Zetta Elliott's Blog, page 124
February 23, 2010
February 22, 2010
new cover for Magic Under Glass
Thanks to Ari for sharing this breaking news. Does this look more like "dark-skinned" Nimira? I think she does come close to the author's sketch. You can see both covers over at Reading Extensively...
art from the heart
On Friday I had a wonderful day-long visit at Our Lady of Lourdes up in Hamilton Heights. My former student, Danielle, arranged everything and I was *so* impressed with the art produced by the students (who studied BIRD intensively for a month AND held a bake sale to raise money for my honorarium!) Take a look:
After three morning workshops with the 3rd-8th grade students, I had lunch with two seniors who entered a raffle in order to win a chance to eat pizza with me…this young man even...
race & reviews
Did you see my guest post on this topic over at Justine's blog? Well, when I say in the comments that different people bring different "tools" to the critique process, THIS is what I'm talking about:
I do not want to give away too much of the plot, but Elliott not only lets the reader explore what it means to be a black girl in 2001 Brooklyn, she also asks what this means in 1863 Brooklyn. She also explores how whiteness in the 1860s New York differs from whiteness in 2001, educating her...
February 20, 2010
come on out!
Join us at Brownstone Books on February 27th—Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich and I will be giving a joint reading from our newly-released books. We'd love to see you there!
February 19, 2010
Wish reaches Nova Scotia
Kate sent in her fabulous photo from Nova Scotia! When are YOU gonna send yours?
February 18, 2010
my turn
I hope you check out Doret, Alvina Ling, Randa Abdel Fattah, and the other great kidlit community members who are filling in for Justine this month…and now it's my turn. Stop by Justine's blog to read my thoughts on race and reviews:
I must confess that lately, the only white-authored books I read are those about people of color. I sometimes feel obligated to read these books in order to ascertain whether or not black people are being misrepresented by white authors who mean well, but don't...
February 17, 2010
great advice
Alvina Ling, Senior Editor at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, has a great guest post over at Justine Larbalestier's blog (be sure you read the comments, too). It's a nice complement to my interview a while back with former editor Laura Atkins. Here's what Ms. Ling looks for when hiring an assistant or intern:
-passion for children's books: you need to be well read, ideally in a wide variety of genres–not too helpful if you only read fantasy, or only read romance. Be able to speak...
best videos
Two videos really caught my eye yesterday. The first is "Scholar Ladies (Get an A on It)," a brilliant reinterpretation of Beyonce's hit song, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)."
The other video will get you EXCITED about the premiere of Sins of the Mother, Lifetime Movie Network's adaptation of Carleen Brice's first novel, Orange Mint & Honey. It's on this Sunday at 8pm EST, which means I have to suck up to somebody who's got cable…also swing by The Defenders Online to read Carleen's essay ...
