Author: CBCbooks
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We Need More
Contributed by Ashley Herring Blake, Author
I recently started working in an indie bookstore. The great thing about this job, aside from being surrounded by beautiful books all day long, is that it gets me out of my writer brain and back in touch with my reader brain. I work mostly in the kid’s section, and every day customers come in with very specific requests. I’ve noticed a lot of the teens who frequent the young adult section don’t ask for recommendations all that much, but the middle grade and advancing readers section is a cornucopia of parents looking for certain books or certain topics for their kids.
The other day, I had a mom ask me for a book with a trans character for a first grader.
And let me tell you, I scratched my head for a few seconds. We talked about some of the picture books we had—and we do have a couple, though none of them struck the right chord with this mother—and finally, I moved into our advancing readers section.
I picked up Alex Gino’s George.
I explained that she’d probably have to read this to her first grader, but that George was a beautiful book about a trans girl in the third grade named Melissa who, more than anything in the world, wanted to play Charlotte in her school’s production of Charlotte’s Web. I told her about how Melissa wasn’t out to her family and they called her “George.” We talked about how Melissa gets made fun of a little bit, but we also talked about how Melissa makes a friend who accepts Melissa for who she is and how, eventually, so does Melissa’s family. The mother beamed after we talked it through and she left the store with the book in her hands.
Now, I don’t know that mother’s story. I don’t know if her first grader is trans or has a trans friend or a trans cousin or what have you. What I do know is that by writing George, Alex Gino was able to connect a mom and her kid in a way that no other book could. The book was able to provide a mirror for someone, a really, really young someone, who might be feeling lost and alone and scared. There are many reasons to feel lost and alone and scared when you’re in elementary school: divorced parents, a death in the family, difficult or changing friendships. All of these are valid and the books that deal with these issues are important too.
But here’s the difference: There are a lot of books about divorce, death, and friendships out there.And in the end, I only had one book to put in that mother’s hands. After talking with this mother, the children’s book manager at my store found some more books about trans kids for younger readers and ordered them, and that is excellent, but we need more options. We need more trans picture books. We need more chapter books where the main character has two moms or two dads. We need more middle grade stories where the main character is figuring out they’re not quite as boy crazy as her best friend is. We need more young adult novels with bisexual main characters, and trans main characters, and gay main characters, and asexual main characters. We need more intersectionality in LGBTQIAP+ literature, where our queer characters—for all ages—are also people of color.
Those books are out there and that is fabulous. But we need more.
So, how do we get more?
Well, we write them. We write them with sensitivity and love and respect. If those stories are our own, we tell them. If they are not, we boost those to whom those stories belong. We do the work and get our work checked and rechecked so that it comforts instead of harms. As readers, we buy these books. We request them at our libraries. We tell our friends about them, we tweet about them, we tell anyone who’ll listen.
I believe the world is changing for the better. It’s not becoming more diverse. It has always been this beautifully varied. But we are illuminating those stories more and more. But that will only continue if we keep on questioning, keep on boosting, keep on writing and reading and talking about those mirrors for the kids who need it.
Let’s keep it going.
Ashley Herring Blake used to write songs and now she writes books. She reads them a lot too and has been known to stare wistfully at her bookshelves. She lives in Nashville, TN with her husband and two sons. www.ashleyherringblake.com
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Diversity in the News: October 2016
The newsletter is a valuable resource for librarians, teachers, booksellers, parents and caregivers, publishing professionals, and children’s literature lovers. Find thought-provoking articles, diverse new releases, and more in this month’s issue and sign …
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Reading Habits of Young Boys
Professor of Educational and Social Research at the University of Dundee Keith Topping conducted two of the largest studies ever into boys’ reading habits. Topping found that boys read less thoroughly, …
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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Launches First K-12 Curricula Built from the Ground Up to Address Next Generation Science Standards
BOSTON, MA — Global learning company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) today 27announced the release of HMH Science Dimensions™, the first comprehensive K-12 science curriculum created specifically to meet the new …
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First Book and Celebrated Children’s Author Pat Mora Honor Texas School with Estela and Raúl Mora Award
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sonia M. Sotomayor Early College High School in Pharr, Texas, will receive the 2016 Estela and Raúl Mora Award, an honor given by award-winning children’s author Pat …
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Candlewick Press Partners with Nonprofits in Celebration of 25 Years of Maisy
Maisy campaigns planned with The Molina Foundation, Nemours Reading BrightStart! and United Through Reading SOMERVILLE, MA, October 25, 2016 – With more than 35 million copies sold around the world, Lucy …
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Accolades for Story Monsters Ink™
The magazine, which caters to kids and adults alike with featured interviews from beloved children’s book creators, has won the Mom’s Choice Gold Award and stellar reviews from School Library Journal and others. …
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CBC TO OFFER SCHOLARSHIPS TO TWO ENTRY-LEVEL PUBLISHING STAFF FOR ABA INSTITUTES
Tuesday, October 25, 2016 — New York, NY — The Children’s Book Council announces that applications are now open for any entry-level employees at CBC member publishers to apply for one …
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St. Martin’s Press Launches New Crossover, Coming-Of-Age Imprint, Wednesday Books
New York, NY — St. Martin’s Press is proud to announce the launch of Wednesday Books, a new crossover, coming-of-age imprint that will publish books for both the adult and …
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National Ambassador Gene Luen Yang’s Reading Without Walls Podcast: Episode 7 with Lois Lowry
Through his platform, “Reading Without Walls,” Yang hopes to inspire readers of all ages to pick up a book outside their comfort zone. In episode seven of his podcast, Yang chats with Newbery …
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Five Debuts on the NYT Children’s Best Sellers Lists
The following books made the list: Middle Grade Paperback: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (Puffin) Children’s Picture Books: We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen (Candlewick) Jungle created by Dan Kainen, …
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The Enduring Importance of Libraries
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Nominees Announced For Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2017
Stockholm, Sweden — We in the jury are very much looking forward to learning more about the works and the activities of the candidates, says professor Westin after making the announcement. …
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CBC Forum: Making a Bestseller
Panelists Louise Lareau, managing librarian at the Children’s Center at 42nd Street; Emily Romero, senior v-p of marketing, Penguin Young Readers; and Maria Russo, children’s books editor of the New York …
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Penguin Young Readers Acquires Three New Miss Peregrine Novels From #1 Bestselling Author Ransom Riggs
New York, NY — Dutton Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, has acquired three new books in the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series. The new story arc, set …
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Announcing YALSA’s 2016 Teens’ Top Ten
Alive by Chandler Baker (Disney/Hyperion) All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (Random House/Alfred A. Knopf) The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Books) Six …
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Library Hosts Online Conference for Educators
As the new school year gets into full swing, the Library of Congress will bring teachers and education experts from across the nation together in its second annual online conference …
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Industry Q &A with Author Jill Diamond
Tell us about your most recent book and how you came to write/illustrate it.
Lou Lou and Pea and the Mural Mystery is about two best friends, Lou Lou Bombay and Peacock Pearl. Lou Lou loves horticulture and Pea loves art. Every Friday afternoon, they get together in Lou Lou’s backyard garden for their PSPP (Post-School-Pre-Parents) tea party. They chat about school, discuss Pea’s latest fashions, and plot the weekend’s activities.
But all plans go out the window when a series of small crimes crop up around El Corazón, their quirky neighborhood, right before the Día de los Muertos procession. First, Pea’s cousin’s quinceañera dress is tragically ruined. Then Lou Lou’s beloved camellia bush, Pinky, suffers a serious blow. And that’s just the beginning! When clues start to appear in El Corazón’s outdoor murals, the best friends join forces, using Lou Lou’s floral expertise and Pea’s artistic genius to solve the mysteries.
This is my first middle grade novel, and I began working on it when I was caring for my mom during an illness. My mom was a school librarian who cultivated my love of reading, so I felt that writing a children’s book was a fitting way to spend my time. I wanted to tell a story inspired by my neighborhood, San Francisco’s Mission District, and its amazing community art, food, traditions, and local culture.
Do you think of yourself as a diverse author/illustrator?
I think of myself as an author from a diverse community. I am fortunate to live in a place where I am surrounded by a rainbow of different people who are my friends and neighbors. Being a part of this diverse community enriches my life immeasurably.
Part of that enrichment has been the improvement of my Spanish. But I’m not fluent, so I felt it was important to ask for help when I included Spanish dialogue or words in the book. My editor commissioned a native Spanish speaker to read the manuscript and provide us with feedback. So you could say I combined lived experience with research!
Who is your favorite character of all time in children’s or young adult literature?
It’s a toss-up! Alanna of Trebond from The Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce is definitely a favorite. I love that she is a fierce and fearless girl who refuses to let naysayers and social norms stand in the way of her dreams.
Naima from Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins is another favorite. Like Alanna, Naima is brave and strong, and even dresses like a boy to pursue goals that are not usually achievable by women in her village. Naima’s commitment to her family and her determination to make things right also really speaks to me.
Hypothetically speaking, let’s say you are forced to sell all of the books you own except for one. Which do you keep?
Sell all of my books? I can’t imagine! But if I had to, I’d keep The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. It’s the perfect combination of smart, entertaining, and charming. And it’s truly a book that can be read over and over again.
What does diversity mean to you as you think about your own books?
Diversity, at least for Lou Lou And Pea, means a representation of the culture of my neighborhood as I experience it. My book incorporates Spanish language and Latinx characters, as well as related traditions inspired by ones that exist in the Mission. I think it’s important to note that my book is only based on a part of my city’s overall diverse community.
I also felt strongly about writing a story that was fun and celebratory with regard to its diversity. The Mission is very proud of its heritage, and I hoped to infuse this series with that joy. While there is a need for stories that explore prejudice and systemic injustices, I didn’t feel I could write that kind of book. To me, Pea and Lou Lou’s differing backgrounds should not be a surprise, but a matter of course. There are a growing number of communities in this country that are overwhelmingly diverse. And that’s very exciting.
What is your thought process in including or excluding characters of diverse backgrounds?
I never considered not including diverse characters in my book. A story inspired by the Mission that failed to reflect its diversity would not capture its vibrant reality. Many of the things I love about the neighborhood stem from its diversity.
I also wanted both girls to receive equal stage-time in the series. Too often, characters of color get sidelined in a story. I believe Lou Lou and Pea’s friendship is fun, supportive, and equitable. And while each book in the series alternates in featuring one of the two girls more prominently, they always work together to solve the mystery or problem at hand.
If you are an author, write an example of a paragraph that is tone deaf when it comes to cultural diversity, then write the correct version. Explain the differences in the third paragraph.
The crowning event of the holiday was a fun parade. At twilight, the streets around Lucky Alley would be packed with people holding boxes filled with trinkets and photos. Some people brought pretty flowers and others wore Halloween face paint and costumes.
The crowning event of Día de los Muertos was the procession. At twilight, the streets around Lucky Alley would be packed with people and their elaborate altars displaying candles, mementos, favorite foods, and photos of departed loved ones. Flowers were abundant, particularly marigolds, which were used to guide spirits to their altars. Many people even painted their faces to look like skeletons for the procession.
Both of these paragraphs are descriptions of the Día de los Muertos procession in my neighborhood. The first describes how the procession might look to an outside observer, but it is tone deaf because it fails to include any cultural signifiers as they relate to the holiday. The second – the actual description from Lou Lou and Pea - explains more about the traditions, as I understand them as a part of my community. To a certain extent it is relative: A Día de los Muertos procession in Mexico would surely be described differently and, not having experienced this event, I couldn’t pretend that my paragraph paints an accurate picture of another city’s traditions, or even another person’s experience of the procession in the Mission. That’s why attention to specifics and context is crucial in writing, but especially when writing beyond your own background.
Jill Diamond has loved children’s literature for as long as she can remember, thanks to her school librarian mother and the long, cold winters in Maine. She now lives in San Francisco with her husband and her son. Visit her at www.jilldiamondbooks.com
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Debut on the Indie Bestsellers List
Children’s Illustrated: We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen (Candlewick)
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Little, Brown Books For Young Readers to Publish Debut Picture Book by Nobel Peace Prize-Winner Malala Yousafzai
20New York, NY — Megan Tingley, Executive Vice President and Publisher, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, announced today the acquisition of Malala’s Magic Pencil, the debut picture book by Nobel …
