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Stereotypes In Marilyn Hilton's Full Cicada Moon

1285 Words6 Pages

How many books can you think of with a biracial main protagonist? How many children's books? How many poems? Most likely, you can think of very little to no books with a girl who is biracial. In the United States, while demographics change and evolve, the media and literature doesn’t, especially in books aimed at children. To accommodate for changing demographics, the media should look like America, not just one part of it. This is why Full Cicada Moon, by Marilyn Hilton belongs to the Old Donation Little Free Library because it includes a diverse main character, a protagonist who refuses to conform to stereotypes and continues to dream big even as others push her down. The book, Full Cicada Moon, was artfully written to show a biracial girl …show more content…

In the beginning of the book, the main character, Mimi, voices to her class about being an astronaut, only to get ridiculed. Though most of her teachers and peers laughed at her, one teacher, Mrs. Stanton, did not. Mrs. Stanton actually relates to Mimi because she too, had a dream to become a scientist. When Mrs. Stanton’s parents turned her down instead of fighting for her dream, she decided to find a husband and settle down as a teacher. When Mimi asks why Mrs. Stanton doesn’t laugh, she responds with “ Why would I laugh? Our dreams are a serious matter. When you take them seriously, everyone else does too,” (Hilton 77). Mrs. Stanton throughout the novel, is one of the backbones to allowing Mimi to continue pursuing science. Mrs. Stanton continues to give Mimi books and resources and shows to readers that it is okay to voice your aspirations. Mimi faces many challenges when it comes to a science project she is creating, because she can not use tools from shop class to help her. This leads Mimi to finding her own way to get the tools, and eventually leads her to becoming close friends with the boy next door because he has the tools needed and is willing to teach her. ”Her courage and determination can empower kids, especially girls, to embrace the sciences and their own dreams'' (Hilton). If Mimi hadn’t had the courage to talk to the boy, even though his father balks and makes rude comments about her interracial family, she wouldn’t have won the science fair and she wouldn’t have gotten a step closer to her dream. Children reading this novel can be inspired by Mimi to take that leap and talk to someone new, be open about their dreams or continue to have the determination to achieve those goals. Nevertheless, the novel let’s readers know that it is okay to dream big and to keep dreaming big no matter what others

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