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| Encouraging kids to read. August, 2007 |
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| Why can't little Johnny Black read? Part 3 |
They need Troy CLE's "Marvelous World".
In past issues we’ve highlighted the work of educators Marva Collins (June, 2007) and Lorraine Monroe (July, 2007). It is our contention that education is the key to a successful life. Black children start out lagging behind and never catch up with their white counterparts in school. Improved reading proficiency will close the educational gap.
Perhaps black kids need something exciting to read. As local community organizer Loni Gamble of CAPPA says, “We have to meet our kids where they are.”
Troy CLE has done that. He has written an action adventure fantasy with non-white characters.
Troy CLE (each letter of his last name is pronounced individually; C-L-E.) has given birth to the first in a series, entitled, “Marvelous World”. Troy introduces us to Louis Proof a 13-year black kid from the ‘hood. The main character’s urban environment is easily recognizable for kids of the inner city; it is set in East Orange, New Jersey.
I read the first chapter online and found it delightful. The humor, the references to popular culture, and the interactions of the characters reminded me of my own childhood. (And that is no small feat.)
Unfortunately, the media casts Troy’s work as a “black Harry Potter”. Troy resists such descriptions. In my correspondence with Troy CLE, he wrote, “I never asked ‘What if Harry Potter were black?’ That was a hook that one writer used as catchy title. Even the title the ‘Black Harry Potter’ was not one of my making. I began this quest to write this book when I was a little kid because I wanted to be a Goonie. I could only be one in my heart so I decided to write my story where black kids like me could go on the adventure.”
The TV news magazine, NOW with David Brancaccio, interviewed Troy recently. The NOW website offers the following blurb: “African-American author Troy Cle sits down with David Brancaccio to talk about his fantasy book series, ‘Marvelous World,’ which some are characterizing as the ‘black Harry Potter.’ But this isn't a Victorian English school out in the country. Cle's protagonist, Louis Proof, listens to hip-hop, races radio-controlled cars, and spends much of his time at the local junkyard in this fantasy-adventure set in East Orange, New Jersey. Cle, who is determined to get kids reading, says his series is "heavily action driven but rests on a foundation of more classical literature."
http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/327.html
(Troy CLE’s portion of the show starts halfway down the page.)
http://www.marvelousworld.net
| Related links:
Check a nifty visual representation of reading levels for 4th graders go to:
4th grade reading chart for white and black children, 2005
Check out GreatSchools.net to see WASD's report card. Go to:
http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/pa/district_profile/551/#standards
Heres's how the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania defines the reading levels. Go to:
Below Basic, Basic, Proficient and Advanced definitions
Where did I get the info? Check out the National Center for Education Statistics:
See TUDA charts here.
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