Zetta Elliott's Blog, page 126

spotlight on Gal Novelty

You all know I'm Canadian, and you might also know that Neesha Meminger is Canadian…but did you know that Ah Yuan, who blogs at Gal Novelty, is ALSO Canadian?  We're a nation of fierce women, but as people of color we often find ourselves on the outside of things in our "multicultural" country.  This week the spotlight's on Ah Yuan—check her out in the blogger's spotlight over at Reading in Color…then swing by Justine Larbalestier's blog to read about Ah Yuan's passion for books that hold up ...

8th Grade Super Zero

The thing about being a teacher is that you can't look at anything, really, without instantly thinking of ways you could use it in the classroom.  I've been telling you about the gentrification exhibit at MoCADA, and how I think about gentrification a lot, and now I've just finished a middle grade novel that would be an excellent introduction to the issue of housing/human rights.  In fact, I'm not so secretly hoping that Gbemi and I can work with MoCADA and their teen partners!  I did a...

the pink elephant

My friends and I talk about gentrification ALL the time, and have for years…but as MoCADA founder Laurie Cumbo points out in this great NY1 interview, gentrification is often a topic that gets discreetly avoided "in mixed company."  Two years ago I moved into my friend's apartment here in Brooklyn and immediately noticed that the building had changed—there were many more white residents, and those who owned their co-op apartments sometimes seemed at odds with long-time renters (who were...

happy, happy, joy, joy!

Omnivoracious

If you can stand it, check out my guest post at the Omnivoracious blog, and meet Francine Thomas Howard, author of Page from a Tennessee Journal, which comes out on AmazonEncore in mid-March!  These are the questions we asked ourselves—what do YOU think?

Most Americans like to think of US history in terms of progress, especially when it comes to African Americans (thing were bad, but they're steadily getting better). Does historical fiction support or disrupt that theory?What do contemporary...

"all the news that's fit to print"

Ok, that's the motto of The New York Times, and my latest interview is in USA Today, so that doesn't really apply.  You can find the article here, but don't hold your breath—my forty-minute talk with the reporter has been significantly reduced, and very little of what I said could be included (and for the record, I'm 37 and no longer teach at Mt Holyoke).  Interviews that are not recorded can be tough; I remember my first interview was done in a cafe with a super loud coffee grinder, and so...

It must be February!

…because there are a whole lot of great interviews and features out there!  Stop by The Brown Bookshelf to read Kekla Magoon's insights on compelling historical fiction.  Then head over to Bookslut and read Colleen Mondor's comprehensive consideration of the lack of diversity in children's literature.

I have been trying for days to write an article about the lack of diversity in middle grade and young adult fiction and found myself confounded at every turn. This has been a very intense...

is it any wonder?

…why so many YA covers feature thin white girls?  Take a look at the "Hollywood" issue of Vanity Fair, and read this critique:

Mitali Perkins also notes that YA books for boys rarely feature models, so why are YA books for girls covered in the same old same old?

four interviews you don't want to miss

Don't you love getting inside the head of an author or illustrator?  I do!  Here are some great interviews you won't want to miss:

Novelist & activist blogger Carleen Brice is featured at Color Online.  And don't forget that we'll be discussing Children of the Waters this Friday at Brown Girl Speaks…

Multiculturalism Rocks! blogger Nathalie Mvondo is featured at Reading in Color.  And Nathalie interviews the publisher of Lee & Low Books at her blog…

Illustrator AG Ford is featured on Day Two...

check out Paper Tigers

It feels great sharing this news with you on Day One of Black History Month:

The Purposes of the Spirit of PaperTigers Project (SPT)

To donate a selection of books which reflect the aims of PaperTigers, putting them into the hands of children in areas of need in different parts of the world.

The Spirit of PaperTigers project is best understood within the overall goals of PaperTigers: that is, to encourage literacy, helping to make children hungry readers and thus helping them form a lifelong...