THE DAY THE WAR CAME – A POEM ABOUT UNACCOMPANIED CHILD REFUGEES
Quoting Nikola Davies: A few weeks ago I heard a story about a child turning up at a school near a refugee camp and being turned away because there was no chair for her. She came back the next day with a broken chair and asked again. I can’t remember where I heard the story but it’s melded with all the other things I’ve heard over the last few months about refugee families and lone children.
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2019 Honor Title for Younger Readers
10 BOOKS BESIDES “TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD” THAT TACKLE RACIAL INJUSTICE
”The Round House” by Louise Erdrich and “Give Me Some Truth” by Eric Gansworth
These selections have particular urgency for me because they’re about Native American characters, who are underrepresented in a lot of high school literature classes, including my own. What I find really important about books on racial injustice is that they are written by people of color who can more accurately depict their own experiences and avoid the “white savior” stereotype.
“Monster” by Walter Dean Myers
The first thing the reader notices with this modern classic novel is the unusual style, as chapters alternate between what looks like a screenplay and handwritten journal entries from a young man awaiting trial in prison. The gripping story keeps the reader engaged throughout, as there is no indication of the fate of the young man until the very end of the narrative.
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Myers, the son of Newbery Honor author Walter Dean Myers, sees Make Me a World as a “grand experiment for rewriting what publishing can be.” He adds, “With the landscape of storytelling expanded to include everything from video games to virtual reality to cellphone soap operas, how can we change as storytellers in the book space? Children’s books especially, as the original multimodal community storytelling form, are positioned to innovate at a faster pace, dictated by the needs of the storytellers as opposed to whatever fashion is current.”
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BEYOND HOPE AND WHIMSY: COMPLEX THEMES IN KIDLIT
(Mitali Perkins in a Tweet.) ‘Acquaintance, patronizingly: “Children’s books? How sweet. What are yours about?” Me, deadpan: “Trafficking, microcredit, racism, refugees, war, genocide, poverty, adoption, gender bias, climate change, shadism, poaching, immigration, and the US-Mexico border.”’
With all these heavy subjects, it’s understandable that children’s books will enlist a young person’s sense of hope. Writing for that perspective means writing to children and young adults who need to see their place in society, and need to dream a future in it. But, the world from a child’s eyes does not erase the reality that child inhabits.
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UNCOVERING STORIES OF JAPANESE INTERNMENT FOR A PLACE TO BELONG
This is a guest post from Cynthia Kadohata….
I think the biggest thing I’ve learned from writing historical novels is that nothing is about me. It’s about the people I’m interviewing, the ones who went through the experiences that preceded mine and allowed me to live the life I do. Writing historical novels is a humbling experience. Learning about the way in which people fought for their lives and the lives of their children opens up the present and imbues it with greater meaning.
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20 BOOKS WITH LGBTQ CHARACTERS YOUR KIDS WILL LOVE
‘Home at Last’ Authored by Vera B. Williams, illustrated by Chris Raschka / This sensitive portrait of a loving and recognizably human family in which school-age Lester is adopted by Daddy Albert and Daddy Rich has clear adoption and LGBTQ themes, but the feelings will be recognizable to any kid who’s felt anxiety.
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2002 Honor Title
JANE ADDAMS PEACE ASSOCIATION SEEKS NEW BOARD MEMBERS
Please consider contributing to the work of deepening understanding of peace and justice for children and their adults through reflection, dialogue, and social action. Apply by July 15, 2019.