The National Council of English Teachers (NCTE) Conference began this past Wednesday, November 17th.
I’m honored that the panel of 6 BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) authors I put together was accepted as an On Demand Session at this year’s conference. The theme of the conference this year is Equity, Justice, and Antiracist Teaching.
Our panel titled, Normalizing Diversity and Decentering the Dominant Culture: Using Picture Books for Anti-Racist Teaching, will be available to NCTE Conference participants until February 19th.
I want to take this opportunity to introduce my 5 fellow authors and their amazing work. Please have a look at their websites and enjoy their picture books!
Here is are some of the other books we recommend for normalizing diversity.
Earlier in the year, Andrea J. Loney, Sharon Langley, Benson Shum, and I presented the same material at the American Federation of Teachers Biannual Conference.
In 2022, Andrea J. Loney, Sharon Langley and I will present the material at 4 CTA (California Teacher's Association the state affiliate of the NEA) conferences.
Posted by Zeena M. Pliska
Author of :
Hello, Little One: A Monarch Butterfly Story Illustrated by Fiona Halliday Page Street Kids
Egyptian Lullaby Illustrated by Hatem Aly Roaring Brook Press (coming Winter 2023)
The school year begins the second week of August this year. The last time I started a school year in person with 4- and 5-year-olds was August of 2019. The world was a much different place.
Events have changed the way we think about race in both the children’s publishing world and the education world. The conversations are difficult and strained. It’s hard to hold a mirror up and see your collective misgivings. Especially, when you don’t want to.
I am returning to the classroom this year with a commitment to examine my own internal biases so that I may make more balanced choices regarding the picture books I read to my young students.
I know many of you are familiar with this statement by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, Professor Emerita of Education at Ohio State University
“Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created and recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books. (1990, p. ix)”
Centering diversity and decentering white culture is extremely important for children of color. The kidlit community as well as many in education are beginning to acknowledge this. But what about children who identify as white? Is it important to be mindful of the books we read to these children? Do they need exposure to books with non-white protagonists? Books written and/or illustrated by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) creators?
As an author, I just sent my editor my author’s note for my upcoming picture book, Egyptian Lullaby, about daily life in Cairo. As I was writing the author’s note I realized that, although I hope that Arab children see themselves in the Egyptian American protagonist, my deepest hope is to normalize the Arab culture for the dominant/white culture to break through destructive stereotypes.
I have taught all over Los Angeles over the past 30+ years, in predominantly black communities and Latinx and Mexican American communities. Currently, I teach on the west side of the city where many of my students are white.
I can see that it is equally important for my white students to see themselves in a different way. To understand that they live in a diverse world... To see themselves as a part of a whole... To see that they are not more valuable than BIPOC children...
If I don’t address this… If I don’t normalize diversity… If I don’t de-center the stories white children experience that reinforce their privileged position in the world…If I don’t bring the stories into balance, nothing will change. And as an educator, I feel responsible for helping bring about change, otherwise I am part of the problem.
How can I expect people who identify with the white culture to see themselves as anything but entitled and at the top of the hierarchy if I keep reading books to young white children that reinforce that they are? How can I expect the paradigm to shift if I don’t shift it as a kindergarten teacher and a kidlit author?
I can help change perceptions with the simple act of paying attention to the picture books I use in my classroom. I can create a balanced view of the world and better serve both BIPOC and white students by examining my own internal biases and widening the lens in which I portray the world to them.
I imagine picking up a camera with a telephoto lens. That lens draws the eye to one small part of the picture and exaggerates its value. A wide-angle lens extends beyond the telephoto’s margins, bringing the marginalized out of the margins and including them in the whole picture in its totality. No one should feel marginalized. It’s up to me to change the lens both as an educator and a children’s book author.
As a kindergarten teacher, I am constantly evaluating my reading choices. I have discovered that I don’t include enough books with BIPOC protagonists. I have an awful lot of books that feature animals in stories that are told through a white lens. Many of my stories with BIPOC protagonists are stories of struggle, resistance, and resilience. I think it’s the activist in me that draws me to these stories. It’s totally out of balance and helps create a single narrative which is ultimately destructive.
So, my own discoveries about myself and my internal biases have lead to changes I will implement this August…
If you’re reading this post via email and you’re unable to see the video, you can watch it on our TeachingAuthors’ website HERE or you can watch it on YouTube here. (If you're on a mobile device, you'll need to use the YouTube link.)
Here is a list of some of the books I recommend to center diversity in your reading list:
1. The Day You Begin written by Jacqueline Woodson illustrated by Rafael Lopez
2. Dreamers written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales
3. Sonadores written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales
4. Carmela Full of Wishes written by matt De La Pena illustrated by Christian Robinson
5. The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story written by Aya Khalil illustrated by Anait
Semirdzhyan
6. Eyes That Kiss In The Corners written by Joanna Ho Illustrated by Dung Ho
7. Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story written by Kevin Noble Maillard illustrated by
Juana Martinez-Neal
8. The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family written by Ibtihaj Muhammad illustrated
by Hatem Aly
9. Mi Papi Has a Motorcycle written by Isabel Quintero illustrated by Zeke Pena
10. Water Protectors written by Carole Lindstrom illustrated by Michaela Goade
11. (Chapter book series) Farah Rocks New Beginnings written by Susan Muaddi Darraj
Illustrated by Ruaida Mannaa
12. Cora Cooks Pancit written by Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore illustrated by Kristi Valiant
13. Antiracist Baby by Ibram X Kendi illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky
14. (Early Reader series) Ty's Travels written by Kelly Starling Lyons illustrated by Nina Mata
15. Alex’s Good Fortune by Benson Shum
16. Alma by Juana Martinez-Neal
17. I Dream of PoPo by Livia Blackburne illustrated by Julia Kuo
18. Watercress by Andrea Wang illustrated by Jason Chin
19. Amy Wu & the perfect bao by Kat Zhang illustrated by Charlene Chua
20. Be A Friend by Salina Yoon
21. A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara
22. A Ride to Remember by Sharon Langley and Amy Nathan, illustrated by Floyd
Cooper
23. The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
24. Unspeakable by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
25. Red Shoes by Karen English illustrated by Ebony Glenn
26. Double Bass Blues by Andrea J Loney illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez
27. Take a Picture of Me, James Van Der Zee! by Andrea J Loney illustrated by Keith
Mallett
28. Little Seeds of Promise by Sana Rafi illustrated by Renia Metallinou
29. Finding Om by Rashmi Bismark illustrated by Morgan Huff
30. Dalia's Wondrous Hair by Laura Lacamara
31. Feliz New Year, Ava Gabriela by Alexandra Alessandri illustrated by Addy Rivera Sonda
32. Egyptian Lullaby, by Zeena M. Pliska, illustrated by Hatem Aly; published by
Roaring Brook Press (Coming June 2022)
One of the most exciting days in an author’s life is Book Release Day! It’s a time for parties with your critique group, friends, museum staff, librarians, and family. Those are the ones who helped you along the way. They gave you space to write, read your first attempts, answered your research requests and encouraged you to keep writing.
Then your author copies arrive in your mailbox.
Hurrah! Its book release fun time!
(See below for details of how to enter our giveaway to win your own autographed copy!)
Capstone Editions released Ona Judge Outwits the Washingtons – An Enslaved Woman Fights For Freedom just in time for the Oklahoma Technology Association-Encyclomedia Conference. I introduced Ona to the world of teachers and librarians. Some knew Ona’s story, others did not. I never tire of sharing her with the world. She is a wonderful example of someone determined to live life on her own terms.
A new fan at EncycloMedia.
Ona was born on George Washington’s Mount Vernon plantation. Her mother was enslaved and her father was a white indentured servant from England. When Washington was elected president, Ona was one of the enslaved people who accompanied the family to New York and later to Philadelphia. She was Martha’s personal servant and attended to her needs at home and also accompanied her on visits to friends like Abigail Adams. Ona was allowed a small amount of freedom to explore Philadelphia on her own.
Why would she want to be free? She had more freedom than most Black people. She was allowed to run errands on her own, attend the circus, and was given a small amount of money to buy presents for her family on Mount Vernon. But it was not enough for Ona and she ran away.
She was soon recognized in her new hometown of Portsmouth, Massachusetts and President Washington sent people to return her to Mount Vernon. Ona refused. Despite several attempts, the Washingtons never succeed. Her life wasn't easy. She was always considered a runaway. But Ona was firm. She would decide how to live her life.
Illustrator Simone Agoussoye & Author Gwendolyn Hooks at ALA
Sometimes as I write, I find myself stuck. I can’t find the perfect combination of words. They refuse to flow. During some of those moments, I wondered if I was doing justice to Ona’s story. Am I the person to write it?
It certainly required a lot of research. I couldn’t have done it without the librarians on the other end of Ask A Librarian on the Library of Congress website. Mary V. Thompson, a Research Historian at the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington never seemed to tire of my constant emails.
To relax during some of my dark moments, my sister and I took the Heartland Flyer from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth to visit my daughter. Then we hopped on the Texas Eagle to Longview, Texas to visit our niece. I love reading on the train, looking out the window, and thinking.
We took a side trip to the Tyler Museum of Art. The paper exhibit began to clear my head. Amazing creativity!
During another of my down moments, my son called. He is a Marine pilot and had just returned from a six-month deployment. He always calls when his plane lands and he's home again. He said, “I’m “Portsmouth, New Hampshire.” I got so excited and upbeat. It was a sign. His phone call unleashed my writing spirit. It said – Get back to your computer. Young readers need to know this brave young lady.
I listened to my spirit and ONA JUDGE OUTWITS THE WASHINGTONS-AN ENSLAVED WOMAN FIGHTS FOR FREEDOM is now out in the world.
"The attention-grabbing text and unique illustrations will make this a welcome addition for all history collections." - School Library Journal
To enter our drawing, use the Rafflecopter widget below. You may enter via 1, 2, or all 3 options.
If you choose option 2, you MUST leave a comment on TODAY'S blog post or on our TeachingAuthors Facebook page. If you haven't already "liked" our Facebook page, please do so today!
In
your comment, we'd love if you would share either the title of a picture
book biography you'd like to recommend or the name of a person who would
make a good subject for a picture book biography.
(If you prefer, you may submit your comment via email to: teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com.)
Note: if you submit your comments via email or Facebook, YOU MUST STILL ENTER THE DRAWING VIA THE WIDGET BELOW. The giveaway ends October 18, 2019 and is open to U.S. residents only.
Meet
my fellow Chicago children’s book author, the lovely and talented Claudia Guadalupe Martinez who so generously agreed to share today’s Wednesday Writing
Workout in celebration of the release of her second Cinco Puntos Press book,
the YA novel PIG PARK.
As
her biography notes, Claudia grew up in a close family in Segundo Barrio in El
Paso, Texas.Reading the Spanish
subtitles of old westerns for her father, she soon learned that letters form
words. By six she knew she wanted to grow up to create stories.Her father, who died when she was eleven,
encouraged her to dream big and write many books.
Cinco
Puntos Press is located in El Paso, Texas, “a fact that informs every book that
we publish,” publisher John Byrd shared.Along with others championing diversity in children’s books
today, he considers PIG PARK and Claudia’s debut award-winning novel THE SMELL OF
OLD LADY PERFUME to be worthy examples of the kinds of books the Cooperative Children’s Book Center and WeNeedDiverseBooks encourage and seek.
“Claudia,”
Byrd wrote, “has a clear fronterizo
voice: innocent, shy, witty, full of border culture and understanding.She used that voice well in THE SMELL OF OLD
LADY PERFURME, earning herself a great deal of attention with readers, teachers
and librarians looking for new and talented writers coming up out of the
Hispanic community. That voice has matured in PIG PARK, still shy and clear,
but now feisty as well and full of opinions as she chronicles the summer that
fifteen-year-old Masi Burciaga and her neighbors came together to save Pig
Park.”
I
so appreciate Claudia’s willingness to share her insights and expertise on
creating authentic characters with our TeachingAuthors readers and writers.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Esther
Hershenhorn
P.S. To enter our latest giveaway, a copy of CHILDREN'S WRITER'S AND ILLUSTRATOR'S MARKET 2015, check Carmela's Friday post. ** * * *
* * * * * * * *
The
face of America is ever-changing.“Minority” children are set to become the “majority” by the end of this
decade, and are already such among babies under the age of one.Yet, among the children's book titles
published, approximately only ten percent are by or about racially or
ethnically diverse populations each year--according to the Cooperative
Children’s Book Center (CCBC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
This
conversation isn’t new, but the mainstream is taking note, thanks to the success
of the recentWeNeedDiverseBooks
campaign.I am more frequently asked for
advice on writing diversity, specifically when it comes to authenticity.In such instances, I refer my fellow writers
to author Mitali Perkins' tips for writing diversity.Mitali lectures widely on the topic.
When
it comes to authenticity in racial identity, she advises writers to ask,
"How and why does the author define race?”She suggests writers consider the following:
“When
race is explicit in a book, ask yourself and your students what would have been
lost if a character’s race hadn’t been defined by the writer. Why did the
author choose to define race?”The
reason should be to establish something for the character, and not just to
follow a trend or be politically correct.I, for example, wrote about young Chicana in THE SMELL OF OLD LADY
PERFUME because I pulled from my own experiences growing up in a Texas border town.The Latino kids in PIG PARK were loosely
based on my experiences in Chicago.
Alternatively,
writers can ask, “Why didn’t he or she let us know the race of the characters?”If no explicit race is mentioned, will this
cause readers to default to white characters, or do other cues establish
diverse identity?Physical appearance,
language, names, food can all be used to designate diversity.
While
Mitali’s advice focuses on race, authors can apply it to creating authenticity
for various other forms of identity.The
point is to start thinking about how genuine the attempt at integration is.
To
figure out what this might mean for you, whether writing inside or outside your
experience, try this exercise.
Write a character
biography based on his/her racial/ethnic identity.Answer the following questions:
When
and how did he/she become aware of his/her identity?
What
role has the specific identity played in his/her life?
How
does it affect his/her social activities?
How
does it affect his/her school activities?
In
what ways does the character benefit from this identity? In what ways doesn’t
the character benefit?
How
does the specific identity affect your story?
Variation:
Write a biography based on another form of diverse identity (religious, sexual
orientation, ability, etc.).
We
live in a complex world where identity is both assigned and assumed.Authentic diversity isn’t casual or
happenstance, but something that we as writers must develop as carefully as all
other aspects of our story.
What a Poetry Month we've celebrated! Now I hope to backtrack and read the many intriguing posts I've bookmarked for later enjoyment. In case you missed any of ours, here's a recap:
We each read one of our favorite poems aloud. (Of course, it was a difficult choice!) You can hear:
April reading "Liberty" by Janet Wong from Declaration of Interdependence – Poems for an Election Year
I had tons of fun writing Wednesday Writing Workouts about different poetry forms. I gave myself a weekly writing assignment and wrote a new poem (or several) to accompany each one:
For our Fifth Anniversary Blogiversary Book Bundle Giveaway, we gave bundles of 5 books each to 5 winners. We are thrilled with our readers and tickled to read all of your smart, funny, thoughtful comments. Thank you for inspiring us!
The TeachingAuthors are six children's book authors with a wide range (and many years) of experience teaching writing to children, teens, and adults. Here, we share our unique perspective as writing teachers who are also working writers. Our features include writing exercises (our "Writing Workouts"), teaching tips, author interviews, book reviews, and more. Click here for detailed information about our "Writing Workouts." For our individual bios, please see the "About Us" page. To contact us regarding reviewing a book on the craft of writing, see the section below labeled SUBMITTING BOOKS FOR REVIEW.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Spirit of Christmas: 101 Joyful Holiday Stories, edited by Amy Newmark, includes a story by Carmela A. Martino
Newest TeachingAuthor Title
Playing by Heart by Carmela A. Martino (revised edition)
Recent TeachingAuthor Title
Egyptian Lullaby (Roaring Brook Press) by Zeena M. Pliska illustrated by Hatem Aly
Anthology featuring Poetry by two TeachingAuthors
Clara's Kooky Compendium of Thimblethoughts and Wonderfuzz, edited by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, illustrated by Frank Ramspott (Pomelo Books), includes poems by April Halprin Wayland and Carmela A. Martino
Anthology Featuring TeachingAuthor Poetry
The Mistakes That Made Us: Confessions from Twenty Poets edited by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mercè López (Carolrhoda Books), includes a poem by April Halprin Wayland
Submitting Books for Review
If you have a writing book you would like to submit for review consideration, then Contact us!for submission guidelines. Please be sure to include the words "Teaching Authors Book Review" in the subject.
If you have general questions about this website, please contact Carmela Martino via her contact page here.
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The individual opinions expressed on this blog do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the other contributors to the blog, nor do they necessarily reflect the opinions of any of our publishers. We encourage our visitors to try out the tips and advice shared here. However, please do not copy any information without the written consent of the person who posted it. Thank you.
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