David Macinnis Gill's Blog: Thunderchikin Reads, page 22

Matt de la Pena Speaks Loudly

Matt de la Pena is fighting the removal of his books from classrooms in Arizona directly, according to SLJ: "Author Matt de la Peña is taking a more hands-on approach: he's using his $1,000 speaking fee to purchase copies of his novel Mexican WhiteBoy(Delacorte, 2008) for the Tucson High Magnet School, where he's scheduled to appear on March 13. "I'm using my honorarium of $1,000 to give the students books, and Random House is donating some, too," de la Peña says from his home in Brooklyn, NY. "I think it's going to be cool."

I first met Matt a few years ago at NCTE when he, Chris Crutcher, and I did a panel on sports literature.  He's a terrific speaker and as evidenced, willing to put his money where is mouth is.

Have You Seen the Little Piggies?

"A Vermont prison inmate who makes stationery and license plates has gotten the best of the state police by adding the image of a pig to the state decal on their cruisers."

Somewhere in Vermont, there's a talented artist with a wicked sense of humor.  Too bad he's in jail.

Welcome

I am David Macin­nis Gill, author of the YA novels Invisible Sun, Black Hole Sun, and Soul Enchi­lada, all from Greenwillow/Harper Collins. This site has info about me, my books, book trailers, appearances, and contact info. It's also home to my personal blog, which is an eclectic mix of eclecticisms that I've collected over time.  Feel free to read and respond!

Black Hole Donut Holes

Under the Green Willow

One of my heroes, Chris Crutcher, reading the paperback of Black Hole Sun in the office of our editor.  Note Crutcher's prowess at reading upside down while spearing a donut that I'm sure someone tossed him.

Jack Gantos: Slobberific

Jack Gantos: Slobberific

"Sometimes when you stare out the window it's like watching the movies in your mind." —Jack GantosAnd sometimes, you make readers laugh so hard, they slobber themselves, and while they're laughing, you sneak in a nugget of profundity and insight that once they've stopped laughing and cleaned themselves up, they say, "Huh. That's so right."

Your Voice Is Not Worth Hearing

The State of Arizona has passed a law making it illegal for schools to offer courses based on ethnic groups. In reaction Tucson's school district has not only closed the courses, but has confiscated the materials used to teach those courses.  Apparently, if you are a member of an ethnic group on Arizona, the First Amendment of the Constitution does not apply to you.  Your voice doesn't matter.  You cannot be heard.

I often take solace in the fact that I don't reside in Arizona.  I take much less solace in the fact that the same wave of paranoia and meanness that has seized that state is spreading to other states, including several in the Southeast, where governments are stripping teachers and and their students of rights (TN) or practicing racial profiling under the guise of national security (AL).  

Matt de la Pena, a YA author, is one of the authors whose work was removed from the classrooms. As Matt says on his blog:  "Ironically, I'm scheduled to speak at Tucson High School on March 13. A young female student there spearheaded the whole thing. She went to the administration on her own accord and helped raise funds. She's a self-admitted reluctant reader, but she was introduced to my books in a class much like the one above, and something clicked. Because of her effort and passion, this has been the visit I'm most looking forward to this year. I can't wait to meet her."

Among the books removed from the curriculum:

Little Indians (2004), by S. Alexie
The Fire Next Time (1990), by J. Baldwin
Loverboys (2008), by A. Castillo
Women Hollering Creek (1992), by S. Cisneros
Mexican WhiteBoy (2008), by M. de la Pena
Drown (1997), by J. Diaz
Woodcuts of Women (2000), by D. Gilb
At the Afro-Asian Conference in Algeria (1965), by E. Guevara
Color Lines: "Does Anti-War Have to Be Anti-Racist Too?" (2003), by E. Martinez
Culture Clash: Life, Death and Revolutionary Comedy (1998), by R. Montoya et al.
Let Their Spirits Dance (2003) by S. Pope Duarte
Two Badges: The Lives of Mona Ruiz (1997), by M. Ruiz
The Tempest (1994), by W. Shakespeare
A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America (1993), by R. Takaki
The Devil's Highway (2004), by L. A. Urrea
Puro Teatro: A Latino Anthology (1999), by A. Sandoval-Sanchez & N. Saporta Sternbach
Twelve Impossible Things before Breakfast: Stories (1997), by J. Yolen
Voices of a People's History of the United States (2004), by H. Zinn

The books confiscated and banned are:

Critical Race Theory, by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic
500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures, edited by Elizabeth Martinez
Message to Aztlán, by Rodolfo Corky Gonzales
Chicano! The History of the Mexican Civil Rights Movement, by F Arturo Rosales
Occupied America: A History of Chicanos, by Rodolfo Acuña
Pedagogy of the Oppressed, by Paulo Freire
Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years, by Bill Bigelow

My question is: Who's next?  Who will be silenced?  Whose story will remain unheard?

The 2012 book banning in Tucson schools (by ThreeSonorans)

The 2012 book banning in Tucson schools (by ThreeSonorans)

HUGO Gets 11

The news out of Hollywood yesterday was that HUGO pulled in 11 Oscar nominations, including best director, art direction, cinematography, costume design, film editing, original music score, sound editing, sound mixing, visual effects and adapted screenplay. Beyond that fact that I'm delighted that HUGO turned out so well, that Hollywood recognized a children's book, and that Brian Selznick is a great person and artist who deserves the good fortune, I'm delighted that it reminds that we all start somewhere. many years ago when Eeyore's bookstore was open and delighting the children of NYC, a young man named Brain asked the then manager, Steve Geck (of BN, Greenwillow, and now Sourcebooks) for a job. Steve, though, didn't think Brian knew enough about children's books and sent him off to read. Brian returned, Steve gave him a job, and a star was born. Later, Brian turned his knowledge, experience, and artistic ability into creating the books he once sold, and I can honestly say, the world is a better place for it.

My younger locust is a hockey goalie, both ice and roller. Here's her latest tournament.

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My younger locust is a hockey goalie, both ice and roller. Here's her latest tournament.

Bringing the Funny to the Medal Round

Almost as much as Rodney Dangerfield is quoted for his "No respect" catchphrase, Edmund Kean,* the famous Shakespearean actor, is often quoted as saying on his deathbed, "Dying is easy; comedy is hard." **  Our finest actors are those who can play comedy, which requires more subtly and finesse than dramatic acting. The same is true of writing.  It's easy to make readers cry—just kill a beloved character, or in the case of many Newbery winners, the family pet, preferably a dog. It takes great skill, timing, and precision of language to make a reader laugh.  By laugh, I mean laugh out loud, not chuckle, or in the case of Jack Gantos, to make readers laugh so hard and so long that they slobber themselves.  That's why I was so happy to see Gantos win the Newbery yesterday.  A funny book finally won, and there is no one funnier or more deserving than Gantos. Great flow, Jack.

*I first heard this phrase uttered by Peter O'Toole in Mel Brooks' film "My Favorite Year," which is One of My Favorite Movies. Go watch it.

**In truth Kean probably didn't say it quite that succinctly.  After all, brevity is the soul of wit, and a guy about to shuffle off his mortal coil probably wasn't worried about wordsmithing.