A room of one’s own is bittersweet in this children’s tale
Caribbean Life, August 7, 2020 25
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Sometimes, things change
in a minute.
You look, and it’s one way.
You look again, it’s different,
and you didn’t even see the
change happening. You might
not like it but that never matters.
As in the new picture
book “The Shared Room” by
Kao Kalia Yang, illustrations
by Xee Reiter, that’s when it’s
best just to take a deep breath,
roll your shoulders, and move
on.
If it were any other winter
day in Minnesota, it might‘ve
been nice. It was warm enough
for the snow to melt and you
could almost see that spring
was coming. But inside the
house in east St. Paul, there
were shadows acros
s a dark fireplace and quiet
floors. There was light in the
house, but no sunshine.
Pictures hung on the wall
but it was hard to look at them
because they reminded the
family inside the house that
one of them was missing. It
had been seven months since
the girl with the shiny brown
hair and big toothy smile, the
happy little girl in a framed
picture, had walked into a lake,
misstepped, and accidentally
drowned.
Nobody had seen it happen
and nobody in the family could
forget. The mother and the
father couldn’t even bear to
take the sheets off the girl’s bed
and for seven months, they visited
her room and cried once,
twice, three times a day. The
house was quiet, except when
someone would play a video
of the girl on their phone, and
everyone watched.
But then, something shifted.
Ever since the youngest
brother was born, the oldest
brother shared a bedroom
with him in the house in east
St. Paul. There were four bedrooms,
four children and two
parents, so there had to be
sharing – until the parents
asked the oldest brother if he’d
like to have his sister’s room.
He‘d have her bed. He would
have her dresser and her closet.
But he would never have her
back. Would he miss his sister
forever?
Is “The Shared Room” a
book for children?
You may wonder that after
you’ve read it through once –
and you should, to gauge its
appropriateness for your child
before you present it. It’s a
lovely story, but it’s also deeply,
unbearably sad.
While the artwork by Xee
Reiter may soften things a
bit, author Kao Kalia Yang’s
tale starts with silence and
ends like a grey tattered shawl
draped over every page. This
profound mourning leaves a
heaviness over the story that
stays well beyond the final
page, and you’ll feel it in your
chest.
And yet, if you can withstand
the pall, there’s a sliver
of hope inside this book and a
reminder that life goes on. It
also serves to tell a child that
it’s best to come to terms with
death but that never forgetting
is okay, too.
Again, read this book
through once before you give it
to your 8-to-12-year-old. “The
Shared Room” may prove to be
too much, too early, too overwhelming
– or it may change
your child’s grieving.
“The Shared Room” by
Kao Kalia Yang, illustrations
by Xee Reiter
c.2020, University of
Minnesota Press $16.95 /
higher in Canada
32 pages
Book cover of “The Shared Room.”
“The Shared Room” author,
Kao Kalia. Yang Shee Yang
By Vinette K. Pryce
When a bejeweled tiara was
placed on the head of Jamaica’s
Toni-Ann Singh crowning her
the 69th Miss World on Dec.
14, 2019 she never imagined
her reign would extend past the
usual year all her predecessors
had served.
The 23-year-old student from
the parish of St. Thomas beat out
111 royal representatives from as
many countries and witnessed by
a capacity audience at the ExCel
in London, won the scepter and
crown three other queens from
her island claimed in previous
contests.
However, due to the coronavirus
pandemic which has
afflicted citizens throughout the
world, the island’s fourth beauty
queen to win the title will serve
an unprecedented second year of
reign.
“We have made the decision to
delay the 70th Miss World final.
Safety is paramount as we continue
the fight against COVID-19
— we look forward to welcoming
the Miss World family to our very
special celebrations next year,”
the pageant organization stated.
Originally slated for later this
year, the acclaimed oldest international
beauty pageant was cancelled
due to a reported surge and
possibly a second wave throughout
nations of the world as well
as the fact there has been no
vaccine to prevent infection from
COVID-19.
Singh made history with four
other royalties last year when for
the first time Black queens owned
the top beauty titles as Miss Universe,
Miss America, Miss USA
and Miss Teen USA.
She also joined the short list of
the world’s most beautiful women
of color who comprise winners of
the ‘Big Four’ beauty contests —
which references the four major
global beauty pageants — Miss
World, South Africa’s Zozibini
Tunzi who aced the Miss Universe
crown; Thailand’s Sireethorn
Leeramwat, Miss International,
and the first Caribbean queen to
win the Miss Earth pageant, Nellys
Pimentel of Puerto Rico.
Next year the reputed Miss
World contest will crown their
70th queen and unless the venue
is changed from the proposed
2020 site will be held in Bangkok,
Thailand.
Jamaica’s Miss World 2020 will reign again
Jamaica’s Toni-Ann Singh crowned as 69th Miss World in 2019. pageantcircle.com
/pageantcircle.com
