By: tanita davis,
on 4/30/2013
This book is allegedly for MG. Well, my inner fifth grader is all kinds of happy right now, then. And my inner sophomore. And my Alleged Adultness. This is a Cybil potential, all right, straight up. It has heart-pounding adventure, right out of the... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 4/17/2013
All hail the cooperative! I know I'm always on my soapbox for the Little Guy, but seriously, many readers never see books that aren't put out by the Big Five publishing houses (it used to be Big Six, before the Random Penguin House thing). Curiosity... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 4/10/2013
ALL RIGHT. I know I say this every time, but I ♥ Tu Books. It's just the kind of publishing company so many people were waiting for - because where else can you tell your crazy YA tales of monsters, the Malleus Maleficarum - the Spanish... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 2/27/2013
Oh, my gosh, this was a hard book to review. Maybe because I kept kind of having to shudder, because I knew what was going to happen - what had to happen. I mean, hello, title. It's clearly there. The. Summer. Prince. People who read enough... Read the rest of this post
By: aquafortis,
on 2/4/2013
There is never a bad time for good news, and if we can start the week off with good news on a Monday morning, so much the better.I heard via Colleen @ Chasing Ray that our very own TANITA, of THIS BLOG RIGHT HERE, is on the ALA's 2013 Rainbow List... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 10/1/2012
When I studied the work of Gabriel Garcia Marquez in grad school, I heard the word "magical realism" overwhelmingly. We talked a lot about the concept as defined by his work, and by the work of Latin American writers. We also talked about how... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 9/26/2012
In case you missed it, we had a lovely read through THORN this week for our Diverse Universe reading tour post. Other notable bloggers have reviewed LUCRETIA AND THE KROOMS by Victor LaValle, SO LONG BEEN DREAMING, edited by Nalo Hopkinson, THE... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 9/24/2012
While other people rubberneck and drive five miles an hour through autumn-tinted trees, we here in the Wonderland Treehouse are finding our autumn color without the benefit of cars. Behold, it's finally here! A MORE DIVERSE UNIVERSE is organized and... Read the rest of this post
By: aquafortis,
on 9/20/2012
First, the CONTEST ALERT! Actually, there are two opportunities for you YA writers out there. Firstly, the diversity-friendly publishing company Lee and Low, who pioneered the New Voices picture book award, are now presenting the New Visions Award... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 9/7/2012
I first heard of this at Charlotte's blog. Then I hustled over to BookLust and snagged a logo button. I am SO in. Speculative fiction by diverse authors and featuring a diverse cast of characters are on the rise. Every time I see a heads-up about a... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 9/2/2012
In the sixty-five years since India was no longer a single entity but because itself and Pakistan, then later Pakistan and Bangladesh, there has been a lot of hostility, a lot of suspicion, and a lot of bloodshed. The causes and consequences are... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 7/31/2012
Wow. It's almost August! It's the last official month of summer reading...woe!Kudos today to newbie teacher *Anne Boles Levy*, and to all the rest of you teacher and librarian folk going back to the grindstone, reveling in the smell of chalk (I... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 5/25/2012
Short of my time with Grapes of Wrath in high school, and Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust, I have to admit that my grasp of Dust Bowl literature is not all that firm. I read way too much into it, and find myself wheezing and coughing at the idea of... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 4/21/2012
The immigrant experience is not for the faint of heart. Merely living abroad in one Western country instead of another has produced misunderstandings, depression, and wry amusements.I cannot begin to imagine the immigrant experience when coupled... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 4/18/2012
A bundle lies beside the door. The creature within is colorless and smooth, oddly calm. Like statuary, or a figure cast in wax.I shove the bundle into the brat's arms. She shudders and and scrambles to hand it back. "You'll hold it, " I tell her.... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 4/3/2012
Now, THIS is what I'm talking about. No werewolves. No vampires. No British isles fairytale constructs. No Arthurian legends, creaky with age, being unfolded and poorly cleansed of the dust of ages for the nth, nth, nth time. No. This is neither... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 10/4/2011
As the woman says, "Ya gotta play to win." Blogger Paula Chase Hyman at The Brown Bookshelf brought up a point the other day that we have to underscore: if you don't throw your hat in the ring for a thing, you won't be involved.There's a huge,... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 7/5/2011
This past weekend, I visited Sociological Images, my go-to blog for when I pretend to my second career as a sociologist. Oh, don't laugh at me - I think most writers are amateur anthropologists and sociologists, not to mention psychologists - we... Read the rest of this post
By: aquafortis,
on 1/24/2011
I ran across a few fascinating links via a recent issue of the Expression Online e-newsletter (the international SCBWI newsletter), and I thought I'd post those along with the news that the US Board on Books for Young People recently released their... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 1/25/2011
I greet you today with joy, fellow-readers! Cold Magic by Kate Elliott is the book I have to share with you, and though it's not marketed as a YA novel, it crosses over beautifully. The main characters are a pair of cousins who are below their... Read the rest of this post
By: aquafortis,
on 2/17/2011
I don't always post thoughts about writing as much as I really should--I often leave those for my personal blog, reasoning that it's mostly semi-coherent stream-of-consciousness meandering anyway, and we're professionals around here. Today I'm... Read the rest of this post
By: aquafortis,
on 2/26/2011
Just a few random bits of news and links for a weekend morning......If you saw our earlier post or any of the other kidlitosphere blog posts about the passing of L.K. Madigan, you might like to know that a trust fund has been set up to help provide... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 3/5/2011
Reader Gut Reaction: Once Upon a Time (and I have told you this story before, yes) I was kind of a cowgirl. I worked at a summer camp from the time I was sixteen, for six awesome years. I had the boots. I had the curry comb. I had the hoof pick, --... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 5/4/2011
It's WCOB Wednesday!Formerly the first Monday of the month, WCOB has moved to Wednesdays to give me a moment to gasp, "WHA!? It's a new month already!?" and do that sort of full-body shuddering thing one does when one has a lot piled on one's plate... Read the rest of this post
By: aquafortis,
on 5/9/2011
...and I was there to witness it! If you don't know Diversity in YA, I highly suggest a visit to their website. It's an endeavor that celebrates and spreads the word about diversity in books for young people, founded by authors Malinda Lo and Cindy... Read the rest of this post
I heard about this and the cover discussion. It sounds cool. I think I already have this on my TBR list.
@ Lin: I liked it more than I expected to - which was exciting!