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  • “Please don’t turn this into a teenage romance”: Lois Lowry on Hollywood’s Adaptation of ‘The Giver’

    NYT: “‘The Giver,’ like much contemporary Y.A., has a totalitarian setting, although the society was designed to be an egalitarian utopia.”LL: “People do things that turn out badly, often for …

  • Dear Book Publishers: Letters from the 5th Grade

    At the beginning of 2014, the Diversity Committee finished its first meeting of the year with answering the questions “How do we want to move forward?” and “What perspectives haven’t we covered on the blog just yet?” After discussing some of the interesting high points of 2013, one aspect kept sticking out.

    The committee loves hearing from actual kids.

    The term “actual” is important here because we’re referring to hearing kids’ and teens’ opinions, not their “collective” opinions through librarians and teachers—the adults in their lives with which publishers are more likely to communicate.

    We all know that kids have opinions, and they are very honest about them, so the Committee wanted to find a way to give the youth of our nation a way to speak up about the diversity in the literature they see, what they want more of, and what they want to change.

    Serendipitously, Rebecca Lallier, M.Ed., the School Counselor for the Dothan Brook School in Vermont found the Children’s Book Council and presented a project she facilitated with the school’s 5th graders. Here’s the project in Rebecca’s words:

    In the late winter of 2014, 5th graders at the Dothan Brook School in White River Junction, Vermont completed a unit on implicit racism during their classroom counseling lessons. As a culminating activity, students replicated a 2012 study by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin by collecting data about the race of main characters in children’s fiction picture books in the school library’s collection. A subgroup of students also collected data about the race of children featured on Kindergarten Second Step cards. They compared the data they had collected with the results of the CCBC 2012 study and data about children and race from the 2010 U.S. Census. Using this data and the information that they had learned about implicit racism, the fifth graders wrote letters to decision-­‐makers (their choice of the school principal, district superintendent, the Vermont Agency of Education, or book publishers) outlining the issues they had uncovered and making recommendations for addressing these issues.

    Dothan Brook School is a small, rural school of 263 kids that is socioeconomically and ability diverse with a variety of family structures. That being said, the school’s racial/ethnic diversity is very small.

    Native American: 0%

    African American: 1.5%

    Asian/Pacific Islander: 1.9%

    Latino: 3.4%

    Multiracial: 4.2%

    White/Caucasian: 88.9%

    Most of the kids who are racial/ethnic minorities have White/Caucasian parents, and all of the staff is White/Caucasian. These numbers are very representative of Vermont, where 95.2% of the population is in the racial majority.

    The project fits perfectly with the CBC’s goal of sharing young readers’ thoughts about diversity in children’s literature with the world and what perfect timing to do this before the next school year unfolds. 

    For the month of August, we’ll be sharing every letter the 46 5th graders at the Dothan Brook School wrote to decision-makers about the diversity they encountered during their unit and their thoughtful suggestions for change.

    We hope you’ll share their letters, too, so that their opinions on the reading material created for them might make a difference as well as show other kids that their thoughts and ideas matter and deserve to be heard.

  • Happy Birthday to the Original Miss Rumphius, Barbara Cooney!

    Of all the books I have done, ‘Miss Rumphius,’ ‘Island Boy,’ and ‘Hattie and the Wild Waves,’ are the closest to my heart. These three are as near as I …

  • ‘We Need Diverse Books’ to Launch a Diversity in the Classroom Initiative

    WNDB has formed a partnership with First Book and the National Education Association’s Read Across America program. Together, they will launch the Diversity in the Classroom initiative. Every month, students …

  • No Storytelling Rules: Fan Fiction

    “The generation of teens who grew up reading ‘Harry Potter’ is embracing fandom and fueling events such as LeakyCon, an annual convention for fans of many stripes that convened in Orlando, …

  • ‘Lost’ Dr. Seuss Stories Are Found!

    This follow-up to The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories features familiar Seussian faces and places — including Horton the Elephant, Marco, Mulberry Street, and a Grinch — as well as an …

  • Disney to Shoot an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Sequel Film

    James Bobin will sit in the director’s seat. Linda Woolverton wrote the script. Tim Burton, the director of the first film, is stepping in as an executive producer. Danny Elfman …

  • Free Speech Groups Launch “Cameron Post” Essay Contest For Delaware High School Students In Response to Book Censorship

    NEW YORK, NY – Eight organizations concerned about free speech and education are inviting high school students in Delaware to write a 250-500 word essay saying what they think school board …

  • Tor Books to Re-Publish a George R.R. Martin Children’s Story

    “The book has been out of print in the U.S. for several years, but its mythology will be recognizable to fans of Martin’s other work. The author’s website notes that …

  • Does Young Adult Literature Need a Little Less ‘Katniss Everdeen’?

    Some of the authors pointed out that female characters who don’t fit the “strong and perfect” profile are usually not seen as feminists. These writers feel that young adult stories …

  • Happy Birthday, Harry Potter!

    Harry Potter Party, anyone?

  • ‘The Day the Crayons Quit’ Movie is Coming!

    “The book tells the story of a box of crayons whose inhabitants decide to go on strike after growing sick and tired of how they’re being used. Among the lead …

  • See a Cut Scene From the ‘Divergent’ Movie!

    In total, two deleted scenes will be included in the Blu Ray and DVD. Those items will be released on August 05, 2014. Watch the video below! (CinemaBlend.com)

  • Industry Q&A with publisher Christy Ottaviano

    Please tell us about the most recent diverse book you published.

    imageI recently published Jumped In by Patrick Flores-Scott.  This novel is about Sam, a teen who’s in a depressed state due to the breakdown of his family.  He’s pretty much getting by in life by being a slacker, always remaining under the radar so he can fade into the background.  But then he’s paired in English class with the much feared Luis, a Latino who is said to be in a hardcore gang.  Together the two team up in a poetry slam contest and emerge, after much introspection and hard work, as very capable, talented students.  It’s a book about breaking boundaries and stereotypes, as well as friendship, tragedy, and the power of words.

    What is one factor holding you back from publishing more diverse books?

    Nothing is holding me back from publishing diverse books — it’s very much something that I feel passionate about doing.  I don’t feel I see enough submissions about diverse characters just living in the world and experiencing life through strong storytelling.  In other words, submissions where the story is the story and the characters just happen to be Latino or African American rather than their diversity driving the storyline.  I tend to see more agenda-oriented books on the topic and these can be harder to position and market, and are often less appealing to young readers. 

    Who would you consider to be a diversity pioneer in children’s and/or young adult literature?

    The list is long but these authors jump to mind: Ezra Jack Keats, Donald Crews, Ashley Bryan, Walter Dean Myers, Jerry Pinkney, Francesca Lia Block (LGBT) — are all diversity pioneers, but thoroughly accomplished authors like Dinah Johnson, Hope Anita Smith, and, of course, Kadir Nelson continue to create important books that help extend the diversity reach.

    If you have an author who wants to write about characters outside of his/her own background, how do you generally handle that?

    imageLast year I published When We Wuz Famous by Greg Takoudes. This book is about a Latino teen living in Spanish Harlem who gets a scholarship to a prep school and thinks it will be his ticket to a better life.  Once at school, he realizes that racial stereotypes are nearly impossible to break and before he knows it, his once bright future is shattered. 

    The author Greg Takoudes is not a Latino nor did he grow up in Spanish Harlem.  But he did attend boarding school on a merit scholarship and knows that world well.  Greg is also an indie filmmaker and spent many months prior to writing the book, filming the movie with a cast of unknowns all living in the hood.  He became immersed in the story of his characters and gained first-hand research from working so closely with the Latinos in the film. 

    I realize most authors are not also filmmakers but I find that authors who want to write about characters outside their own background are usually fascinated with the research and try to experience as much as they can of the group they are writing about in order to bring the story to life.  I encourage this kind of research by immersion if it will help bring an author closer to his characters and world.

    Tell us about your editing process. When you edit cross-culturally, how do you ensure that the book gets a culture with which you might not be as familiar “right”?

    I think it’s important to do a good deal of research as an editor in the same way an author does research when writing a book.  When editing books where I’m not as familiar with the culture, I tend to do everything I can to immerse myself in that world by way of extensive research (reading about and watching films related to the culture, speaking with others who have first-hand experience with that community, even listening to the music associated with that world).  Like so many authors, I love research so it becomes both a necessary task as well as a fun one; the goal being to help the author bring as much authenticity as possible to the telling. Ultimately, I welcome brilliantly written coming of age stories both historical and contemporary that highlight a different part of the world, culture, or life experience. Books of this kind can only lead to reader discovery.image

    If you could receive a manuscript about one culture or subculture that you don’t normally see, what would it be?

    I’m fascinated with Asia and just don’t see enough submissions about characters from this part of the world.  A number of years ago I published Revolution is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine. It’s a memoir about her youth growing up during the cultural revolution in China under Mao’s rule.  I welcome more coming of age stories both historical and contemporary that are set somewhere in Asia.

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    imageChristy Ottaviano is Publisher of Christy Ottaviano Books, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Group. Her imprint focus is on books that encourage imagination and free-thinking and speak directly to young people’s interests as they explore various milestones.

  • Watch ‘The Maze Runner’ Trailer Here!

    The upcoming adaptation of James Dashner’s bestselling young adult book will be released on September 19, 2014. The film stars Dylan O’Brien as the lead protagonist Thomas. Watch the trailer …

  • Kate DiCamillo Wins ‘Voice of the Heartland’ Award

    In their statement about the win, the judges said that Kate “has demonstrated a passion for writing and a commitment to literature since she moved to Minneapolis in the 1990s. Thirty …

  • Little Five Star Seeks Sponsors to Help Give Every Third Grader in Arizona a Copy of ‘Arizona Agriculture: Bee’s Amazing Adventure’

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CHANDLER, AZ (July 24, 2014)— Arizona-based publisher Little Five Star, a division of Five Star Publications, Inc. has launched a campaign to give every third grade student …

  • Penguin Young Readers Group Launches Pre-Publication Marketing Campaign For New Stephanie Perkins Book

    In addition, Perkins has put together a special tote bag of goodies that will be awarded to twenty-five winners from each store. To entice readers even further, a five-chapter excerpt …

  • Happy Birthday, Sharon Creech!

    “When I was young, I wanted to be many things when I grew up: a painter, an ice skater, a singer, a teacher, and a reporter. It soon became apparent …

  • SCBWI Announces 2014 Book Launch Award Winners

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJuly 28, 2014 SCBWI ANNOUNCES 2014 BOOK LAUNCH AWARD WINNERS The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 SCBWI …

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