Books
Loiiipo
Garrboro firm fights sexism in children's boolcs
By LINDA ROBERTSON
Dick, jane, Sally and Spot may never grow up, but
those literary companions for generations of grade
schoolers have grown old and out of date. Lollipop
Power, is a feminist publishing collective based in Carr
boro, can take some of the credit for the diminishing
presence of stereotyped characters in children's books.
Lollipop's Power's goal since it was incorporated in
1971 has been to "counteract the sex and race stereo
typing present in most commercially produced children's
books."
The group would like to see children's literature
dominated by strong female protagonists, like E.B.
White's Charlotte the spider, rather than the typical,
dependent Cinderella or Jane figure.
"It used to be that mothers were always mindless
idiots they were always wearing aprons and making
cookies. The most . challenging thing Mom did was
search for a lost mitten," said Kathi Gallagher, a long
time member of Lollipop Power, who is now completing
her dissertation in English at UNC. "The mothers never
left home and the daughters gladly followed in their
footsteps. These books didn't reflect what was going on
in the U.S." -
Although children's books have improved, many still
present a narrow view of society, Gallagher said Books
are a powerful instrument of socialization, and can
shape kids' perceptions of themselves and their world.
Lollipop Power wants that to be a world of alternative
choices and individuality.
"As recently as 1970, Simon and Schuster came out
with a book called I'm Glad I'm a Boy, I'm Clady I'm a
Girl, Gallagher said. "The text read something like: 'Boys
play with trucks; girls play with dolls. Boys are strong;
girls are graceful. Boys become policemen; girls become
meter maids. Boys are football players; girls are cheer
leaders. Boys build houses; girls clean houses. Boys fix
things; girls need things fixed.' We're trying to offset
these predominant stereotypes." .
Lollipop seeks stories about minority children, self
sufficient girls and women, emotional and nurturant
boys and men, and one-parent or working-parent
families that are not all white and middle class.
"We've published 18 books, and 16 titles still in print,"
said Susan Bal linger, who works in the manuscript
department of the UNC library system! "If s not our goal
to make big bucks our income and expenditures run
neck and neck. Our goal is to print what traditional
publishers won't."
Joshua's Day, by Sandra Lucas Surowiecki, is one of
the collective's most popular titles and -tells of a
youngster's experiences at a daycare center. Carlotta
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Percy Varren, employed of Lollipops Pover, essembies children's books
. . .the publishing collective tries to counteract sex and race-stereotypes
and the Scientist is the tale of a curious female Emperor
penguin who meets up with a female Antarctic scientist
In Jo, Flo and Yolanda, by Carol de Poix, three urban
sisters have dreams of becoming a world explorer, a
baseball player and a restaurant owner. Carmen Good
year wrote and illustrated The Sheep Book, the story of a
female farmer.
Maria Teresa, by Mary Atkinson, Grownups Cry Too,
by Nancy Hazen, and )o, Flo and Yolanda are published
in Spanish and English. Lollipop Power has also publish
ed a Bibliography of Materials on Sexism and Sex-Role
Stereotyping in Children's Books, compiled by Gallagher
and Alice Peery.
Lollipop Power's newest book is In Christina's Tool
box, the story of an inventive little girl by Dianne
Homan and illustrated by Mary Heine The book was
printed on the collective's Multilith 1250 press, located
in their office at 304A Weaver St. The press ins run by
member Elizabeth Brownrigg, a town bus driver.
"The costs of production have gone up so much that
Christina is the last book that we have made a commit
ment to publish," Ballinger said. "We'd like to keep go
ing because we're one of the oldest and most respected
small press publishers around. It's sort of unique in that
we're a small, children's, multi-racial, feminist publisher.
We've geared ourselves to a fairly small, but important
audience."
The collective's greatest number of sales is to the East
coast and California. Its wide geographic distribution in
cludes orders from Canada, Australia and Nepal. Most
sales are to bookstores and distributors, with some to
schools and libraries. .. v.
The group, comprised of 10 members, receives about
four manuscripts per week. Submissions are reviewed by
the group at their weekly meetings and are either ac
cepted or rejected in accordance with the collective's
specific publishing criteria. All manuscripts are returned
with comments.
"We get lots of formula stories another one about
the girl who tries out for the Little League team,"
Gallagher said. "And we get lots of manuscripts that
have nothing to do with what we're all about Books on
cute puppies may not be sexist but they're not an active
portrayal of non-traditional roles either. We like books
that have something new and important to say about
children's lives."
And kids, who are the soul of Lollipop Power, like
those books, too. (P
Linda Robertson is assistant sports editor for The Daily
Tar Heel.
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Spotlight, October 29, 1981