Hard Ball Press Spotlight: ‘Little Meena and the Big Swim’
"Little Meena and the Big Swim" teaches children about the power of unionization and collective action.
By Joe Maniscalco
Imagine how much better the challenge of organizing the workplace would be if there was a strong sense of collective action and common cause already instilled in the workforce.
More workers growing up in the early 1980s, when union density in the United States stood at 20.1 percent, entered into adulthood well understanding how the good union jobs their moms and dads held helped to keep the family secure and whole during turbulent times.
Today, that union density figure has plummeted to just 10 percent of the total workforce and the labor movement has become a reclamation and reconstruction project still in need of a strong counterweight to the “greed is good” narrative pervasive in American society since the Reagan era.
As fantastic as it may at first appear, a tiny striped sun fish named “Meena” actually holds the key to providing a fresh new generation of working class heroes with the philosophic underpinnings they need to take on the bosses and demand their fair share.
The big greedy fish (corporate bosses) take over the Rainbow Mound feeding grounds for themselves.
“Little Meena and the Big Swim” written and illustrated by Dr. Lorna Gonsalves is Hard Ball Press’ latest children’s book to artfully feature the core union principles of organizing, militancy, class solidarity, and justice in a way children and their parents can enjoy reading together.
When a cartel of big greedy fish shows up and takes over the Rainbow Mound feeding grounds, the diminutive denizens living around the site are seemingly left with no other choice but to scram.
“Go away, you striped and speckled brats!” they are told. “You don’t belong here!”
Desperately hungry, the small fish wonder what they can possibly do against the much bigger fish who have claimed Rainbow Mound’s food supply for themselves.
"Little Meena and the Big Swim’s” scenario serves as a none-too-perfect analog to the situation many non-unionized workers feel in today’s oppressive economy.
Bullied and alone, they also feel there’s not much they can do in the face of the seemingly all-powerful corporate class—just like those tiny fish living around Rainbow Mound.
Meena and her friends remember what Grandma Reen taught them about "The Big Swim."
But with their tummies rumbling, the tiny fish living around Rainbow Mound turn to each other for guidance and support—and together their collective hunger quickly turns to defiance.
“That’s it,” little Meena declares. “They can’t keep pushing us away! There’s plenty of food for all of us! We must do something!”
Together they learn—thanks to the knowledge passed down from Grandma Reen—that there used to be something called “The Big Swim.”
Outside the storybook, “The Big Swim” equates to collective action—it represents walk outs and work stoppages. It represents the power of the strike.
One of the most stirring moments in “Little Meena and the Big Swim” occurs when Meena and her multi-colored friends and family coalesce into one gigantic organism that is more than big and powerful enough to chase away the greedy bullies from the Rainbow Mound feeding grounds forever.
"The Big Swim" in action--the working class' most powerful weapon against greedy corporate bosses.
With her background in academia and as a former crisis counselor, Dr. Gonsalves says her experience living in both India and the United States has underscored the centrality of storytelling and collective action in building a just world for working class families.
“Why did one of the greedy fish refer to Meena and her friends as “striped and speckled brats?” one of the the discussion questions backing up Dr. Gonsalves' story asks. “Was he saying that they did not belong there because of their external markings?”
Another asks, “What does solidarity mean? How can joining others in solidarity be like having superpowers?”
Couldn't have organized 'The Big Swim" without you, Grandma Reen!
In the immediate aftermath of “The Big Swim,” Meena tells Grandma Reen that without her—she and her pal Riddy could not have successfully led the action that drove the big greedy fish out of Rainbow Mound once and for all.
The acknowledgement couldn’t be more salient for today’s union organizers whose task would be made a whole lot easier with a little bit more early eduction.
Click here to order copies of "Little Meena and the Big Swim" direct from Hard Ball Press. Hudson Valley resident Dr. Lorna Gonsalves is also available to lead reading and discussion events for audiences of all ages. Contact Hard Ball Press Publisher Tim Sheard at info@hardballpress.com for more information.