Mario Goes to the Museum
Dr. Rebecca Dupas is an educator and author from Louisiana with extensive experience in instruction, workshop facilitation, training design, and professional development for youth and adult learners. Her work bridges her passion for education with storytelling, crafting meaningful narratives that inspire conversation and reflection.
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After completing her doctoral program, Dr. Dupas returned to creative writing, culminating in the children’s book Mario Goes to the Museum. The story draws from her experiences as a classroom teacher, museum educator, and diversity training researcher. Through Mario’s fictional journey, she addresses cultural history and the father-son bond while exploring the wonder—and challenges—of museums, especially for children of color.
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Reflecting on the book, Dr. Dupas shares:
"I wanted to tell the story of a young boy visiting a museum for the first time, highlighting the wonder and intimidation museums can evoke, especially for children of color. At the same time, it was important to depict a beautiful father-son bond while addressing Mario's exposure to African history and American Slavery. The story is layered, just as I hope the conversations around it will be."
BOOK REVIEWS
This is a wonderfully written and illustrated book. It reads like a fun and educational journey to prepare a child for what to expect when heading to the museum and a how-to narrative for a parent/guardian/carer taking a child on that trip. There are parts of this book that are surprisingly moving, and it is evident that careful attention was paid to every image in this book. This is a wonderful addition to any child's library.
C. HAYDEN via Amazon
Mario arrived in Canada yesterday and introduced some very important topics to my seven-year olds! They loved the images and could relate the story to their own museum visits. I’m so thankful for the gentle introduction to the topic of slavery...
C. ENGELHARDT via Facebook
This is an engaging, educational, and moving book about one child’s journey to understand history - and his place in it - during his first trip to a museum. I loved the relationship between Mario and his dad! I enjoyed watching Mario learn why there are rules and then to begin feeling more comfortable in a space that could very easily be overwhelming. So, in addition to being entertaining, I could see this book easily being useful as a “prep” for families taking their kid(s) to a museum for the first time.
The illustrations are simply stunning! Absolutely gorgeous. I can only imagine what this book means for Black children to be able to see themselves in its pages. I’m White and I can’t wait to introduce my future children to Mario one day so that they can learn from him.
In so many ways, this book teaches empathy, curiosity, and love!
J. NEWSOME via Amazon