Mitali Perkins's Blog, page 52

The Mysterious Google Book Settlement

I'm hoping some of you might be as confused as I am by the Google Book Settlement, because if it's just me who doesn't get it, I'm in trouble. In any case, the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators sums it up nicely as does the Author's Guild.

Since the deadline for authors to opt out is 9/4, I posed this question yesterday on Twitter and Facebook: "Should I opt out of the Google Books Settlement? Did you?" Answers came from a few people:

@jlbellwriter: I opted in with Google Books.

Books That Make Readers Clash

"SECRET KEEPER had one of the most satisfying endings I've read in a long time," said one reviewer.

Meanwhile, on Goodreads, another reader disagreed: "I didn't really like the ending, but I loved the rest of it."

Of all my books, SECRET KEEPER seems to be evoking the widest range of gut responses.

Is there a particular book you've loved that another reader wanted to fling across the room? Or vice a versa, maybe: you wish you'd never read it because it left you sad, mad, or otherwise disturbed, bu

Poetry Friday: Border Dance

Enjoy the poem that won second prize this year in my annual poetry contest for teens between cultures.


Untitled by Selorm, Ghana/USA, Age 16

The drums sound,
and her village hands slap like thunder onto the
paved city streets and crumbling suburban sidewalks.
The baked gold dust of the Motherland has speckled the back of her hands,
though her blue jeans and sneakers are stained red, white and blue;
red, gold and green.
Her dance is backbreaking and classic,
though her spirit was born long before 1776.
Her

Editor For Hire: Polish Your Manuscript Before Submission

It's tough to get published these days. Before submitting to an editor or agent, you might consider spending some money on an expert consultation for your children's or YA book manuscript. Several topnotch professional editors have left the industry to set up their own freelancing businesses:

Deborah Brodie Roaring Brook Press / Viking
Sarah Cloots Greenwillow Books
Kara LaReau Scholastic / Candlewick
Amy Lin Little Brown
Judy O'Malley Charlesbridge / Houghton Mifflin
Stacy L. Whitman Mirrorstone /

Getting Started on Twitter: A Quick Guide for Kid/YA Writers

Newbie to Twitter? Writing books for kids or young adults? Here are five easy steps to jumpstart your use of Twitter:

1. Join.

I recommend using a real name if possible. Or a pen name if you use one. It's your brand, right?

2. Personalize.

Write a snappy 160 character bio. Link to a website or blog. Use a photo of your real cute head. If published, upload a .jpg of your most recent book as your background. Don't tile if it gets headachey. If not published, upload a .jpg of something bookish, artsy,

Burma's Bamboo People

I'm doing last-minute research on G3 and MA-series assault rifles used by the Tatmadaw Kyee in Burma for my novel BAMBOO PEOPLE, releasing Fall 2010 from Charlesbridge. The book features two boy protagonists—one a Burmese soldier and the other a Karenni refugee desperate to save his people hiding in the jungle.

Did you know that Myanmar has the most child soldiers of any army in the world? The UN is sending a team at the end of the month to try and stop this atrocity.

As for the displaced people a

iPhone apps for Picture Books

New technology can partner with (read: never replace) traditional books to inspire the next generation with the power of story and art. Here are three places to download digital books for wee ones on your iPhone:

International Children's Digital Library:




Mobi Stories:

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Winged Chariot Press:

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Come visit me on the Fire Escape!

Poetry Friday: The Child of a Stranger

Enjoy the poem that won first prize this year in my annual poetry contest for teens between cultures.

the child of a stranger by Wendy China/USA, age 17

at birth I was offered up to this country, some
innocent and
crawling appeasement
subject to the laws and
dreams of its
people.

but my body holds the lines of your
country and my
country
unevenly. I cannot melt the borders
into one. I am no melting
pot. these borders are edged with
barbed wire.

I cannot fuse these patches of
redwhiteandblue with
yellowstarsandre

Stuff That Intrigues My Tweeps

Here are five links I shared via twitter recently that have most interested my followers (according to bit.ly metrics, and verbatim as I tweeted them):
Notes from the Horn Book | 8/09 | Back to school books, short story collections, YA summer shorts, and more: http://bit.ly/GiBnS

Kid/YA reviews this week from @publisherswkly http://bit.ly/4GuNHh (ONCE WAS LOST by @sarazarr gets a star!)

Join the conversation on recommending a book written by and/or about a person of color at Chasing Ray: http://bi

Black Women Kid Lit Illustrators

Check out these links to African American female children's book illustrators compiled by librarian and book reviewer Ed Spicer, published here with his permission:
Nneka BennettJaeMe BerealYvonne BuchananAdjoa J. Burrowes Chandra CoxNina CrewsPat CummingsNancy DevardLaura FreemanJan Spivey GilchristRilla JaggiaFelicia MarshallAnna RichCharlotte Riley-WebbFaith RinggoldShadra StricklandNicole TadgellMichele Wood
Others to add? If so, leave a name and URL in the comments, and I'll forward the links