Amy Fornecker

Literacy, Culture, and Teaching

Reading
Critical Reading Paper #2
Book: SkippyJon Jones
by: Judy Schachner
Oftentimes when a critical perspective is a part of reading instruction in the
elementary grades, the texts used as exemplars for recognizing marginalized
perspectives are those that would be considered multicultural in nature. These books
are often written from the perspective of a character who is not White, and/or who does
not experience life in stereotypical, mainstream ways (Jones 115). The text that I have
chosen to analyze is the childrens book Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner. I had
originally discovered this text when it was donated to my classroom from a student and
her parents during the school book fair. I had previously heard of the Skippyjon Jones
franchise and often heard it referred to as funny, and the students seemed really
familiar with the text and excited to have a copy in their classroom. During dismissal that
day I had read the book for the first time to the class. Skippyjon Jones is the story of a
young and adventurous Siamese cat with a vivid imagination. After being sent to his
room, Skippyjon imaginarily transforms into a sword fighting Chihuahua named El
Skippito who resembles a Mexican Bandito. Skippyjon and his group of imaginary
Chihuahua friends, Los Chimichangos, meet up in old Mexico to have a fiesta, take a
siesta, and to make a plan to fight Alfredo Buzzito, the Bumblebeeto Bandito who is
stealing their frijoles or beans. The story ends with El Skippito sword fighting the
Bandito until all the stolen beans come bursting out of him and Skippyjon saves the

day. Throughout this paper I will be analyzing Skippyjon Jones by asking the following
questions: Who is the target audience of this text, what perspectives are privileged,
whose interests are being served, and how does culture, power, and literacy connect to
reading this text?
Firstly, the target audience of this text is young elementary school aged children.
I am able to read this intended audience because this book can be purchased from the
childrens book section of any book store. Moreover, Skippyjon Jones is a picture book
series and franchise that is popular amongst many young children. In addition, the
target audience of this book appears to be English speakers, and possibly English
speakers wanting to learn Spanish. This is evidenced by the use of Spanish words
and phrases throughout the book. Lastly, the target audience of this book may also be
white, middle class Americans, as the Skippyjon franchise includes several books,
stickers, and stuffed animals that are expensive to purchase.
Reading this book as an adult I felt positioned as both an insider and an outsider.
I first felt like an outsider as the story originally appeared multicultural and had several
Spanish words and phrases throughout. Also, I had heard of Skippyjon Jones
numerous several times before being given a copy, so I had felt like an outsider in that I
was unfamiliar with the story and its theme. Conversely, I also felt positioned as an
insider as I was reading the book as a teacher to a group of twenty first graders who
appeared excited about reading the book.
Secondly, what perspectives are privileged throughout this text? The privileging
of values of the middle class during literacy education is problematic (Jones 36). The
perspective that the following stereotypes and inaccurate representations of Spanish

speaking people are funny is privileged throughout this text: Spanish speaking people
speak in broken english, add -ito onto the ends of all their words, eat rice, beans, and
burritos, and speak a made-up version of English with invented words and phrases. The
aforementioned racial stereotypes presented throughout Skippyjon Jones are damaging
and perpetuate negative and erroneous beliefs about Mexicans, Mexican-Americans,
and ultimately any Spanish speaking people. Throughout the book the reader finds
several invented Spanish words and phrases such as maskito, yippito, bumblebeeto,
and Skippito. These words proliferate the stereotype that Mexican-Americans speak an
incorrect version of both Spanish and English by simply adding -ito onto the ends of
their words. Not only is this notion mocking towards Spanish-speaking people, but it
also presents inaccurate information and a mockery towards English-speaking people
who are learning Spanish. Also, the following quote from Skippyjon Jones highlights
how the stereotypes associated with incorrect English and accents are presented
throughout the book. Then, using his very best Spanish accent, he said, my ears are
too beeg for my head. My head ees too beeg for my body (Schachner). The fact that
the Skippyjon franchise is a lucrative and popular industry highlights the fact that these
perspectives are privileged. Also, the author of this book, Judy Schachner, is not
Mexican-American and, to the best of my understanding, does not speak Spanish. The
mere fact that a book that misrepresents an entire language and culture can be
popularized and found funny underscores the idea that the perspective that these
stereotypes is funny is valued and privileged throughout Skippyjon Jones.
Thirdly, whose interests are being served throughout this text? The interests of
the publisher and author are most definitely being served throughout this text. Both the

author and the publisher, either intentionally or unintentionally, continue to create,

market, and sell the Skippyjon Jones franchise by proliferating racial stereotypes
associated with Mexicans and Mexican-Americans.
Lastly, how does my reading connect to culture, power, and literacy? While
reading this text I noticed the influence of power within it. For example, Skippyjon Jones
perpetuates negative stereotypes surrounding Spanish-speaking people, and, at the
same time, is a lucrative and popular book series. With that said, this book, its author,
and publishers have the power to proliferate damaging racial stereotypes towards
Spanish-speaking people by continuing to inaccurately and offensively misrepresent a
culture and sell it to young children. Many of the children who have access to this book
are white and middle to upper middle class, and these children are most likely already
familiar with the stereotypes surrounding Mexican people, especially with the issues and
concerns around illegal immigration in the United States. Therefore, it is incredibly
important that the people within a position of power, writers and publishers, are
cognizant of how they are representing a culture that has been under a great deal of
scrutiny and often falls victim to negative stereotypes. Lastly, Skippyjon Jones connects
to literacy through the need for young children to develop strong critical reading skills.
An imperative part of engaging in critical literacies is to have the ability to read from
multiple perspectives and evaluate various perspectives in terms of social critique,
power, discrimination, and oppression (Jones 35 e.g., Kempe 1993).
In conclusion, Throughout this paper I analyzed the Skippyjon Jones picture book
by Judy Schachner by asking the questions: Who is the target audience of this text,
what perspectives are privileged, Whose interests are being served, and how does

culture, power, and literacy connect to reading this text? Throughout my critique I
found that Skippyjon Jones strongly proliferates negative and damaging stereotypes
associated with Spanish-speaking people, and does so from a position of power and
influence. In most classrooms students are not learning to be text analysts; they are not
questioning power relations in the text, stereotypes that are reproduced through text,
the multiple ways in which a text could have been constructed, and the ways in which a
text positions different readers (Jones 115). The Skippyjon Jones series is incredible
popular and appears to be here to stay. With that said, it is imperative that parents and
teachers encourage and formally teach critical literacy skills to young children.
Progressive beliefs and structures are not enough in trying to accurately describe
and/or become educated about a specific culture or language (Jones 114). It is
apparent that young children are faced with negative and inaccurate stereotypes about
cultures and languages, and they need to be explicitly taught tools for challenging the
stereotypes presented within the literacy classroom and ultimately the world around
them. Although this book does sometimes include the use of real Spanish words within
the correct context I still would not consider to book a multicultural text. Instead, within
my classroom, I would challenge students to note the negative stereotypes throughout
the book and give them the tools to challenge them.