Kid Lit

Gotta have faith: Ringgold is one of three high-profile authors featured in Rutgers' new reading series.

A new author series at Rutgers examines the world of children through literature.

by M.J. Fine

Kid Lit A new author series at Rutgers examines the world of children through literature. By M.J. Fine

You donít work. You canít vote. You canít make legally binding decisions, even though you know everything. Itís tough being a kid. No matter how privileged and precocious you are at the age of 4, 9 or 15, youíre living in a scary world. You didnít ask to be born. Nothingís fair, and as adults never tire of telling you, no one ever said it would be. If you're lucky, youíll get to the other side of adolescence in one piece. In the meantime, escape as much as you can.

Napping is an unbeatable escape hatch, but you've got the hunch that all the important stuff happens when you're asleep, so you fight it. (You're right. Your parents have much more fun when you're out like a light.) Daydreaming works sometimes. So does playing with your friends, both real and imaginary. But your real friends will outgrow you, betray you for the chance to hang out with the cooler kids, or move away -- if you don't beat them to it -- and your imaginary friends will get you locked up if you're still talking to them when you're 25.

But if you want to have a lot of adventures without getting into trouble, your best bet is to learn to read and stick your nose in a book for the next 18 years. When you snap out of it and see where you've ended up, you'll want to dive right back in. (And unlike returning to the womb, going back to books is a good thing.) No matter how successful you are at using books as insulation, you'll find that you bear the scars of your upbringing. The smart ones turn those scars into books of their own.

Dreaming on her roof, Cassie Louise Lightfoot is 8. Cassie's always 8, even though she lives in the Harlem of 1939. Even though writer/artist Faith Ringgold placed her on Tar Beach in 1988. You could say books keep Cassie young. You could say the same of Ringgold, who comes to Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday as part of the "Remembering Childhood" author series. Like Cassie, 72-year-old Ringgold hasn't let go of the hope and outrage that drive her to fix racial injustices.

Inspiration is a two-way street, Ringgold believes. It's what she hopes to bring to the series, and what she hopes to take from the audience. "Inspiration," she wrote in a recent e-mail. "There is nothing better in life."

The university's Center for Children and Childhood Studies organized the series to highlight the depth and diversity of young people's experiences. The readings aren't for children, but for people who care about them: teachers, pediatricians, social workers. Or anyone, really -- children need all the allies they can get.

When it came to choosing authors, one thing stood out.

"We wanted prize winners, and they're all prize winners," center director Myra Bluebond-Langner says.

Tar Beach -- based on Ringgold's 1988 quilt, which is in the Guggenheim -- won the Caldecott Honor in 1992. The series is rounded out by Inquirer columnist Tanya Maria Barrientos (reading from her second novel, Family Resemblance) and Wonder Boys author Michael Chabon (reading from his Pulitzer-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay).

Bluebond-Langner envisions a future for the series and its theme. "We see childhood studies as being to this century what women's studies was to the end of the last century," she says.

The program supports the center's efforts to instill a love of reading in Camden children and their parents as well as to educate undergraduates and professionals.

"I wanted to encourage people to come. And make it as easy as possible for people," Bluebond-Langner says. To that end, a free bus will pick up Philadelphians at 17th and Market streets.

Best of all, there's no homework. So if you choose to delve into the books ahead of time, they're pure pleasure reading.

Faith Ringgold, Wed., Sept. 17; Tanya Maria Barrientos, Wed., Oct. 15; Michael Chabon, Wed., Nov. 19, 7-10 p.m., $10, Walter Gordon Theater, Rutgers University, 314 Linden St., Camden, N.J., 856-225-6741. Bus pickup is at 6:15 p.m. from 17th and Market sts.