There’s been a lot of chatter about prizes lately!
The ALA has added another children’s book award—and more diversity. The new Stonewall Award for Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award will be recognizing books for young readers relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender experience.
It’s Veteran’s Day, and we spent the morning listening to the sounds of the parade drift through our office windows.
ColorLines celebrated with a collection of photos of veterans and servicemen and women of color, including this one:
It’s Native American Heritage month, and do we ever have recommendations for you! You can go to our site and see all our Native American titles, but we’re going to highlight a couple of them today.
Sky Dancers is a majestic story of the Mohawk steal workers who built the skyscrapers of New York City, as seen through the eyes of a young boy. On weekends, John Cloud lives with his parents on the reservation in upstate New York, but during the week his father is off in the city. When his mother takes him to New York, John Cloud is proud to see his father high above the city on a crossbeam of the Empire State Building. The Art Deco-influenced art and John Cloud’s independent mind make this book stand as tall as a skyscraper.
Recently, I gave a presentation to a college class of future teachers. Their professor asked me: “What advice would you give a teacher who has introduced to her or his class a controversial book that has been challenged by a parent?” I am not sure the answer I gave at the time was a good one, but I have pondered the question some more and would like to offer a few suggestions.
Talk about what the book does well. Point out the main themes of the book and how it is important for today’s
children to learn about them in a safe environment. Our book Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan tells the story of a group of boys who escape the slaughter of their people in Sudan. I recall a reviewer, who was also a mother, stating that her child did not need to worry that she might come home one day and not find her parents there. I am a parent myself, and I can empathize with this sentiment. But being a New Yorker in a post 9/11 world, I know that bad things can happen to good, innocent people close to home. Brothers in Hope keeps the most grisly violence off the page, and while there are scary parts throughout the book, the story does an excellent job of emphasizing the fact that when faced with the most dire of circumstances, the boys organized, stuck together, and looked out for one another. The boys became a family in the absence of family, and what they accomplished is a testament to children’s courage and the inner strength that enabled them to face insurmountable odds and survive. Brothers in Hope is a sad story, but it teaches children about the world we live in and shows that even acts of extreme cruelty can lead to amazing acts of grace.
Starting us off this week, Speakeasy brings us five Asian American actors talking about their careers. They talk about the racial barriers that still exist, but also about how their hard work has landed them major roles.
American Latinos also face racial barriers, but a new study shows an interesting wrinkle: compared to people of Mexican, Dominican, or other Hispanic heritage, Puerto Ricans in New York City have worse education and employment rates. There are no clear explanations for why this would be the case, but the New York Times article looks at a few of the issues.
We read a lot about the often-fraught, often-politicized relationship between black women and girls and their hair. Today, however, we’re looking at a happy relationship between a black girl and her hair. From Sesame Street (via ColorLines):
It’s nearly Halloween, and instead of bemoaning how quickly the fall has gone and the imminence of winter, I’m going to celebrate instead: Halloween’s an excuse for literary costumes!
October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and there are lots of great resources to use in supporting children and teens who are being bullied. We have several books, including First Day in Grapes, Willie Wins, and Chess Rumble. The Department of Health has a Stop Bullying Now site, and the National Center for Bullying has its Kids Against Bullying site; both feature games, videos, and information aimed at elementary-school kids. There’s a brand-new resource for gay, lesbian, bi, and transgender teens: the It Gets Better Project, a collection of videos—most recorded by ordinary people, but also including videos by Hillary Rodham Clinton, President Obama, and other celebrities—encouraging young people to hold on and live, because life gets better after high school. We hope you’ll share your favorite resources in comments.
We know we’ve done something right when readers share their excitement for our books with the entire Internet. Amy Cheney, librarian at Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center, is one of those excited readers: she made a video with other staff at the ACJJC, all explaining why they love Yummy and why it’s great for the kids they work with every day.
