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One of the best ways to deepen our commitment to children's and young adult books is by meeting other people who share that passion. And I don't mean just virtually; I mean in real life, too. Well, here's our chance: the 8th annual Kidlitosphere Conference, aka KidLitCon, October 10-11, at the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria in Sacramento, California. This is a gathering of people who care about children’s and young adult books, including librarians, authors, teachers, parents, booksellers, publishers, and readers.
Social Media, Blogging, and Diversity in Young Adult and Children’s LiteratureHow might we use our blogs and social media platforms to widen the world of children’s and young adult literature? I'll be there, speaking about how we can change and affect the conversation about diversity, both in the industry and in the wider culture. Author
Shannon Hale is going to speak also, via Skype.
Mark October 10th and 11th on your calendar—we'd love to see you there. And consider
submitting a proposal by August 1st about how you might contribute to the conversation on children’s and young adult books. Or just
register by September 19th.
Conference Organizers
Tanita Davis and
Sarah Stevenson,
Finding WonderlandJen Robinson,
Jen Robinson’s Book PagePlease help by spreading the word.
Be a fan on Facebook and
Follow KidLitCon on Twitter.
In honor of the NCTE's African American Read-In, the book blogging community has decided to pick and discuss a book during February. Doret, Edi and Ari (bookseller, librarian, avid young adult reader—great combination) narrowed it down for us to 6 YA titles by African American authors about African American teens. Vote here for the book you want us to read and discuss.
You may also vote on (and submit) videos about diversity in America created by young people at "I Am This Land," like this one about a young Muslim girl who has to stand up for herself both inside and outside her home. Which confrontation took more courage?
Online Christian Colleges created a list of the 50 best blogs for Christian homeschoolers. I'm excited to look through the list. You can see it right
here. I'm honored to be listed among so many great blogs. Check it out.
One of the many gifts of new media is an increased democracy in the public square (with thanks to our public libraries, who fight to narrow the digital divide). In her School Library Journal cover story about blogs, Betsy Bird quotes editor Cheryl Klein: “Book blogs have created community—a place where we adults who take children's literature seriously can discuss it seriously and at length, in a forum open to the whole Internet.”
Virtually, as in life, it may be easier to commune with people with whom we have quite a bit in common. The challenge is to tune into voices we might not otherwise hear, listening and learning from people who aren't "like us" at first blush. Good blogs help us cross borders, and sometimes take us to uncomfortable places where we either change our convictions or deepen them through discourse and dialogue.
Since I don't know how you define your "comfort zone" in the realm of Kid/YA literature, here are a few options to get you thinking:
If you're a woman and typically only read books about girls, peruse Guys Lit Wire.
Live in a mostly white community? Delve into Reading in Color, Crazy Quilts, or Color Online.
If you've never had to think about what it's like to grow up as an American Indian, tune into American Indians in Children's Literature.
Wondering what it's like to be a Latino writer in the world of North American literature? Read La Bloga.
Don't have any conservative white friends who home school? Consider Semicolon's take on literature.
And so on ....
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):
I share links about children's and YA books with my followers on Twitter. These were the most popular tidbits in my twitter stream last week:
- Scholastic editor Cheryl Klein spells out her submissions guidelines and what she's looking for: http://bit.ly/16m9qC
- Kids' Book Events at BEA http://bit.ly/8hFpt
- Wanna tour the blogs when your YA/Kid book releases? Start by reading the best bloggers in the kidlitosphere now: http://bit.ly/m1u4e
- 2K9 debut MG and YA authors interview their editors (i.e., Joy Peskin/Viking, Jim Thomas/RH, Reka Simonsen/Henry Holt) http://bit.ly/oUJhR
- Editorial Anonymous says the Coretta Scott King Award race-based criteria is racist, and commenters leap into the fray: http://bit.ly/hCHaV
My fun year of serving as a readergirlz diva is coming to a close, and I'm delighted to step into my trendy new role as rgz talent scout. I'll be on the hunt for hot new titles, so send the viral buzz my way.
Our author for December is Meg Cabot, and we're featuring HOW TO BE POPULAR, as well as celebrating the release of the last book in her PRINCESS DIARIES series, FOREVER PRINCESS, releasing January 6, 2009. Check out and jump into the rgz roundtable on popularity hosted by Little Willow. Or consider our recommended reads on the theme:
- A La Carte by Tanita Davis
- Fringe Girl in Love by Valerie Frankel
- Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott
- How Not to be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler
- Respect, a Girl’s Guide to Getting Respect & Dealing When your Line is Crossed
Also, rgz diva
Lorie Ann Grover is spearheading our new little sister site --
readertotz!
Taking the lead from readergirlz, which boasts more than 8,000 members, readertotz will showcase high-quality literature. Lorie Ann Grover and Joan Holub will feature weekly blog posts that highlight the best contributions in the infant-toddler book arena and recommend monthly community service projects appropriate for families with young children to enjoy. Also included each month: an age-appropriate playlist and a recommended book for the older sibling.
"readertotz is our effort to raise the bar in board and novelty book literature," says Lorie Ann Grover. "We're challenging our colleagues to write great books for the youngest readers and encouraging the industry to publish those works. Eventually, we hope to work with the American Library Association to establish an award for infant-toddler books that's equivalent to the Caldecott and Theodor Geisel Award."
Now all we need is readerkidz or readertweenz!
Writing is a lonely, angst-filled vocation, so when anyone cares -- and I mean really cares -- about your books, you feel so ... validated.
I got that warm and toasty Hallmark-cardish sensation as Pam Coughlan, a.k.a. Mother Reader, delved into the First Daughter books and my current writing projects.
But then I had to wreck it by threatening her life.
Told you writers were odd.
The stupendously massive Winter Blog Blast Tour continues today with Martin Miller at Chasing Ray, John Green at Writing and Ruminating, Beth Kephart at Hip Writer Mama, Emily Ecton at Bildungsroman, John David Anderson at Finding Wonderland, Brandon Mull at The YA YA YAs, and Lisa Papademetriou at Mother Reader. Enjoy!
The power of blog buzz continues to change the industry, and thanks to Mother Reader I find myself in excellent company as the 2008 Winter Blog Blast Tour gets underway.
Monday
Lewis Buzbee at Chasing Ray
Louis Sachar at Fuse Number 8
Laurel Snyder at Miss Erin
Courtney Summers at Bildungsroman
Elizabeth Wein at Finding Wonderland
Susan Kuklin at The YA YA YAs
Tuesday
Ellen Dalow at Chasing Ray
Tony DiTerlizzi at Miss Erin
Melissa Walker at Hip Writer Mama
Luisa Plaja at Bildungsroman
DM Cornish at Finding Wonderland
LJ Smith at The YA YA YAs
Kathleen Duey at Bookshelves of Doom
Wednesday
Ellen Klages at Fuse Number 8
Emily Jenkins at Wrting and Ruminating
Ally Carter at Miss Erin
Mark Peter Hughes at Hip Writer Mama
Sarah Darer Littman at Bildungsroman
MT Anderson at Finding Wonderland
Mitali Perkins at Mother Reader
Thursday
Martin Millar at Chasing Ray
John Green at Writing and Ruminating
Beth Kephart at Hip Writer Mama
Emily Ecton at Bildungsroman
John David Anderson at Finding Wonderland
Brandon Mull at The YA YA YAs
Lisa Papademetriou at Mother Reader
Friday
Mayra Lazara Dole at Chasing Ray
Francis Rourke Dowell at Fuse Number 8
J Patrick Lewis at Writing and Ruminating
Wendy Mass at Hip Writer Mama
Lisa Ann Sandell at Bildungsroman
Caroline Hickey/Sara Lewis Holmes at Mother Reader
A.S. King at Bookshelves of Doom
Emily Wing Smith at Interactive Reader
If you, like me, couldn't make it to Portland, Oregon for the second annual children's and YA book bloggers' conference, you can do the next best thing -- tune into a plethora of diverse blogging voices as they dish about the weekend.
News Flash: The conference is coming to the East Coast next September, organized by the one and only
Mother Reader.
Ypulse.com, a rich online resource and one of my regular must-read blogs, was founded by Anastasia Goodstein, author of TOTALLY WIRED and nationally renowned expert on American tweens, teens and early twentysomethings.
Yesterday Ypulse.com announced the launch of Ypulse Books, a blog and newsletter that covers books for children and young adults, providing insight on what children and young adults read, the latest trends in how books are marketed to youth, and efforts to increase youth literacy.
And if you're planning to be in the Bay Area on July 14th, don't miss the Ypulse Books/Publishing Preconference at the 2008 Ypulse National Mashup conference.
"For a lot of us, we eat, sleep, and breath, young adult literature, but we know it's changing every day," said Alli Decker, Editor of Ypulse Books. "It will be so exciting to exchange information, resources and especially ideas about the new developments on the YA horizon."
Out here on the Fire Escape, I strive to be authentic, a word defined by Merriam-Webster as "true to one's own personality, spirit, or character." We could use that definition to apply also to an author's voice, and I'm convinced that blogging should offer a sample of that voice.
In this blog, however, I don't share too many details about my private life. I almost never mention church, friends outside the children's book world, or family members (with two exceptions: pets and parents).
The dictionary goes on to discern a difference between authentic and genuine:
Authentic can also stress painstaking or faithful imitation of an original (an authentic reproduction, authentic Vietnamese cuisine). Genuine implies actual character not counterfeited, imitated, or adulterated.
The blogs of authors
Meg Cabot and
Laurie Halse Anderson resound with personality that can't be imitated, and they talk frequently about their families, inventing on-line nicknames for their children and husband. I'm wondering if sharing more of my day-to-day life might make my own blog voice more
genuine.
But what happens when I face a time of suffering or grief? How do I blog about that? Last year author
Grace Lin (YEAR OF THE RAT) walked that fine line with courage and grace (she was named well), serving as an
example for the rest of us. Thank you, Grace.
So here's my question: how do
you balance authenticity with privacy in an on-line journal?
Apparently teens are reading American YA lit in Quezon City, Philippines, and First Daughter: White House Rules was recently reviewed at a hospitable blog called "Into The Wardrobe," where I was also asked to give an interview. Maraming Salamat, Tarie!
If you're wondering whether or not we have clout in the publishing world, check out the list of luminaries interviewed by Little Willow (who most recently chatted with Meg Cabot). Jules and Eisha over at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast also have a fabulous list of interviews with authors and illustrators; the conversations are funny, addictive, and should be compiled into a book.
Check out one diligent blogger's inaugural post over at PBS, where she's the resident guru of kid lit for one month. Sounds like a national virtual ambassador for children's books to me.
If you're a parent or educator who cares about raising readers, why not subscribe to the content-filled, easy-to-read Growing Bookworms Newsletter put out by Jen Robinson? Each issue is a handy aggregation of information and reviews to "help you inspire the children in your life to love books." Now there's a worthwhile mission statement if I've ever heard one.
Courtesy of Jen Robinson's Book Page:
As you know if you've been visiting any children's book blogs for the past few weeks, Robert's Snow is an online auction that benefits Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Over 200 children's book illustrators have created art on individual snowflake-shaped wooden templates. The snowflakes will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to cancer research. You can view all of the 2007 snowflakes here. Jules and Eisha from Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast have found a way for bloggers to help with this effort, by blogging about individual illustrators and their snowflakes. The idea is to drive traffic to the Robert's Snow site so that many snowflakes will be sold, and much money raised to fight cancer. The illustrator profiles have been wonderful so far - diverse and creative and colorful. And there are lots more to go.
Here's the schedule for Week 5, which started Monday. As previously, this early schedule links to the participating blogs, instead of to the individual posts. You can find links to the posts themselves, and any last-minute updates, each morning at 7-Imp. Jules and Eisha have also set up a special page at 7-Imp containing a comprehensive list of links to the profiles posted so far. Also not to be missed is Kris Bordessa's post summarizing snowflake-related contests to date over at Paradise Found.
Monday, November 12
Tuesday, November 13
Wednesday, November 14
Thursday, November 15
Friday, November 16
Saturday, November 17
Sunday, November 18
Please take time out to visit all of these blogs, and read about these fabulous illustrators. And, if you're so inclined, think about bidding for a snowflake in the Robert's Snow auction. Each snowflake makes a unique gift (for yourself or for someone else), and supports an important cause.
See also the following note from Elaine Magliaro of
Wild Rose Reader:
Note to Blog Readers about Blogging for a Cure: When Jules of 7-Imp put out her call in September for bloggers to interview/feature artists who had created snowflakes for Robert’s Snow 2007 at their blogs, a number of artists had not yet sent in their snowflakes to Dana-Farber. As time was of the essence to get Blogging for a Cure underway, we worked with the list of artists whose snowflakes were already in possession of Dana-Farber. Therefore, not all the participating artists will be featured. This in no way diminishes our appreciation for their contributions to this worthy cause. We hope everyone will understand that once the list of artists was emailed to bloggers and it was determined which bloggers would feature which artists at their blogs, a schedule was organized and sent out so we could get to work on Blogging for a Cure ASAP. Our aim is to raise people’s awareness about Robert’s Snow and to promote the three auctions. We hope our efforts will help to make Robert’s Snow 2007 a resounding success.
As a proud participant in last summer's blog blast tour, I'm delighted to announce the launch of a winter BBT. Colleen Mondor has the master plan.
Monday, October 29
Dan Santat at Writing and Ruminating
Joanne Friar at The Longstockings
Alissa Imra Geis at Wild Rose Reader
Diane Greenseid at Just One More Book!!
Sean Qualls at Brooklyn Arden
Tuesday, October 30
Ann Koffsky at Book Buds
Bill Carman at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Gretel Parker at Finding Wonderland
Matt Phelan at A Year of Reading
Stephanie Roth at Writing with a broken tusk
Wednesday, October 31
Shawna Tenney at Kate's Book Blog
Adam Rex at Booktopia and Welcome to my Tweendom
Mo Willems at MotherReader
Rolandas Kiaulevicius at a wrung sponge
Thursday, November 1
Karen Lee at sruble's world
Diana Magnuson at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Melissa Iwai at Brooklyn Arden
Victoria Jamieson at AmoXcalli and Cuentecitos
Molly Idle at The Shady Glade
Meghan McCarthy at A Fuse #8 Production
Friday, November 2
Tracy McGuinness-Kelly at Sam Riddleburger's blog
Sarah Kahn at Kate's Book Blog
Sylvia Long at Whimsy Books
Jeremy Tankard at the excelsior file
Holli Conger at Please Come Flying
Saturday, November 3
Susan Miller at Your Neighborhood Librarian
Ellen Beier at What Adrienne Thinks About That
Hideko Takahashi at The Silver Lining
Judith Moffat at Jo's Journal
Wendell Minor at Wild Rose Reader
While reading Debbie Reese's illuminating American Indians in Children's Literature blog, I learned that the LaCapa Children's Book Awards is now accepting submissions.
Named for Michael Lacapa, children’s book illustrator and writer who died in 2005, the award honors the legacy of his artistic vision and talent for storytelling. This prize acknowledges great books for children that best embody the spirit of the peoples, culture, and natural landscape of the Southwest. Books published in the two years prior to the award are eligible for consideration.
Submissions for the 2008 prize are due December 10, 2007 and winners will be announced in January.
From the ALA comes news of a new blog for children's librarians, along with events for Teen Read Week, which is next week. Check out the Teens Top 10 Initiative:
Teens' Top Ten is a "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year! Nominators are members of teen book groups in five school and public libraries around the country—the 2007 nominees were chosen by book groups in Connecticut, Kansas, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Utah, selected for their experience in discussing books. If you read nominated books throughout the year, you’ll be ready to vote for your favorites during Teen Read Week, October 14 - 20, 2007. Readers aged twelve to eighteen can vote right here anytime that week.
Source: Library Stuff and Zeesays.
Educating Alice’s Monica Edinger’s fourth grade classroom sure is lucky to have such an inspiring and committed teacher. Immigration is their year’s theme, so she is working with students on different projects using Shaun Tan’s magnificent, wordless book The Arrival. She has been documenting the experience on Educating Alice and her classblog, featuring comments, podcasts, and photos.
Enjoy, vicariously, the loads of learning and fun they are concocting, or get ideas for how to use the book in your own classroom. They will be working with The Arrival for at least another week, so make sure to check her “In the Classroom” updates.
Did you know that the folks over at American Booksellers Association (ABA) have been blogging regularly since February? It's a good one, too, with a catchy title: "Omnibus / a regular update on bookselling, retail, authors, culture, technology, and ..." I'm especially grateful for a recent shout-out to the Fire Escape.
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I have enjoyed your blog ever since I found it a few weeks ago! I appreciate the book reviews and homeschooling ideas and resources. Just thought I'd comment to let you know - comments are always nice!
I'm a wanna-be homeschooler and mom of 5. Maybe someday I'll take the plunge... thanks for the list of resources!
That is amazing but not at all surprising!!!! I just showed Terry and he said "That's right. My sister is awesome. Old. But awesome". He was retaliating because you called his baby picture old. Well I don't think either of you are.