Free Expression Friday: Good Books Young Troublemakers, the YA Book Club Teaching Allyship

Tanvi Rastogi, former librarian and current bookseller at Dog-Eared Books of Ames, Iowa, is the founder of the Good Books Young Troublemakers book club. ABFE spoke with Tanvi about the book club, its origins, and its mission. 

For those who aren't familiar with you already, could you say a little bit about who you are, what you do, and how you got there?

My name is Tanvi (she/her), I am a bookseller and I handle inventory at Dog-Eared Books in Ames, Iowa. But before that I was a children's librarian in central New Jersey and then I was a young adult librarian here in Ames. So, putting all of that experience together, I've been working with kids for almost 20 years, which blows my mind. And when I came here to Dog-Eared Books three years ago, I founded a book club called Good Books Young Troublemakers that uses middle grade fiction to teach kids in middle school how to use their voices and be better allies.

I’ve always really, really loved talking about social justice issues with kids. My degree is in sociology, so it's really important to me. I meet with these kids once a month, and the conversations they’re having are so remarkable. My kids know what colorism is, they know what linguistic racism is, they just understand all of these really big topics that even adults sometimes struggle to understand. 

But putting together a guide for each book takes a tremendous amount of effort, and it was like, if I'm spending all of this time putting together these guides for these kids, I should be sharing that — other people should also be using them. I strongly believe that allyship is a skill that we can actually teach people, that you can practice it and become better at it, the way that you can anything else. So, the kids practice allyship in the book club. 

I think we can see that there's a need in every community for people that not only have the courage to do that and the skills to do that, but the awareness: you have to recognize when a micro-aggression or a macro-aggression or something is occurring in order to be able to speak up about it. And the books that we read help build that awareness in kids, and then the conversations that we have help them practice developing the skills to do something about it. So, it could be — I think it should be — everywhere.

Do you have any thoughts about how to make sure that kids of different means can access these programs?

That's such a good question, because access was one of my favorite parts of being a librarian. I'm really lucky that I live in a community that is pretty supportive of this work. It didn't even occur to me until someone who lives in town came to me and said, “I love the work that you're doing, but I actually don't have kids. If I had a kid, I would send them. So, can I actually pay for a month of books for the club? Honestly, I don't understand why you're not asking publicly for people to do this, because I guarantee you people will.” And she was right. Community members sponsor the cost so kids don't have to pay for their books. They can just come pick up their book for free and then they can keep it, and it's been a really nice way not only to make sure kids can come, but to make sure that their personal libraries are stocked with these really representative books — these diverse, inclusive books. And then if there's leftover books, or if they don't want their books, they go to schools, which is really excellent to be able to stock those libraries as well.

What is it like to run a book club like this?

So, I love working with kids so much. I think that kids are so smart. And they’re so much more capable of understanding complexity than I think a lot of people give them credit for. They’re also really thirsty to be able to talk about their world, what's happening in their community at their school. A lot of them pay attention to politics, state politics or national politics, and they don't really have a lot of opportunities to talk about what they're observing. I think it's actually not that hard working with kids. You talk to them the same way that you would talk to a grown-up, but maybe with just a little more grace and a little more patience. They're still trying to figure things out. If an adult says something that's transphobic or Islamophobic or whatever, that’s one thing. And if the kid says the same thing … let's have an opportunity to talk about this. Where did that idea come from? Why do you believe that? And you can challenge it. Kids are usually pretty okay with having their perspectives challenged and broadened. 

Why do you think it’s important for kids to be able to encounter themes like these in books?

They’re already experiencing these things out in the world — some of them are. You hear this argument made all the time: if some kids have to experience it, then why is it so problematic for other kids to learn about it? That's really helpful, because if you're experiencing something that feels so isolating or challenging or scary, to know that you have these peers who have some understanding of what that experience is, is really helpful. But even if they haven't encountered some of these issues now, they certainly will … at some point in their lives. They are going to encounter racism, misogyny, or whatever, so why not give them the tools now [so] that they're prepared to take care of themselves, and take care of other people? I mean, it's scary. So why not alleviate some of that fear, so that they're ready?

One of my test sites is in a very rural Iowa town of 200 people. There's a public librarian and a public middle school teacher who partnered together, and the teacher is hosting this book club with her kids. One of the books they’re reading is Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston by Esme Symes-Smith, which is about a kid who is non-binary and is fighting the patriarchy in this kingdom. And the teacher was telling me that she's really excited to be able to use this book with her kids, because in Iowa there is a law (SF 496) that prevents the teaching of gender identity in grades K–6. And she said, “I actually get to skirt the law using this guide, because my kids are opting into this book club. So, it's still being offered during the school day, but since they're opting in and it's not required, it’s allowed.” She said, “This is a conversation that's so necessary to have with these kids, and honestly, I also need the guidance of the guide to know that I will be able to teach them about gender identity respectfully and using the correct language. And I will also learn in the process.” I think that's so cool that a tiny conservative town can make those conversations possible.  

This article follows up on an earlier interview with Tanvi from November 2023.