Get to Know Your Skatepark Gnomes
By Abe Dubin

Like a skateboarding Willy Wonka, Abe Dubin adds a children’s book of pomes (sic) and gnome illustrations to his expanding repertoire of artistic world-building. Like his parts with Fancy Lad, personal video work, board contraptions, or fine art, Abe imagines an alternate form of our reality through the lens of skateboarding. Each page of this classically sized and printed volume features vivid, full-color images of fantastical, tiny gnomes that inhabit the obstacles of your local skatepark. The deceptively complex and wordy limerick-like poems accompanying them mimic their zany take on the self-enclosed fantasyland of skateboarding. Fun and whimsical as they are, they do call to mind the flow-like feel of getting into the groove on a skateboard, an out-of-body experience that feels as if you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole into a new place.

The illustrations stand out on their own as bold sketch-like cartoons. They do a great job of blending modern illustration technology with classic 80s and 90s style, employing older graphic design techniques like primary colors and simple shapes to lead the eye along the page. The poems are interspersed into the negative space of the declarative drawings. Along with such lyrical turns of phrase like “I am Alfie / I live on the A-Frame / The A is for Alfie / That’s where the ramp gets its name,” the book can’t help but draw positive comparisons to Dr. Seuss, in content as well as its physicality. With its sturdy construction and thick, matte paper, Get to Know Your Skatepark Gnomes is instant nostalgia in itself for anyone who has ever had a favorite childhood picture or poetry book. 

–Abada

The Censorship of LaVada Weir

By Natalie Porter

Censorship of books and authors is nothing new, especially when political powers have a warped view of intellectual freedom, and their sense of entitlement is both arrogant and insecure, desperate to control how and what people think and limit their access to diverse stories.

When I read an article in the Daily Breeze newspaper on February 21, 1980, called “Censorship charges threaten program: Authors battle with schools,” I was surprised that LaVada Weir was included in a list of authors banned by the Torrance School District. It seemed comical. LaVada wrote two manuals on skateboarding – Skateboards and Skateboarding: the complete beginner’s guide (1977) and Advanced Skateboarding (1979).

LaVada’s beginner book was promoted by the Torrance Area Reading Council, which included teachers, librarians, and literacy instructors, but the School District wasn’t having it. Her book was rejected because they decided skateboarding was too dangerous and they knew what was best for children. Other books included Chasing Trouble by Harriet Luger about a girl accused of school vandalism, and Beyond Another Door by Sonia Levitin about a girl with psychic powers who discovers she is an illegitimate child, and that topic was considered X-rated. 

LaVada stated, “To me, this is discriminating against books on the basis of ill-informed information, lack of knowledge. At least 50 reviews on my skateboarding book from across the country talk about how safety-conscious the book would make the child. So why can’t I discuss it?” LaVada considered the lack of dialogue reminiscent of the Dark Ages. The book evaluator insisted he was against censorship but was only following the school board’s code on evaluation, “which one teacher called ‘ridiculously conservative.’” 

This scenario seems tame compared to today, with the shaming, firing, and death threats delivered to librarians and LGBTQ2S+ authors by organized, vigilante “concerned parent” groups who manipulate the public into thinking stories of diversity for children are somehow pornographic. But when book censors and school districts justify their actions by hiding behind statements that they are only “following the rules,” that’s a sign of authoritarianism, which leads to nothing good.

Children (all children) need to see themselves represented in books, where they can also learn about empathy and acceptance of difference, experience the magic of reading, and even imagine themselves living courageous lives, like learning to skateboard! Support your local library today, and if you’re a parent, be that voice of reason at your child’s school because their freedom depends on it.

She won’t shout it from the rooftops, so we will. Natalie’s book is finally coming out. We’ll have a proper review soon, but you should just know that it’s going to be awesome, so pre-order it now.

Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides: A History of Badass Women Skateboarders by Natalie Porter

What others are saying about Natalie’s new book…

“A take-everywhere-and-read-it book that is an accomplished and accessible piece of research. Each chapter — which showcases the personal reflections, anecdotes, and backstories of remarkable women — is a banger. All thriller, no filler. Natalie Porter shreds through the grip-taped ceiling, which has often held back or obscured women’s contributions in skateboarding.” — Dr. Indigo Willing, sociologist and lead researcher of Skate, Create, Educate and Regenerate and co-author of Skateboarding, Power and Change

“With sharp research and a keen eye for the overlooked change-maker, Natalie Porter masterfully presents stories that document the fact that women have always been skateboarding, despite being routinely left out of the narrative. Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides entertains and enlightens — a must read.” — Betsy Gordon, curator of Ramp It Up: Skateboarding Culture in Native America and co-author of Four Wheels and a Board: The Smithsonian History of Skateboarding

“Reading Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides grounded me in a history I never knew I was part of. Natalie Porter has revealed just how many women came before me who built scenes, shaped culture, and pushed boundaries. This book reclaims a legacy that was always there but had been buried or erased. Thank you, Natalie, for giving us back our past and lighting the way forward.” — Annie Guglia, Olympic skateboarder

AND…

Check out Natalie on Beyond Boards: Episode 105. If you aren’t aware of the awesome work that Quentin Delille is doing with Beyond Boards, it’s time to catch up, and Natalie’s episode is as good a place to start as any.