like Disney continue to acquire rights to multicultural intellectual property, including popular Young Adult and Middle Grades Literature. So what does it mean for these books and series to be “Disney-fied” today? Disney’s corporate imperative to make money while also expanding their market to meet shifting demographics worldwide has led to more representation behind and in front of the camera, but what opportunities and challenges does this offer? One example of recent Disney-fication that highlights the hopes and challenges of the expansion of market share is the Disney+ adaptation of the young adult novel The Crossover.

The Crossover show debuted on Disney+ in April 2023, with 8 episodes executive produced and written by Kwame Alexander and teams from several production companies. We got out our notebooks to compare the new show to its source material. In signature Disney fashion, the show introduces viewers to young actors Jalyn Hall as “Josh Bell” and Amir O’Neil as “JB,” marking them as new members of the “Disney machine.” Supported by recognizable actors like Derek Luke as “Chuck Bell” and Daveed Diggs narrating in spoken word style as the poetic inner voice of Josh, the show embeds its new stars with known talent, potentially piquing the interest of adults who may see a familiar face in promotional materials.

One of the potential advantages of Disney’s corporate strategies is a focus on expanding existing properties into longer forms. Because of the choice to make The Crossover into a series (with the help of author Alexander who served as a writer on the show), supporting characters from the novel are developed more fully with storylines that were not present in the original text. For instance, Josh and JB’s mom Crystal Bell has an expanded storyline where she vies for a promotion from middle school assistant principal to principal at the school her sons attend. The show also includes new plot events that center and celebrate Black history and Black joy; in one example, the twins prepare for and attend a Harlem Renaissance-themed middle school dance. Without an emphasis on expanding the source material, fans of the book’s characters would miss out on these storylines. 

However, extended time spent on tense basketball games and worrying medical emergencies drives the plot of many episodes. This is in contrast to the text, where basketball is one aspect of JB’s world that he uses to help process his personal life and does not end up being the most important aspect of his story. Disney’s focus on creating marketable franchises with multiple avenues for profit may have contributed to the decision to foreground basketball scenes and minimize attempts to bring the poetry of the novel in verse to life. The show sometimes features visual flourishes that highlight Josh’s expansive vocabulary and inner monologue tied to tenderness and family dynamics, but they are secondary to the conventionally-filmed sports scenes.
 
Additionally, attempts to create dramatic tension in the show end up undercutting the impact of the book’s style. Most episodes are framed by jumps forward in time to see where the Bell family is now, including adding a future car wreck implying one of the twins becomes gravely injured and unable to play basketball soon after being signed to a professional team. These moments add higher stakes to the plot than were present in the book but do not add to the story in a meaningful way, while distracting from the artistry and the joy of the original text. The show ends with a cliffhanger, hinting that the story will continue in a future season, a recognition of Disney’s overarching goal to create long-lasting franchises.
 
The show also removes any reference to Josh’s locs, which feature prominently in the book, both as a source of pride and individual expression for Josh and a plot event when JB wins a bet and accidentally cuts off more than one. In fact, the actor who plays Josh has an afro throughout the show, and Black hair styles and preferences never feature as a storyline. Removing culturally-specific storylines like this may have left time for more basketball scenes, but eliminates a point of connection for viewers who identify with the characters’ experiences.
 
Overall, The Crossover series offers readers an opportunity to see their favorite characters come to life, and opens the door to practice critical literacy skills by asking questions like why aspects of the book were changed and to whose benefit. 

Some questions to consider when reading and making comparisons to screen adaptations might include:
​

• How is this film or television show marketed to children, teens, and adults?
• What changes were made to the source material in the adaptation? How do these add to or take away from the original?
• Who benefits from the adaptation? Who benefits or loses from the changes made to the original text?

 
When thinking about watching these adaptations with youth, these questions become critical to ask. While shows like The Crossover and American Born Chinese have brought more diverse actors, stories, and cultures to wider audiences, that does not mean they are fully capturing the nuance of the diverse perspectives of their source material.
 
Questions also remain as to the size and scope of audience these shows are reaching given the lack of transparency streaming services have about their viewership. For the new Disney+ adaptation of Goosebumps (2023), Disney has been vocal about the shows success, while it is difficult to find news about viewership for both The Crossover and American Born Chinese, which have been available much longer but with less marketing and merchandising. This exploration of The Crossover demonstrates the complexities of adapting multicultural YAL in increasingly thoughtful and inclusive ways in pop culture while “caught between online participatory culture and corporate fan service, fan activism and conservative backlash” (Sackl, 2022).