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I’m quite happy to say that I didn’t post all the wonderfully talented, passionate and gifted people of color who won awards on Monday. In addition to those previously listed, I have to congratulate the following winners.

Lavonda Kay Broadnax digital project coordinator at the Library of Congress, is the 2013 recipient of RUSA’s Zora Neale Hurston Award. The award honors librarians who have demonstrated leadership in promoting African-American literature. Broadnax was selected for her bibliography project, “Selected Literature Published by the Civil War Soul Sisters.” The project showcases the writings of “black women who lived during the US Civil War, [during] a time when it was illegal for most African Americans to learn to read or write.”

 Librotraficante is the 2012 recipient of the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award given by the faculty of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Librotraficante, a movement led by Tony Diaz, is being recognized for its efforts to oppose the censorship of ethnic and cultural studies materials in Arizona. Librotraficante efforts have since extended across the country, including the development of a magazine and a freedom of speech event created in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month.

 Rainbow Awards

The Rainbow Books list is a joint project of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table and the Social Responsibilities Round Table.

Gonzalez, Rigoberto.  Mariposa Gown.  2012.  230p.  Tincture (Lethe Press), $13.00 (9781590213513).  Grades 8 & Up.
BFFs Maui, Trini, and Lib are confronted with difficult choices as they graduate- college, career, and who will wear a gown to the senior prom.

Takako, Shimura.  Wandering Son, Volume 2.  2012.  200p.  Fantagraphics Books, $19.99 (9781606994566).  Grades 6 & Up.
Shuichi spends his grandmother’s cash gift on a special present that leads to his sister finding out his secret, leading to disastrous consequences.  But can Shuichi find the strength and courage to withstand the trials that are to come?

Takako, Shimura.  Wandering Son, Volume 3.  2012.  200p.  Fantagraphics Books, $19.99 (9781606995334).  Grades 6 & Up.
As their friendship grows more strained after their secrets are exposed, Yoshino and Shuichi start to learn about the hard realities of being transgendered, and the consequences (unintended or not) that it can bring.

Wise, Tama.  Street Dreams.  2012.  264p.  Bold Strokes Books, Inc., $13.95 (9781602826502).  Grades 9 & Up.
Life, love, and hip-hop mix to push gay Moori teen Tyson to places he’s afraid to go when he suddenly starts crushing on a straight guy he meets through his involvements in the local scene

Davis, Tanita S.  Happy Families.  2012.  240p.  Random House Children’s, $16.99 (9780375869662).  Grades 6 & Up.
When twins Ysabel and Justin discover the true reason for their family’s split, they struggle with the secrets their father has been keeping.  Can they deal with their dad’s new life and find a way to put their happy family back together?

Lo, Malinda.  Adaptation.  2012.  400p.  Little, Brown, $17.99 (9780316197960).  Grades 9 & Up. (Top Ten Book)
Something strange has been going on with Reese Holloway since her car accident and her top secret medical treatment- but will she be allowed to figure it out, or will others take her apart to figure it out first?

Magoon, Kekla.  37 Things I Love (In No Particular Order).  2012.  224p.  Henry Holt, $16.99 (9780805094657).  Grades 7 & Up.
Bullied by her best friend and facing the impending death of her father, Ellis finds hope through  new therapist and in her emerging relationship with Cara.

Rice-Gonzalez, Charles.  Chulito:  a Novel.  2011.  275p.  Magnus Books, $14.95 (9781936833030).  Grades 10 & Up.
After sharing a secret with his best friend, a Latino teen’s ideas about what it really means to be a man are challenged.  Should he play ‘straight’ and keep his standing among his peers in the neighborhood, or come out and be his true self? (Top Ten Title)

Saenz, Benjamin Alire.  Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.  2012.  368p.  Simon & Schuster, $16.99 (9781442408920).  Grades 9-12.
Dante and Aristotle are opposites in almost every way but, nevertheless, the two boys are best friends, almost like two halves making a whole.  Saenz’ lyrical novel examines the bonds of friendship and the uncertainties and saving graces of love. (Top Ten Title)

The Pura Belpré Award honors Latino authors and illustrators whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in children’s books.  The Belpré Committee selected one Honor Book for narration.

Sonia Manzano for “The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano,” published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.

Stonewall Awards are given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience.

  “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, is the Stonewall Award winner.

Four Stonewall Book Awards – Barbara Gittings Literature Award Honor Books

“Chulito,” written by Charles Rice-Gonzalez and published by Magnus Books.

The Stonewall Book Awards – Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award

“For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Still Not Enough: Coming of Age, Coming Out, and Coming Home,” edited by Keith Boykin and published by Magnus Press.

Amelia Bloomer List

The Amelia Bloomer Project is part of the Feminist Task Force of the American Library Association’s Social Responsibility Round Table.

 fiction

McCall, Guadalupe Garcia. Summer of the Mariposas. 2012. 355p. Tu Books, $17.95 (978-1-6006-0900-8). Gr.7-up.
15-year old Odilia and her four sisters journey to Mexico to return the body of a dead man they found floating in the Rio Grande to his family. They battle supernatural forces and put aside their own differences for a trip that changes their lives forever.

Nonfiction

Bartels, Peggielene and Eleanor Herman. King Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny, and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed an African Village. 2012. 333p. Doubleday, $25.95 (978-0-3855-3432-1). Gr.9-up.
A phone call awakens Peggielene Bartels in the middle of the night with news that she’s been chosen the next king of her home village Otuam, Ghana.  She overcomes corruption and sexism to bring progress to the village.

Wahab, Saima.In My Father’s Country: An Afghan Woman Defies Her Fate. 2012. 352p. Crown Publishers, $25.00 (978-0-3078-8494-7). Gr.10-up.
Escaping gender oppression and political strife, Saima immigrates to the US as a teen. Saima later ventures back to Afghanistan as an interpreter and offers a fascinating perspective on Afghan customs including a provocative analysis of gender issues.

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For the second year in a row, the Children's and Young Adult winners of the Stonewall Book Awards, presented by ALA's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table, demonstrate a disappointing lack of diversity.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying the five honored titles of 2011 are unworthy of praise. And I think it's great that two of them explore trans identities. (Almost Perfect, by Brian Katcher — the overall winner — is about a boy who falls in love with a transgender girl. In The Boy in the Dress, by David Walliams, the title character finds joy in cross-dressing.) But when all is said and done, every single main character is a white male.

The same goes for 2010's honorees, with the exception of Linas Alsenas's Gay America: Struggle for Equality (a nonfiction book) and Leslea Newman's two honored board books, which feature babies of indeterminate gender and a possibly Asian dad.

It brings home the general lack of diversity in LGBTQ literature published for kids and teens. As in any genre, there's a perennial shortage of books starring people of color. The G always dominates the field, with L limping along in second and B and T trailing even farther behind. But still, not a single honored book featuring a female protagonist or a protagonist of color?

Again, I'm not saying the winners aren't deserving of recognition, and I realize the point of the awards is to recognize the year's most exceptional literature, not to honor the entire alphabet soup of queer identities. But neither Emily Horner's A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend nor Cheryl Rainfield's Scars — both of which got starred reviews from professional journals and featured (white) queer female protagonists — made the Stonewalls' shortlist.

For a more longer, more inclusive, and more diverse list of the past year's LGBTQ books for kids and teens, I suggest taking a look at the ALA Rainbow Project Committee's 2011 Rainbow List. The list is still skewed toward white dudes, but I think that's more a reflection of what's being published than of bias on the part of the committee.

But Stonewall Award committee? I'm keeping an eye on you.

She’ll have a book contract within a week.  This was undoubtedly the most popular video of the past week, making the rounds amongst folks who (A) like cute French kids (B) like Winnie-the-Pooh and (C) are aware that Pooh books are strikingly lacking in “singes”.  Many thanks to BoingBoing for the link.

But really, this week 100 Scope Notes had all the good videos.  In fact, if you read your 100 Scope Notes regularly (as I know you should) then you’ve probably seen all of these already.  Like this young woman reading Fox in Socks faster than any human has ever been able to before.

What really stands out to me while watching that video is how remarkable Seuss’s writing is, was, evermore shall be.  He did something so original that it can never be effectively replicated.  Now I need to run off and read some Fox in Socks.

Oh, how adorable.  I’ve only attended the ALA Media Awards since they got huge.  But Travis managed to find an old C-Span video of the award announcement from way back in 2001.  A full ten years ago.  How time has changed things.  And did I hear Lisa Von Drasek screaming “Yes!” when Casey at the Bat was mentioned as a Caldecott winner?  I think I did.  In any case, these are always fun to watch, if only to hear the reactions from the audience.

Fabulous find, Travis!  Thanks to 100 Scope Notes for the link.

In this next one, I saw on Swiss Miss that a photographer had taken a lot of neat photographs around New York, many in Bryant Park behind my library.  I then discovered this video of how he made the photos.  The first one shown here is in the Bryant Park fountain.  Apparently they took some in my library as well (undoubtedly when the guards were looking the other way).  Here’s a video on how they were made.

Thanks to Swiss Miss for the link.

Booktrailer time.  Carolrhoda Books (in conjunction with Lerner) put out this great little quick look at how Stephen Gammell paints his newest creation Mudkin.  Gammell.  There is no one on this good green earth that kind paint like he can.  No one.