Blog
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Elizabeth LaBan’s Favorite Children’s Books Provide Food for Thought. Share Yours for Children’s Book Week 2014!
Follow our YouTube playlist for fun videos from children’s book creators celebrating children’s books and the joy of reading — now through Book Week! Stay tuned for wonderful videos from: …
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CBC Diversity: Lesson Learned?
Sometimes what I learn about myself in my work as a children’s book editor is downright embarrassing and cringe-worthy: that despite my best intentions, my predominantly white upbringing, educational background, and chosen profession have not adequately prepared me to be as racially and culturally sensitive as I would like.
I don’t want to admit that about myself. And I really don’t want to admit it publicly on a diversity-themed website in front of the children’s literature community.
But I’m never going to make progress if I don’t call myself out and invite others I work with to call me out as well. And more to the point, since it’s not all about my personal development here, the books I help make aren’t going to reflect reality or drive change in our society if this important process doesn’t happen.
So let me share three lessons I’ve learned from working with Mitali Perkins, a writer as talented as she is kind and ebullient. Her books are terrific: vibrant characters, exciting and believable plots, natural pacing, clear themes—the whole literary package. Mitali is also a passionate advocate for inclusive literature, and she’s not afraid to let me know, in the nicest way possible, when I get in the way of that goal.
Lesson #1: Acknowledge That I Have Biases
In working on the book Bamboo People (published 2010), I suggested that one of the characters, who was of Burmese decent, could show his embarrassment in a key scene by having his cheeks redden. Mitali gently informed me that the character’s brown skin just wouldn’t redden up like a white person’s would. I felt horrible, stammered something in reply, and let the floor under my desk open and swallow me up. My own cheeks flamed red in ironic retribution.
Lesson #2: Think About How I Position My Books
One of the key tasks I perform as editor is to write the text for the inside flap of the jacket. This writing, called flap copy, positions the book for the market, forms the basis for many book reviews, and with any luck entices the reader to purchase the book and enjoy the story within its pages.
Mitali’s next book with us, Tiger Boy, will be published in Spring 2015. I wrote what I thought was pretty decent flap copy (introducing the main character, setting, and plot conflict) and sent it off to Mitali for her opinion. Her gracious and polite response: “Could you write it so that it reads more as ‘mirror’ than ‘window,’ so that it appeals to a universally shared sense of adventure and love of animals from the start?” What she didn’t say, but could have, was “You’re positioning the main character as ‘other’ right from the get-go and limiting the book to a niche multicultural market.”
Ugh! I had screwed up again, even after becoming a CBC Diversity committee member and taking other steps to educate myself. Super embarrassing. But the solution was clear. I opened the Word doc, inverted the flap copy to lead with the book’s action-based content, and the result was better.
Lesson #3: Notice What I Don’t Know
My unconscious bias isn’t exclusively contained to matters of race or culture. My religious upbringing was secular, and I grew up in a town where religion was considered a private matter—not for public discussion. So when Mitali peppered Bamboo People with references to the parable of the Good Samaritan (not exactly an obscure tract of the Bible), I was clueless.
But by the time we got to Tiger Boy, I knew how to ask better questions, and the author’s note includes a short line acknowledging the influence of the parable from the Gospel of Matthew about the talents given to three stewards. My thought process is that an understanding of the novel’s source material is valuable for readers—if they know the parable, there’s greater insight into the story, and if they don’t, the wonders of the internet or library might educate and inform them as I wish I had been informed.
These three lessons drive home this point to me: If I’m showing my ignorance or am being unintentionally offensive in my editorial process, I really do want to know about it. I need to stop being afraid of messing up, accept the fact that I will, and figure out how to have a meaningful dialogue about it.
Bottom line, a big part of the diversity issue in publishing is white editors like me. The reason why there aren’t enough inclusive and representational children’s books is a systemic societal problem, to be sure, but editors have the power to decide what is brought to acquisition and how a project is shaped and positioned for the market. That power can be used to change our industry for the better, and that change will happen by learning from our mistakes and applying those lessons to our everyday work.
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Deborah Halverson Asks: Setting, Wherefore Art Thou?
“Above all, characters need a sense of place to know how to behave. Don’t just give them somewhere to be; show how that particular place influences their mood and actions. …
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Parenthood’s Mae Whitman to Narrate a New Edition of ‘City of Bones’ Audiobook by Cassandra Clare
NEW YORK, NY — Simon & Schuster Audio is proud to announce that actress Mae Whitman will narrate a new edition of CITY OF BONES by bestselling author Cassandra Clare. The audiobook will be available on April 15, …
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Have you visited the magical voting treehouse?
The only national book awards program where the winners are selected by children and teens of all ages. Almost 1,000,000 votes have already been cast! Visit ccbookawards.com and …
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An Analysis of Diversity Stats in the New York Times Bestseller List
“One thing I’d like to emphasize is that it’s useless to point fingers and blame people for the world we live in today. We are all complicit in the systems …
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Eric Carle and Friend Reunited in “Easter Miracle”
“Friendship has always been a theme of great meaning for Eric. While he said the new book had multiple inspirations, the cover art was based specifically on the photo. The …
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Join ‘Battle Bunny’ Co-Author Jon Scieszka on Another Crazy Cape-r by Celebrating Children’s Book Week May 12–18!
Follow our YouTube playlist for fun videos from children’s book creators celebrating children’s books and the joy of reading — now through Book Week! Stay tuned for wonderful videos from: …
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BEA Children’s Book Art Auction to Feature Dr. Seuss
NEW YORK, NY – The Cat in the Hat is coming to BookExpo America! The 20th Annual Children’s Book Art Auction and Reception will feature a special section of original …
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Have you ever pumped gas in a tiara?
Robin Preiss Glasser: Children’s Book Week Champion Join Robin Preiss Glasser — 2013 Children’s Choice Book Awards Illustrator of the Year Award-Winner for Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet …
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Kate DiCamillo Demands That Her Fellow Children’s Book Creators Participate in ‘Indies First Storytime Day’
In an interview with Shelf Awareness, DiCamillo gave one reason why the participants should not read from one of their own creations; “it frees us up as writers, because then …
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Help Celebrate ‘Catherine, Called Birdy”s Book Birthday!
“We invite you to be a part of the anniversary celebration by sending your thoughts in one of those forms (or crop circle art) by April 24th so we can …
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‘How to Babysit a Grandpa’ Author Jean Reagan Explains Why Children’s Book Week Can Be Enjoyed by All Readers
Follow our YouTube playlist for fun videos from children’s book creators celebrating children’s books and the joy of reading — now through Book Week! Stay tuned for wonderful videos from: …
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Megan Shepherd Reveals Title For Final ‘Madman’s Daughter’ Book
“My editor and I came up with this title because we wanted something that captured the mood of the book, which takes place on the desolate Scottish moors in winter, …
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Random House Children’s Books to Publish Young Adult Adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand’s #1 New York Times Bestseller ‘Unbroken’ in Fall 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Dominique Cimina dcimina@randomhouse.com Young adult adaptation to be published by Delacorte Press on 11/11/14 Unbroken movie directed by Angelina Jolie scheduled to release in theaters on …
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14 Books for Children & Teens About the Freedom Summer of 1964
The “Freedom Summer” of 1964 was a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark year in American history. Here is a list of 14 children’s books that deal specifically with the remarkable events of 1964 – and 3 additional books specifically for teachers and librarians. Thank you to the following for their invaluable input:
- Andrea Davis Pinkney
- Deborah Wiles
- Augusta Scattergood
- And Scholastic’s “Guide to Teaching and Talking about the Civil Rights Movement with Books for Children and Teens”
Picture Books for Young Readers
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Summer
By Deborah Wiles
Illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue
Aladdin / Simon & Schuster
Ages 4 - 8
Friendship defies racism for two boys in this stirring story of the “Freedom Summer” that followed the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Now in a 50th Anniversary Edition with a refreshed cover and a new introduction.
By Amy Littlesugar
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Philomel / Penguin
Ages 4 - 8
In this triumphant story based on the 1964 Mississippi Freedom School Summer Project, that celebrates the strength of a people as well as the bravery of one young girl who didn’t let being scared get in her way.
By Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrated by E. B. Lewis
Putnam Juvenile / Penguin
Ages 5+
Though not specifically about the 1964 Freedom Summer, this award-winning book also deals with the themes of segregation, friendship, and fairness.
Books for Middle Grade Readers
By Augusta Scattergood
Scholastic Press
Ages 9 - 12
It’s the summer of 1964 in a small Mississippi town, and Glory, who’s about to turn twelve, wishes she could turn back the clock. Everyone is riled up about the town’s segregated pool.
Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters
By Andrea Davis Pinkney
Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn
HMH Books for Young Readers
Ages 8 - 12
Portraits that celebrate the lives of ten bold women freedom fighters of the civil rights movement including Dorothy I. Height founder of “Wednesdays in Mississippi”.
By Deborah Wiles
Scholastic Press
Ages 10+
It is 1964, and Sunny’s town, Greenwood, Mississippi, is invaded by outside “agitators.” Everyone has been choosing sides, and Sunny learns how scary it can be to get involved.
By Frances O’Roark Dowell
Atheneum Books for Young Readers / Simon & Schuster
Ages 12+
This contemporary coming of age tale involves an oral history project in which the protagonist and her friends get to know several activists who had established a Freedom School in 1964.
by Mary Ann Rodman
Square Fish / Macmillan
Ages 9 - 11
The year is 1964, and Alice Ann Moxley’s FBI–agent father has been reassigned from Chicago to Jackson, Mississippi. Alice finds herself thrust into the midst of the racial turmoil that dominates current events, especially when a black girl named Valerie Taylor joins her sixth-grade class.
By Diane McWhorter
Scholastic Nonfiction
Ages 9 - 12
Pulitzer Prize–winning author Diane McWhorter gives a photographic overview of the events that Occurred between 1954 (the year of Brown v. Board of Education) and 1968 (the year that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated).
Books for Teens & Young Adults
By Don Mitchell
Scholastic Press
Ages 14+
A look at the brutal murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner in 1964, through to the conviction in 2005 of mastermind Edgar Ray Killen.
Freedom Summer: The 1964 Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi
By Susan Goldman Rubin
Holiday House
Ages 10+
This riveting account of the murder of three civil rights crusaders in Mississippi offers new interviews with volunteers from that fateful summer and many never-before-seen photographs.
We Are All Welcome Here: A Novel
By Elizabeth Berg
Ballantine Books
Ages 14+
It is the summer of 1964. In Tupelo, Mississippi—as tensions are mounting over civil-rights demonstrations occurring ever more frequently and violently-across the state—three women struggle against overwhelming odds for her own kind of freedom.
By Angela Johnson
Scholastic Paperbacks
Ages 12+
Fourteen-year-old Emily, her mother, and her grandmother Ola take turns narrating their stories, revealing the hardships including the lynching of Ola’s husband in 1964 Alabama that have made them strong.
By Sue Monk Kidd
Penguin
Ages 14+
Lily Owens is growing up in South Carolina in the mid-1960s, raised by her cruel father but cared for by Rosaleen, her African-American nanny.
Additional Books for Educators
By Todd S. Purdum
Henry Holt and Co.
A top Washington journalist recounts the dramatic political battle to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the law that created modern America, on the fiftieth anniversary of its passage
By Maryanne Vollers
Little, Brown & Co
Possibly out of print –An in-depth examination of a noted civil rights case involving the murder of an NAACP official and his white supremacist killer’s three trials draws comparisons between the case and the racial climate in the Deep South.
The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act
By Clay Risen
Bloomsbury Press
The battle for the Civil Rights Act was a broad, epic struggle, a sweeping tale of unceasing grassroots activism, ringing speeches, backroom deal-making and finally, hand-to-hand legislative combat.
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Teen Read Week Website Launched
With the launching of the site, online community members now have full access to a number of resources and tips to help each person plan their Teen Read Week (TRW). …
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Which Childhood Copies of Your Favorite Books Do You Still Own?
Follow our YouTube playlist for fun videos from children’s book creators celebrating children’s books and the joy of reading — now through Book Week! Stay tuned for wonderful videos from: …
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‘The Lorax’ Inspires Revitalization For One Old House
“The new building is energy-efficient and will offer the neighborhood three new one-bedroom apartments, a studio and a live-work space with a commercial art gallery attached. Not just a potential …
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Matt de la Peña Asks, “Where’s the African-American Harry Potter or the Mexican Katniss?”
“Even though young adult literature is enjoying a golden age and authors are working to diversify their stories, lead characters of color or characters who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or …
