Mitali Perkins's Blog, page 47

A Call For Yummy PoC Kid/YA Book Covers That Worked

While we're waiting on the results of my unscientific poll on Kid/YA book covers, I thought I'd put out a call for GREAT covers on recent books that have sold or circulated well featuring protagonists who are people of color.



Before we start, I'd like to reflect on the term "people of color," because I'll admit that it makes white people sound bland and colorless. A 1988 New York Times essay by William Safire puts the term in a historical and cultural context:

As we speak, however, the...

A Call For Yummy POC Kid/YA Book Covers That Worked

While we're waiting on the results of my unscientific poll on Kid/YA book covers, I thought I'd put out a call for GREAT covers on recent books that have sold or circulated well featuring protagonists who are people of color.



Before we start, I'd like to reflect on the term "people of color," because I'll admit that it makes white people sound bland and colorless. A 1988 New York Times essay by William Safire puts the term in a historical and cultural context:

As we speak, however, the...

Brown Faces Don't Sell Books? A Poll For Booksellers and Librarians

[No time to read this post? Just vote in the sidebar to the right.:]



How much power do authors have over their covers? Not much. Dutton did give me the green light to post two possibilities for my First Daughter books and ask your opinion. And with Charlesbridge's permission, we debated the presence of a gun on the cover of Bamboo People via Twitter and Facebook (ended up with no gun.) But other than that, I take what I get, like most authors.



The fact remains that none of my books with bro...

Party Day at ALA

Thought I'd share some snippets and snapshots of my whirlwind day at the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting in Boston last Saturday.





Donna Spurlock of Charlesbridge met me at the booth with 100 advance review copies of Bamboo People, coming July 1, 2010. I signed, and thanks mostly to Twitter and Facebook friends, all  the ARCs were gone by the end at the hour—a first for me.





Ran into friends everywhere on the exhibit floor, including Anindita Basu Sempere, Edith...

ALA Midwinter And Beyond

I'll be spending most of Saturday loitering around the whereabouts of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, since the 2010 American Library Association Midwinter Meeting is conveniently (for me) going to be there this weekend. Here's my schedule in case you want to say hello.



At 10 a.m. on Saturday, stop by booth 1417 (Charlesbridge), where I'll be signing advance review copies of BAMBOO PEOPLE (hot off the presses, I'm told).



At noon, Roger Sutton of the Horn Book will be asking me ...

2009 Illustrated Books with African American Characters

In honor of MLK Weekend, I secured permission to reprint an excellent list of books compiled by Laura Scott of Farmington Community Library through the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) list-serv. Please feel free to add more suggestions in the comments section. Thanks, Laura and ALSC!



Illustrated Books with African American Characters Published in 2009



Bryan, Ashley. Ashley Bryan: Words to My Life's Song. Atheneum. 



Greenfield, Eloise. Illus. George Ford. Paul Robeson span

Kid/YA Books Set in Haiti

As we focus on the disaster in Haiti, I thought I'd compile a few books written for children and teens set in that country. Stories can bring faraway people and places from the screen into our homes and hearts, and keep them there, even through information overload or compassion fatigue. As always, feel free to suggest additions in the comments and I'll add them to our list.



SELAVI, THAT IS LIFE: A STORY OF HOPE IN HAITI 

by Youme Landowne

Cinco Puntos Press, 2005

Ages 5 to 10



The true stor...

A Dream-Come-True Invitation

I was sampling veggie burgers in a Costco aisle yesterday when I decided to check my email. My phone uploaded a message from Jennifer Hart of HarperPerennial; here's part of what she wrote:

... I was wondering if you would be interested in writing the foreword to the new edition of Emily of Deep Valley. I'm thrilled to be bringing this one back especially as so many fans cite it as among their favorites of Maud Hart Lovelace's books. I also think it touches on so many interesting themes...

Why I Loved MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD

Here are ten reasons I'll be happy if this year's ALA's Printz Award goes to MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD by Francisco X. Stork:

10.  The story is classic bildungsroman.



9.  We get a Latino teen guy protagonist who isn't in a gang, on the streets, or primarily defined by cultural angst.

8.  We're intrigued and captivated by descriptions of music. (Stork even created a playlist to accompany the book for the New York Times' blog, Paper Cuts.)

7. We're given a stark, honest portrayal of...

Crossed Any Borders To Read?

During a recent Twitter #kidlitchat, I asked, "What's a recent Kid/YA book you've read featuring a protagonist of a different race than yours?" I thought I'd kick off another year on the Fire Escape by sharing the responses, some of which were new to me.



One caveat is that almost all of the responses came from white authors, partly because those of us who aren't white often cross racial/ethnic lines to read in English. It's the rule of reading for us rather than the exception. Also, I only i...