By: Tasslyn MagnussonWay back in July Residency, Judi Marcin explained she was planning to challenge herself and purchase one diverse book a month because, as she explained, publishing is a business and the best way to promote the business of authors is to purchase their books.I decided I'd try this challenge as well. Taking the time to think about where I spend my book money seemed like a very concrete way for me to act on my belief that the publishing industry - and its products, books - need to reflect their readers. What this challenge became was a by the seat of my pants education in the questions of diversity that are a critical part of the children's literature world. So - here's a little trip to review the books I purchased last semester. Like many of you probably, we don't have an endless book budget. I've got to make choices. You'll find my choices fall into essentially three categories - Your book has something I want to learn more about, I met you and want to know more about your writing, I was drawn to your book because of a line or the cover.
So - what are you reading? Did you buy a diverse author's book? Or a book with diverse characters? I'm going to continue this commitment to purchase at least one diverse book per month - but this time I'm going to attempt some more systematic choosing. Don't know quite what it is yet - but hopefully in six months, I'll be able to share again and let you know what it became.
By Judi MarcinWelcome to our first diverse book discussion of 2016! Since February is National African American History Month, we are focusing our choices this month on works that celebrate this theme. Some folks requested a guide for our book discussions, so team MFAC Pride came up with the following questions to explore. We hope this format will make things easier for the writers, as well as encouraging more of you to participate in our weekly blogs. By having a monthly theme for topics along with a guided discussion, we look to improve our collective exposure and engagement with books highlighting marginalized writers and story- lines. 1) Why did you pick this particular book? 2) What kept you reading? 3) What new awareness/insight do you have about diversity/social justice after reading this book? 4) What element of craft stood out to you? 5) To whom would you recommend this book?
. Inspired by the story of We Love Bam and Marley Dias, we decided to donate $250 of your donated money to the #1000BlackGirlBooks Drive. Marley Dias noticed that the books she was being offered were of white boys and their dogs. Marley wanted to make a difference and began a drive to get 1,000 books with African American girls delivered to a library in a poor rural part of Jamaica! Way to go Hamline University MFAC!
We need more diverse books. But as writers we need to ask ourselves important questions:
My Perspective:
By: Beth Spencewood
By reading the cover and author’s note, I learned that the words of this book are based on the Thanksgiving Address, a traditional thanking of Mother Earth given at ceremonial and governmental gatherings by the Haudenosaunee people, also known as the Iroquois or Six Nations-- Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. The author has given the address around the world, including at the United Nations.
By: Ailynn Knox-Collins
By: Claire Rudolf Murphy
Before I continue with my diverse thoughts, I’d like to also direct you to Betsy Bird’s thorough and more traditional review on her excellent Fuse Blog: blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2015/07/02/review-of-the-day-the-case-for-loving-by-selina-alko-and-sean-qualls/.
This historic case is an important part of the civil rights movement. I believe that it essential that kids understand how this history affects them today, especially in our increasingly diverse nation. Mildred Loving says it best. As I was researching the court case, I found lesson plans for high school history students with goals such as:
Challenging, but important goals. This picture book gets young readers started on a path of empathy and connection to life today. What a gift to us all.
by: Judi Marcin
By: Venus Bradley
This review will be featured on Children's Atheneum on December 2nd! Please visit Venus Bradley's Blog.
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