Mitali Perkins's Blog, page 38

Brooklyn Book Festival 2010 ... with an NYPL Postscript

I was invited to present on a panel at Brooklyn Book Festival 2010 , so I traveled to New York after a lovely couple of days in Lititz, PA. I promised to take you along, so here we go ...







Brooklyn Borough Hall. The place to to be on 9/12/10.


Rain does not daunt book-loving diehards.


Indie bookseller WORD Brooklyn was having a blast. Can't you tell? (L to R: Stephanie Anderson, Christine Onorati, Jenn Northington)


Susanna Reich, Mikki Knudsen, and Rebecca Stead chatting in...

Lititz Kid Lit Festival 2010

A thousand thanks to the incomparable indie bookseller Aaron's Books and the town of Lititz, Pennsylvania, including the fabulous Lititz Bed and Breakfast , for a weekend of hospitality and just plain fun. Here are some highlights:





Pennsylvanians must read their papers because many came in response to this article that ran last week in the Lancaster Times.




The warm and welcoming children's area in Aaron's Bookstore.


Cyn Balog, Holly Huxter, Josh Berk, Bookseller Sam...

The Little Indie That Could

"I love your work!  I only wish I had more African American students so that I could use your books."



"HUH?" asks NYT bestselling author Nikki Grimes in the current issue of Hunger Mountain , and many of us echo her incredulous response.



As an antidote to discouraging words from such gatekeepers, may I present—TA DA!— Aaron's Books Lititz 2010 Kid Lit Festival .



BOOKS OPEN WORLDS

2010 Lititz Kid-Lit FestivalFocuses on Diversity in Children's Literature

If you traveled to the small town of ...

A Dozen Great Multicultural Blogs

I follow some great blogs, as you can see by the list in my sidebar, but here are a few that focus specifically on ethnic and cultural diversity in the Kid/YA book world.

A Wrung Sponge
American Indians in Children's Literature
Brown Bookshelf
Brown Paper
Color Online
Crazy Quilts 
Happy Nappy Bookseller
Lee and Low
PaperTigers
Reading in Color
Shen's Books
Smithsonian's Book Dragon
Are there others you would add to this list? Please leave them in the comments.

Come visit...

Eleven Great Multicultural Blogs

I follow some great blogs, as you can see by the list in my sidebar, but here are a few that focus specifically on ethnic and cultural diversity in the Kid/YA book world.

A Wrung Sponge
American Indians in Children's Literature
Brown Bookshelf
Brown Paper
Color Online
Happy Nappy Bookseller
Lee and Low
PaperTigers
Reading in Color
Shen's Books
Smithsonian's Book Dragon
Are there others you would add to this list? Please leave them in the comments.

Come visit me on the Fire...

Funny Books Featuring Multicultural Protagonists

The number one request from booksellers during our conversation last week about selling multicultural titles was for "less serious books that are more fun."



I put out a call on twitter for Kid/YA books featuring multicultural protagonists, and below are the responses. Feel free to add more suggestions of funny books in the comments and I'll update the list.



Younger Readers



THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM by Christopher Paul Curtis

KIMCHI AND CALAMARI by Rose Kent

ALVIN HO by Lenore Look

LUV ...

Happy I Have A Dream Day

Listen to an audio recording of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. giving the "I Have a Dream" speech during the Civil Rights rally on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963.

Come visit me on the Fire Escape!

Tips on Selling "Multicultural" Kid/YA Books

I posed this question last week here on the Fire Escape before enjoying a long conversation about the topic with Delacorte editors, Random House sales reps, and several stellar indie booksellers.



Based on that chat and some great comments, here are some practical ideas and encouragement for and from booksellers eager to sell books featuring non-white characters. Thanks to everybody who chimed in, and if you leave other helpful suggestions in the comments, I'll add them to the list.

A...

BAMBOO PEOPLE Book Launch Party!

A thousand thanks to Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Ma and to my publisher Charlesbridge for hosting my Bamboo People book launch party. I always get nervous, so I greatly appreciated everybody who came and sent notes of encouragement from near and far. I've posted a few videos below, and here are some recaps from others who attended:



Charlesbridge Not Just For Kids Britt Leigh's Brain on Books  The Papa Post



Arrived to find this gorgeous bamboo plant sent from Portland, Maine by

Ideas For Indies Who Want to Sell Multicultural Titles?

Random House has kindly arranged a brainstorm meeting tomorrow by phone for some of their staff, several great independent booksellers who want to sell "multicultural" children's and YA titles, and me.



I'm excited and a bit nervous. Seven or eight years ago, I couldn't have imagined being a part of such a conversation. In anticipation, I tweeted this yesterday:



"Chatting this Thursday with some great indies about how to sell books like mine—i.e., lacking paranormality, cleavage, white peop...