CCBC-Net Archives
Re: Multicultural Literature, continued
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Susan Van Metre <svanmetre_at_abramsbooks.com>
Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2014 23:57:45 +0000
Hannah, to answer your question: "Wouldn't it be great if a cosplaying, gay Korean American teen had to solve a murder mystery?" Yes!!! And I would publish it!
SUSAN VAN METRE
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER AMULET BOOKS | ABRAMS BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS | ABRAMS APPLESEED | ABRAMS COMICARTS
ABRAMS | The Art of Books Since 1949 115 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011 T 212.229.8850 | F 212.519.1310 E svanmetre_at_abramsbooks.com<mailto:svanmetre_at_abramsbooks.com> www.abramsbooks.com
Visit blog.abramsbooks.com <http://blog.abramsbooks.com/> Like ABRAMS Books on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/abramsbooks> Follow us _at_ABRAMSBooks on Twitter <http://twitter.com/#!/ABRAMSbooks>
From: Hannah Gómez <hannahgomez_at_gmail.com<mailto:hannahgomez_at_gmail.com>> Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2014 14:34:57 -0800 To: Elizabeth Bird <fusenumber8_at_gmail.com<mailto:fusenumber8_at_gmail.com>> Cc: <ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu<mailto:ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu>> Subject: Re: [ccbc-net] Multicultural Literature, continued
I'm sorry if this is coming twice; I keep getting bouncebacks saying I've quoted too much.
I'm right there with Betsy. I hated it as a kid when I wanted to find books about kids like me, who were creative and nerdy and chatterboxes (I loved characters like Betsy Ray), and they were never the same books as the ones that had kids who looked like me. I resented (and still do) every time someone recommended a book when their primary reason for thinking I would like it was that it was about an African American girl, even if it was the most dully written slavery narrative (or, you know, just one of the million out there, of which I had read 999,000) or about someone living way outside my middle class experience. Racial and ethnic identity (when not white) informs a person's life all the time, but there are ways to do that in a story where it's not the main conflict or issue. I would like to see a fluffy YA about finding a prom date that complains about nappy hair and how hard it is to find a dress that fits a big booty, for example, but is still also full of chickflick-style hijinks to get the popular boy to date you. I would like a plucky Frankie Landau-Banks who just happens to speak Spanish and has a service dog. Wouldn't it be great if a cosplaying, gay Korean American teen had to solve a murder mystery? And on and on...
Otherwise, we end up with a situation much like I've seen you (Debbie) note on your blog: there is this idea that native people only existed in the past and don't still live and breathe today, interact in society, and also participate in very longstanding, old traditions, which of course they do; I similarly want people to stop thinking that black people only existed during slavery or civil rights or only live in poverty-stricken areas where they have to fight to get an education and resist joining a gang.
Hannah
Hannah Gómez, MA, MSLIS hannahgomez_at_gmail.com<mailto:hannahgomez_at_gmail.com> http://hannahgomez.wix.com/portfolio
(520) 481-8778
On Wed, Feb 5, 2014 at 12:55 PM, Elizabeth Bird <fusenumber8_at_gmail.com<mailto:fusenumber8_at_gmail.com>> wrote: Well, shoot. I'll take the bait. Seems like an issue worth talking about in any case.
Debbie, to address the question of whether or not trying to find books in which people aren't entirely white is a white/privileged/heterosexual call, I am all three of those things. And since I'm the one on SLJ asking for folks to come up with books where kids can see themselves reflected in the story, then yes indeed. That's my call. But let's just be clear that I am NOT saying that there shouldn't be books for kids about race, about homosexuality, about disability, and about diversity where that is the focus of the book. We need those books desperately. We
You are currently subscribed to ccbc-net as: svanmetre_at_abramsbooks.com<mailto:svanmetre_at_abramsbooks.com>.
To post to the list, send message to...
ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu<mailto:ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu>
To receive messages in digest format, send a message to...
ccbc-net-request_at_lists.wisc.edu<mailto:ccbc-net-request_at_lists.wisc.edu>
...and include only this command in the body of the message...
set ccbc-net digest
CCBC-Net Archives
The CCBC-Net archives are available to all CCBC-Net listserv members. The archives are organized by month and year. A list of discussion topics (including month/year) is available at...
http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ccbcnet/archives.asp
To access the archives, go to...
http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ccbc-net
...and enter the following when prompted...
username: ccbc-net password: Look4Posts
Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2014 23:57:45 +0000
Hannah, to answer your question: "Wouldn't it be great if a cosplaying, gay Korean American teen had to solve a murder mystery?" Yes!!! And I would publish it!
SUSAN VAN METRE
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER AMULET BOOKS | ABRAMS BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS | ABRAMS APPLESEED | ABRAMS COMICARTS
ABRAMS | The Art of Books Since 1949 115 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011 T 212.229.8850 | F 212.519.1310 E svanmetre_at_abramsbooks.com<mailto:svanmetre_at_abramsbooks.com> www.abramsbooks.com
Visit blog.abramsbooks.com <http://blog.abramsbooks.com/> Like ABRAMS Books on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/abramsbooks> Follow us _at_ABRAMSBooks on Twitter <http://twitter.com/#!/ABRAMSbooks>
From: Hannah Gómez <hannahgomez_at_gmail.com<mailto:hannahgomez_at_gmail.com>> Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2014 14:34:57 -0800 To: Elizabeth Bird <fusenumber8_at_gmail.com<mailto:fusenumber8_at_gmail.com>> Cc: <ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu<mailto:ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu>> Subject: Re: [ccbc-net] Multicultural Literature, continued
I'm sorry if this is coming twice; I keep getting bouncebacks saying I've quoted too much.
I'm right there with Betsy. I hated it as a kid when I wanted to find books about kids like me, who were creative and nerdy and chatterboxes (I loved characters like Betsy Ray), and they were never the same books as the ones that had kids who looked like me. I resented (and still do) every time someone recommended a book when their primary reason for thinking I would like it was that it was about an African American girl, even if it was the most dully written slavery narrative (or, you know, just one of the million out there, of which I had read 999,000) or about someone living way outside my middle class experience. Racial and ethnic identity (when not white) informs a person's life all the time, but there are ways to do that in a story where it's not the main conflict or issue. I would like to see a fluffy YA about finding a prom date that complains about nappy hair and how hard it is to find a dress that fits a big booty, for example, but is still also full of chickflick-style hijinks to get the popular boy to date you. I would like a plucky Frankie Landau-Banks who just happens to speak Spanish and has a service dog. Wouldn't it be great if a cosplaying, gay Korean American teen had to solve a murder mystery? And on and on...
Otherwise, we end up with a situation much like I've seen you (Debbie) note on your blog: there is this idea that native people only existed in the past and don't still live and breathe today, interact in society, and also participate in very longstanding, old traditions, which of course they do; I similarly want people to stop thinking that black people only existed during slavery or civil rights or only live in poverty-stricken areas where they have to fight to get an education and resist joining a gang.
Hannah
Hannah Gómez, MA, MSLIS hannahgomez_at_gmail.com<mailto:hannahgomez_at_gmail.com> http://hannahgomez.wix.com/portfolio
(520) 481-8778
On Wed, Feb 5, 2014 at 12:55 PM, Elizabeth Bird <fusenumber8_at_gmail.com<mailto:fusenumber8_at_gmail.com>> wrote: Well, shoot. I'll take the bait. Seems like an issue worth talking about in any case.
Debbie, to address the question of whether or not trying to find books in which people aren't entirely white is a white/privileged/heterosexual call, I am all three of those things. And since I'm the one on SLJ asking for folks to come up with books where kids can see themselves reflected in the story, then yes indeed. That's my call. But let's just be clear that I am NOT saying that there shouldn't be books for kids about race, about homosexuality, about disability, and about diversity where that is the focus of the book. We need those books desperately. We
You are currently subscribed to ccbc-net as: svanmetre_at_abramsbooks.com<mailto:svanmetre_at_abramsbooks.com>.
To post to the list, send message to...
ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu<mailto:ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu>
To receive messages in digest format, send a message to...
ccbc-net-request_at_lists.wisc.edu<mailto:ccbc-net-request_at_lists.wisc.edu>
...and include only this command in the body of the message...
set ccbc-net digest
CCBC-Net Archives
The CCBC-Net archives are available to all CCBC-Net listserv members. The archives are organized by month and year. A list of discussion topics (including month/year) is available at...
http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ccbcnet/archives.asp
To access the archives, go to...
http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ccbc-net
...and enter the following when prompted...
username: ccbc-net password: Look4Posts
---
You are currently subscribed to ccbc-net as: ccbc-archive_at_post.education.wisc.edu.
To post to the list, send message to: ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu
To receive messages in digest format, send a message to...
ccbc-net-request_at_lists.wisc.edu
...and include only this command in the body of the message:
set ccbc-net digest
CCBC-Net Archives
The CCBC-Net archives are available to all CCBC-Net listserv members. The archives are organized by month and year. A list of discussion topics (including month/year) is available at http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ccbcnet/archives.asp
To access the archives, go to:
http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ccbc-net
and enter the following:
username: ccbc-net
password: Look4Posts
Received on Wed 05 Feb 2014 06:17:27 PM CST
