Zetta Elliott's Blog, page 82

2011 Caribbean Children's and Young Adult Books

This is a guest post submitted by Summer Edward.

Last year, I was fortunate enough to meet Zetta Elliott at the A is for Anansi conference at New York University. Since then, I've been a loyal reader of her blog, Fledgling. So when I saw Zetta's recent post listing MG and YA novels written in 2011 by African-American authors in the U.S. I thought I'd follow suit and compile a list of English-language Caribbean children's and young adult books published in 2011. While Caribbean children's and YA publishing communities have their own unique struggles, they do share some of the same challenges faced by so-called "minority" publishing communities in the U.S. Like Zetta, I think a good way to gauge the status of a publishing community is to look at publishing statistics.

I found that 48 English-language Caribbean children's and young adult books were released this year. Of those books, 7 titles were reissues and over 50% were self-published. Of the 16 books published by publishing houses, most were published by publishing houses located outside the Caribbean.  Also, only 4 of the books were YA books. Take a look at the list and let me know if I've missed anything.

Note: I've tried to supply as much information about the books as possible, but in some cases details like the publisher or the type of book are unavailable. I've coded the books as follows: BB- Board Book; PB- Picturebook; YA- Young Adult novel; MG- Middle Grade novel. Some titles have no web links because no links to the books are available. Reissued titles are indicated by an asterix (*)

English-language Caribbean Children's and Young Adult Books Published in 2011

 Published by Publishing Houses:

Good-bye, Havana! Hola, New York!  by Edie Colon (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books; August/PB)
Alicia Alonso: Prima Ballerina  by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand (Marshall Cavendish Corp/Ccb ; September/PB)
One Love by Cedella Marley (Chronicle Books; September/PB)
Stir It Up! by Ramin Ganeshram (Scholastic; August /YA)
Bouki Cuts Wood: A Haitian Folktale  by Amanda St. John (Child's World; August/PB)
Marijuanaman by Ziggy Marley (Image Comics; May/YA)
Boy Boy and the Magic Drum  by Machel Montano (DIP Publishing; January/PB)
Minding Ben by Victoria Brown (Voice; April/YA)
Island Princess in Brooklyn by Diane Browne (Carlong Publishers; August/MG/YA)
The Cloud with the Silver Lining* by C. Everard Palmer (Macmillan Caribbean; October/MG)
My Father, Sun-Sun Johnson* by C. Everard Palmer (Macmillan Caribbean; October/MG)
A Cow Called Boy* by C. Everard Palmer (Macmillan Caribbean; October/MG)
Riot* by Andrew Salkey (Peepal Tree Press; May/MG)
Earthquake* by Andrew Salkey (Peepal Tree Press; May/MG)
Drought* by Andrew Salkey (Peepal Tree Press; May/MG)
Hurricane* by Andrew Salkey (Peepal Tree Press; May/MG)

Published by Organizations:

The Discovery by Grace Nichols (Guyana Book Foundation; September/PB)
All the Joy in the World by Nasaria Suckoo-Chollette (Rotary Club of Grand Caman Sunrise; March/PB)
Daddy and I Explore…The Farm! by David Chapman (Sunray Publishing; April/PB)
Waldorf, the Water Drop: The Story of Water Pollution by Pamela O'Toole  (Guyana Book Foundation; September/PB)
Bri and Luk: Friends In Times of Changing Climates (Future Centre Trust; January/PB)

Self-Published:

The CP Superheroes of the Cayman Islands by Vinnette Mae Glidden (Caribbean Pirate Ltd; October/PB)
Island Girl  by Khara Jhanielle Campbell (CreateSpace; June/PB)
Spooky Nights on the Island  by Beverly E. Dyer-Groves (AuthorHouse; June)
Ping Pong by June Stoute (Wordways Caribbean; September/PB)
Sweet Dreams: El Yunque Dreams  by Jo Anne Valle (CreateSace; May/PB)
Trapped in Dunston's Cave (Caribbean Adventure Series) by Carol Mitchell (Caribbean Reads Publishing; June/MG)
Grommit– My Life and Times by Andy Campbell (Bob & Chris Books for Children; March/PB)
Squirrel Coconuts  by Andy Campbell (Bob & Chris Books for Children; March/PB)
To Patos and Back by Andy Capbell (Bob & Chris Books for Children; March/PB)
The Reggae Band Rescues Mama Edda Leatherback by Jana Bent (Reggae Pickney; September/PB)
Why the Turtle and the Snail Carried Their Houses on Their Backs  by Marilyn Laing (AuthorHouse; April/PB)
Kaa Kaa & Tokyo in Babysittin' 'Lil Kelly by Rabia Abdul Akim (ContessaBlack Entertainment; July/PB)
We Are Free: A Story About the Origin of the Garinagu by Ingrid and Ibo Cayetano (July/PB)
Sweet Jamaican Summertime at Grandma's by Angela Brent-Harris (Xlibiris; May/PB)
The Night Nopat Was Left Out by Lynette Noel (AuthorHouse; February)
Money Basics for Kids: Financial Literacy for Children by Sharryn Dawson (Money Basics for Kids/PB)
Marcus and the Amazons by Geoffrey Philp (Mabrak; August/MG)
I Find It So Hard! by Rosheenna Beek (PB)
Who is Smarter Than Galiber Guess?  by Anthea Bousquet (Maryli Publisher; April/MG)
Bahamian Lyrical Tales by Kirkland "KB" Bodie (Media Unlimited)
Satchi and Little Star by Donna Seim (Jetty House; August/PB)
The Adventures of Lisbeth by Liesel F. Daisley (AuthorHouse; August/PB)
The Magic Cave by Aarti Gosine (AuthorHouse; January/MG)
The Perfect Shell by Joanne-Mason (due December/PB)
Trixie Triangle by Kellie Magnus (Jack Mandora/Media Magic/BB)
A Book for Baby by Kellie Magnus (Jack Mandora/Media Magic/BB)

Summer Edward is the Founder and Managing Editor of Anansesem, a Caribbean ezine for and by children. She is a writer and Caribbean children's literature activist from Trinidad and Tobago. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Temple University and an M.S.Ed in Reading, Writing, Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Philadelphia, PA.

Saturday morning art

My students are required to produce a piece of art that illustrates a line of text from any of the novels, poems, and articles we've read this semester. I promised I would make a demo to reassure those who aren't so confident about their artistic ability:

attitude & gratitude

I'm thankful for many things this evening. I'm thankful for the medication that relieved my 4am migraine. And I'm so glad I dragged myself to work today because my students really lifted my spirits. We were discussing colorism and we took turns acting out Yellowman by Dael Orlandersmith. We shared stories of our own experiences with privilege and prejudice; we reflected on the messages we get from the media and from our families. We talked about body image and eating disorders, and the impulse too many black women have to diminish ourselves in order to please or placate others. Why do so many of us fear that we "take up too much space?" I'm so thankful for the opportunity to teach and learn from my students—and I truly needed to be in the classroom this week because things got a little heated on the blog. When I posted the publishers responsible for the 47 black-authored books that came out in 2011, one editor left an anonymous comment that rubbed me the wrong way. In part because it was the same old, same old ("I don't consider race when judging a manuscript") and in part because s/he claimed my methodology was flawed. I responded to her comment and then rallied the troops (thanks to everyone who shared their opinion!), and my good friend Laura Atkins wrote a brilliant response that she has since posted on her own blog. Laura was much more diplomatic than I was and asked the anonymous editor to consider a few things:

…have you considered how you respond to manuscripts based on your own background (not knowing what that background is)? And if this idea is extended, considering that the publishing industry is dominated by people from a white middle-class background (and generally female), then isn't this going to shape the reactions editors and sales people are having to submissions? Again, Neesha's post on aesthetics is helpful to read here. As is Cynthia Leitich Smiths' article, "A Different Drum: Native American Writing" ("Field Notes," The Horn Book Magazine, July 2002, p. 407). She gives examples of responses she had to her writing, including the use of humor which non-native readers didn't get, and how she was told that repeating four times was incorrect – it should be three (drawing on fairy tale tropes rather than Cynthia's cultural traditions). This is a lot of what I wrote about in my essay, "White Privilege in Children's Publishing," and I think gets to the heart of the issues with the publishing industry. As long as the people working there don't reflect the people who live in the country (demographics are shifting, ethnic minorities becoming majorities in some places) – then how can the books published really reflect and speak to children from truly diverse backgrounds?

Laura also posted links to my stats and her response on the Child_Lit list, and one member (thank you, Melynda Huskey) shared a link to an interesting Implicit Association Test that YOU can take to reveal your unconscious assumptions about groups of people who are different than you (race, religion, gender, sexuality, etc.). Academics certainly have their issues, but maybe we need more professors in publishing! I withdrew from the Child_Lit list after hearing crickets whenever I broached the subject of racism in publishing, but I'm grateful that at least some people on the list were willing to respond so thoughtfully to Laura's post.

I will be grading over Thanksgiving, but I have vowed *not* to grumble as I grade. There's way too much to be thankful for…

the breakdown 2011

So now that we've got our list of YA & MG novels by black US-based authors, it's time to figure out who's responsible for giving these books the green light. We finished up with 47 titles by 35 authors. Here are their publishers:

Kensington/Dafina: 11

Kimani TRU: 7

Simon & Schuster: 6

Scholastic: 5*

Penguin: 2

Hyperion: 2

Aladdin: 2

Harper Teen: 1

Harper Collins: 1

Plenary: 1

Egmont: 1

Hatchette: 1

FSG: 1

Candlewick: 1

Bella: 1

Bloomsbury: 1

Push: 1

Nancy Paulsen: 1

Razorbill: 1

*two Scholastic titles were reissued

Once again, Kensington and Kimani Tru (Harlequin) are in the lead; together they publish almost 40% of black-authored novels for teens. The following authors had multiple titles in 2011: Celeste Norfleet (2), Kelli London (2), Rachel Renee Russell (2), Nikki Carter (3), Andrea Davis Pinkney (2), Patricia McKissack (2), Veronica Chambers (2), Walter Dean Myers (3), Artist Arthur (2), and L. Divine (2).

the breakdown 2012

So now that we've got our list of YA & MG novels by black US-based authors, it's time to figure out who's responsible for giving these books the green light. We finished up with 46 titles by 35 authors. Here are their publishers:

Kensington/Dafina: 11

Kimani TRU: 7

Simon & Schuster: 6

Scholastic: 4

Penguin: 2

Hyperion: 2

Aladdin: 2

Harper Teen: 1

Harper Collins: 1

Plenary: 1

Egmont: 1

Hatchette: 1

FSG: 1

Candlewick: 1

Bella: 1

Bloomsbury: 1

Push: 1

Nancy Paulsen: 1

Razorbill: 1

Once again, Kensington and Kimani Tru (Harlequin) are in the lead; together they publish almost 40% of black-authored novels for teens. The following authors had multiple titles in 2011: Celeste Norfleet (2), Kelli London (2), Rachel Renee Russell (2), Nikki Carter (3), Andrea Davis Pinkney (2), Veronica Chambers (2), Walter Dean Myers (3), Artist Arthur (2), and L. Divine (2).

2011 African American YA & MG Novels

       

All the Wrong Moves by Nikki Carter (Kensington; January 1/YA)
Famous by Simone Bryant (Kimani TRU; January/YA)
Camo Girl by Kekla Magoon (Simon & Schuster; January 4/MG)
Joseph's Grace by Shelia Moses (Simon & Schuster; Janurary 4/YA)
Eliza's Freedom Road by Jerdine Nolen (Simon & Schuster; January 4/MG)
Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves (Simon & Schuster; January 4/YA)
Drama High: The Meltdown by L. Divine (Kensington; January 25/YA)
Mystify (Mystyx #2) by Artist Arthur (Kimani TRU; February 1/YA)
Kick by Walter Dean Myers & Ross Workman (Harper Teen; February 1/MG)
How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy by Crystal Allen (Harper Collins; February 22/MG)
Glitz by Philana Marie Boles (Penguin; February 3/YA)
Act of Grace by Karen Simpson (Plenary; February/YA)
Upgrade U by Ni-Ni Simone (Kensington; March 1/YA)
Getting Played by Celeste Norfleet (Kimani Tru; 22 March/YA)
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (Penguin; 14 April) 
Carmen by Walter Dean Myers (Egmont Books; April) 
The break up Diaries by NiNi Simone (Dafina; April)
Bird in a box by Andrea Davis Pickney (Hatchette Group; April)
So, so hood (Drama High) by L. Divine (Dafina; 31 May)  
Doing my own thing by Nikki Carter (Dafina; June )

books beyond black & white

Compiling a good book list is *hard* work—but once they're ready (they're rarely ever "done"), they become an invaluable resource. A few weeks ago I met Malaika Rose Stanley through Wendy Meddour on Facebook; Malaika was putting together a list of PB, MG, and YA books that feature mixed-race protagonists and I asked my "team" to help out. Thanks, ladies—but get ready: it's almost time to put together the 2011 list of African American MG/YA novels, and once again I'll be tapping Ari, Edi, and Doret to help me out. But this weekend, I'll be grading…

Here are some of the lists we've worked on in the past:

African American Speculative Fiction for Kids
African Canadian Children's Literature (2000-2011)
African American MG/YA Novels 2010

Brooklyn Museum Children's Book Fair 2011

Children's Book Fair

Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 12–4 p.m.

Image from Every-Day Dress-Up, by Selina Alko

Over 30 Brooklyn authors and illustrators will join us at this year's book fair, featuring story books, picture books, and graphic novels. Come enjoy author readings, a game for children, and café service.

Participating authors and illustrators

Selina Alko, Ellen Bari, Artie Bennett, Cathleen Davitt Bell, Peter Brown, Melanie Hope Greenberg, Lisa Greenwald, Laura Lee Gulledge, Mike Herrod, Isabel

T. Hill, Tad Hills, Kate Hosford, Melissa Iwai, John & Wendy, Nancy Krulik,  Laura Ljungkvist, G. Augustine Lynas & Peter Vadnai, Meghan McCarthy, Torrey

Maldonado, Leslie Margolis, Matthew Myers, Johan Olander, Sean Qualls, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Fiona Robinson, John Rocco, Sergio

Ruzzier, Daniel Salmieri, Stephen A.Savage, Diana Schoenbrun, Steve Sheinkin, David Ezra Stein, Julie Sternberg, Colleen A.F. Venable, Dwight Jon Zimmerman

magic in the 'hood

Every time I see that Macy's commercial I find myself singing along with their version of Olivia Newton John's "Magic," which I believe is from the film Xanadu. If YOU believe in magic, check out The Rejectionist's fabulous series on women writers of speculative fiction. So far she's featured Ibi Zoboi, Andrea Hairston, Hiromi Goto, and Kat Howard. You should also swing by Vanessa Irvin Morris' blog to read her take on the merging of speculative fiction and street literature. A Wish After Midnight is included in her list of sci-fi/fantasy narratives set in the 'hood…

My cousin just left and I'm very sorry to have sent her back to Canada with my cold, but it was great fun hanging out with her for the past couple of days. We had two sunny days to roam around the city—we walked the High Line on Friday followed by a sumptuous tea at Podunk in the East Village. We ordered "la bonne femme," which came in two courses and required two tables—a pot of oolong tea with scones & clotted cream, paper thin cucumber sandwiches, cheese biscuits, savory pies, biscotti, sweetbread, cookies, more scones—we brought about half the treats home! I highly recommend Podunk, but go knowing that there's no bathroom and it's cash only. The owner's lovely…I then needed a nap so we headed home and later spent hours comparing teaching experiences (we both teach at community colleges), health issues, family histories/memories, and our respective research projects. I'm a silent, solitary introvert but having my cousin come to town is *good* for me because there's no way to disappoint her. Like all of my close friends, she accepts me however I am on any given day…

The next morning we started out in the garden, then walked over to the farmer's market at Grand Army Plaza; Beth bought lavender sachets, sugar cookies for her niece and nephew, and focaccia bread for her husband; I bought my favorite triangular shortbread cookie (hamantaschen) and Bethany explained it's origins in the Jewish holiday of Purim. We then went up to the Upper East Side and stopped for a hot dog and pretzel outside the Guggenheim; the sparrows there will practically eat out of your hand! We shared a few crumbs and then went to see the Ezra Jack Keats exhibit at The Jewish Museum; photography's not allowed but I only found that out after snapping this shot of a life-size stoop where you could plunk down and read Keats' many books. The art was beautiful—such buoyant colors! We left feeling more confident about our own stories and our own ability to add beauty to the world. We talked about the struggle to find time to make art as we strolled through Central Park, then caught the train back to Brooklyn, shopped downtown for a while, and finished up with Thai food in Ft. Greene. Despite having a sore, red nose and the occasional coughing fit, my cousin managed to snap a hundred photographs of me while we were in the botanic garden, which means I finally have a new head shot. Three or four, actually. New website, new head shots—last week I had a conference call with the marketing team. Ship of Souls is one step closer to our February 28 launch date…

big sweepstakes at School Library Journal!

Head over to SLJ now and enter to win one of 15 prize packs of AmazonEncore YA and MG titles, including A Wish After Midnight! The grand prize winner gets all 15 books AND a new Kindle Fire. What are you waiting for?!

In other news, you can now pre-order your copy of Ship of Souls!