From: Aline Pereira <aline>
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2009 13:41:07 -0700

Thanks for mentioning PaperTigers, Megan. The features and names I'll mention in the comment below are a reflection of what PaperTigers aims to explore/promote in terms of children's literature. Dealing with multicultural children's books in general, and with those related to the Pacific Rim and South Asia in particular, we hope to help children overcome stereotypes and prejudice that could diminish awareness of and respect for the humanity of "the other", whoever and wherever that "other" is. The authors mentioned here and many others are helping make our world a better place by sharing authentic narratives that engage and educate children. Kudos to all of them!

I am delighted to be taking part in this discussion. Let me start by commenting on the topic of adoption books. I agree with Sarah Park when she says there's a dearth of books about adoption written from the point of view of adoptees. I have, however, found Kimchi & Calamari, by Rose Kent (a mom/stepmom of six children, including two adopted from Korea) to be an excellent YA book on the theme. Whereas it isn't written by an adoptee, it's written from the point of view of one struggling with his identity as a Korean in an Italian family. Joseph's tale is a contemporary coming-of-age story that deals with adoption as well as many other issues in a realistic and sensitive way. The author said in her 2007 interview for PaperTigers: "The inspiration for Kimchi & Calamari arrived wrapped in a diaper, all the way from South Korea. I'm referring to my son Connor. Adopting Connor was a true joy, but it also left me reflective. As happy as I was that he was part of our family, I realized the joy of his adoption was attached to a loss for him that I could never fully take away. I knew he would become more aware of this with time. I wanted him to understand, as he grew, that even if I couldn't fully "get it"
-- understand how it felt to be adopted ? I wanted to." I found Rose's motivation to write the book remarkable, and truly enjoyed reading about 14 year-old Joseph, who in the book refers to himself as an "ethnic sandwich."

Here's a review of Kimchi & Calamari: http://www.papertigers.org/reviews/USA/papertigers/KimchiCalamari.html

Rose Kent has also contributed an essay to PaperTigers, in celebration of Adoption Month, called "Three Cheers for Adoption Books??And Why We All Should Read Them." In it she points out that
"Misperceptions about adoption still abound -- how the process works, where children 'come from,' and how being adopted affects kids? lives" and calls attention to the fact that "According to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, nearly two thirds of Americans have personal experiences with adoption, meaning that someone in their family or among their close friends has been adopted, has adopted, or has placed a child for adoption. Approximately seven million adult Americans are adopted, and more than 120,000 new adoptions will be finalized by the year?s end, and the Pacific Rim and South Asia region accounts for the majority of new adoptions." For those interested in reading Rose's article and/or interview, here are the links:

http://www.papertigers.org/interviews/archived_interviews/rkent.html http://www.papertigers.org/personalViews/archiveViews/RKent.html

Also relation to adoption, there's an interview on PaperTigers with Xinran, founder of the UK-based charity The Mother's Bridge of Love
(MBL), whose goal is ?reaching out to Chinese children in all corners of the world: those who have been raised abroad, those who have been adopted by Western families, and those living in China?: http://www.papertigers.org/interviews/archived_interviews/xinran.html

Now moving on to South Asian grounds, I second those who mentioned Uma Krishnaswami and Mitali Perkins. Their commitment to writing good books for children and young adults related to South Asia and the South Asian diasporas and to promoting understanding within and across cultures is remarkable. Mitali's "Fire Escape" website and blog, where she writes about "books between cultures" are wonderful places to explore issues of race, literary authenticity, and more: http://www.mitaliperkins.com/ Her essay "Notes to a Young Immigrant" is also priceless: http:// www.mitaliblog.com/2009/09/notes-to-young-immigrant.html And Uma's website (including her "Peace Page") is also a wonderful and reliable resource. Another project of note is Pooja Makhijani's bibliography-in-progress of South Asia and the South Asian Diaspora in Children's Literature: http://www.poojamakhijani.com/sakidlit.html

I'd also like to call attention to the following essays that provide a lot of food for thought (one of them already mentioned by Sarah Park, but included here again, in case you missed it the first time):

"Hybridity in Literature and Life" by Malathi Michelle Iyengar: http://www.papertigers.org/personalViews/archiveViews/MMIyengar.html

"Seeking Out True Reflections of Race and Culture in Children's Books" by Sun Yung Shin provide a lot of food for thought: http:// www.papertigers.org/personalViews/archiveViews/SYShin.html

And there's Linda Sue Park... and Milly Lee, Kashmira Sheth, Janet Wong, Cynthia Chin-Lee, Grace Lin... and, in Canada, Rukhsana Khan, Rachna Gilmore... all highly-accomplished, award-winning writers whose important narratives deserve more exposure than they get... And the list goes on. There's lots to talk about on this topic, and many good books to explore. I can't wait to read what others have to say!

************************************************ Aline Pereira Managing Editor, PaperTigers Pacific Rim Voices 300 Third Street, #822 San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 648-4528

PaperTigers - A colorful website devoted to multicultural books from around the world for children and young adults, with a particular focus on the Pacific Rim and South Asia. http://www.papertigers.org

PaperTigers Blog- Speaking of multicultural books for young readers, world literacy, and more... http://www.papertigers.org/wordpress

************************************************
Received on Wed 09 Sep 2009 03:41:07 PM CDT