We had a great virtual turnout for last week’s webinar, “A Discussion of Contemporary Native Children’s Literature” with authors Traci Sorell (Indian No More) and Carla Messinger (When the Shadbush Blooms). If you missed it live (or just want to watch again), you can access the webinar below, or here on YouTube. Keep reading for links to resources and booklists shared during the webinar.
Tag Archives: Native American
Free Upcoming Webinar: A Discussion of Contemporary Native Children’s Literature
For many years, Native people have been silenced, their stories set aside, hidden, or drowned out. That’s why it’s especially critical to read stories about Native characters, told in Native voices. What’s equally important is to showcase contemporary Native texts centering Native people in the here and now.
Join us for a webinar on Thursday, November 12 at 4:00 PM ET as we discuss high-quality, contemporary Native literature, classroom applications, and ways to make sure that you are teaching about modern Native history authentically and accurately in your relevant setting.
Authors Traci Sorell (Indian No More), and Carla Messinger (When the Shadbush Blooms), will share their insights, experiences and knowledge about their writing processes, tips and strategies for selecting quality Native literature, and applicable classroom activities.
Whether you are an educator, librarian, or parent, this webinar will provide you with tangible steps for analyzing and selecting contemporary Native children’s literature for your relevant setting.
Date: Thursday, November 12, 2020
Time: 4:00 PM ET
Duration: 1 hour
How to Join: Register here.
Registration is free, but space is limited so register today! If you can’t join live, you can still register to receive a link to the recording after the webinar takes place.
Hope to see you there!
Where Is the Diversity in Publishing? The 2019 Diversity Baseline Survey Results
The Diversity Baseline Survey (DBS 2.0) was created by Lee & Low Books with co-authors Laura M. Jiménez, PhD, Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development and Betsy Beckert, graduate student in the Language and Literacy Department of Wheelock College of Education & Human Development
Lee & Low Books released the first Diversity Baseline Survey (DBS 1.0) in 2015. Before the DBS, people suspected publishing had a diversity problem, but without hard numbers, the extent of that problem was anyone’s guess. Our goal was to survey publishing houses and review journals regarding the racial, gender, sexual orientation, and ability makeup of their employees; establish concrete statistics about the diversity of the publishing workforce; and then build on this information by reissuing the survey every four years. Through these long-term efforts, we would be able to track what progress our industry shows over time in improving representation and inclusion. Continue reading
“The People Shall Continue” by Simon J. Ortiz Returns to Print
Lee & Low Books is thrilled to share that we will be bringing back to print The People Shall Continue, Simon J. Ortiz’s beloved children’s book tracing the history of Native and Indigenous people in North America. The book will be released in paperback in October 2017 in a new 40th Anniversary Special Edition, with updated illustrations and a new afterword by the author. It will also be available in a Spanish translation, simultaneously published.
The Miseducation of Native American Students
In this guest post, excerpted from an original post at EdWeek and 
reposted here with permission, author and editor Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz discusses the dehumanizing myths and misconceptions that hurt Native students. Currently, more than 600,000 Native American students attend our nation’s K-12 public schools. Continue reading
Plan Your Month Roundup: November Books
Can you believe it’s almost November? The autumn season is officially underway which means the holidays are right around the corner! Plan out your month with these book recommendations and resources to get you ready for the holiday season!
Continue reading
Interview: Shana Mlawski on the History Surrounding Christopher Columbus
In Hammer of Witches fourteen-year-old bookmaker’s apprentice Baltasar, pursued by a secret witch-hunting arm of the Inquisition, joins Columbus’s expedition to escape and discovers secrets about his own past that his family had tried to keep hidden. In this BookTalk, Shana Mlawski shares her views on Christopher Columbus, working with students and what she’d wish for if she had three wishes.
Celebrating 25 Books Over 25 Years: Jim Thorpe’s Bright Path
LEE & LOW BOOKS celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and to recognize how far the company has come, we are featuring one title a week to see how it is being used in classrooms today as well, as hear from the authors and illustrators.
Today, we are celebrating Jim Thorpe’s Bright Path, an inspirational story for children of all backgrounds. A biography of the legendary Native American Jim Thorpe (1888–1953), voted the Greatest Football Player and Greatest Athlete of the Half-Century by two AP polls, focusing on his early childhood and how school and sports shaped his future. Continue reading
The Heart of Writing: The Revision Process
It’s August and with the New Voices Award deadline approaching in just seven weeks, participating writers may be starting to feel the heat. No sweat! The New Voices Award blog post series has got you covered from the summer sun of stress.
At this stage, you’ve probably got your cover letter and story written down. You’ve also read July’s post on the importance of voice in a story and made your narrative even more engaging to readers. Congrats! That’s two essential checks on the New Voices To-do list –but don’t seal the envelope just yet! Now that your story is down it’s time to begin the revision process.
Revision is an important part of the writing experience. It’s about revisiting what you’ve written, identifying what needs to be strengthened, and rewriting to improve your story. Every writer’s revision process is different so to provide some guidance we interviewed two New Voices Award Winners, Linda Boyden (The Blue Roses) and Jennifer Torres (Finding the Music/ En pos de la musica), about how their revision processes helped them prepare their stories for the New Voices Award.
The Diversity Gap in the Tony Awards, 1982-2015
This year’s Tony Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, June 12, 2016. We posted our first infographic and study on the Diversity Gap in the Tony Awards in 2013. In 2014, we did a brief follow-up post. In 2015-2016, there was such a pronounced uptick of diverse productions on Broadway that we felt it was worth updating our infographic and taking another look at diversity in the theater industry.
This year, Broadway megahit Hamilton—which almost exclusively stars actors of color—broke Tony records with a whopping 16 nominations. Add to that nominations for The Color Purple, Eclipsed, and Shuffle Along, and we’re in a year where conceivably all the main acting Tonys could go to people of color. But is this year’s diversity a sign of lasting change, or an anomaly? To find out, we touched base again with award-winning writer, actor, and director Christine Toy Johnson to get her take on the current state of diversity in theater. Welcome, Christine! Continue reading