June 09, 2006

Randomly

I've been whinging about the dearth of multicultural children's lit. Aside from Mitali Perkins, whom we've gushed about before on this site, I am cheered to find a South Asian children's site that is an annotated bibliography that keeps track of what's new, what's out there, etc., for the young reader. Yay!

You know I have gnashed and wept and griped before about the lack of centrally featured strong and impervious girls in literature... (I mean, it's a bit of a shame that the Potter epics aren't called Hermione and the Sorcerers Sword, isn't it? Okay, okay, I know that may be pushing it, but...) I was pleased to find that East Bay maven Jen Robinson has started an official Cool Girls List, and at one point, it was going to be highlighting the top twenty coolest girls in literature. Hah! It's much longer than that now, and I can think of many more!

Awhile ago, Texas illustrator Don Tate blogged about the lack of stories of black males who just ... do stuff, like normal people. I let that thought percolate around in my head in view of the conversations I've had with The Agent, and remembering a very nice rejection I received which said that they appreciated that my character's race wasn't a subject of angst for her, that it was a "refreshing change." I am encouraged by his comments and the number of people who have linked to the post, discussed it, etc., and I know I have my work cut out for me... maybe we all do.

4 comments:

Don Tate II said...

Thanks much! I'm glad I found your site. Now I'll have to link it up!

Cynthia Leitich Smith said...

Please know your fellow writers are rooting for you. When I first started, contemporary depictions of Native American kids were so rare that most of the classes I visited thought we'd gone the way of the dinosaur. Now I promote a whole bibliography of related recommended stories by various voices. You can change things and make a difference!

Susan Taylor Brown said...

Thought you might like to know (if you don't already) that Uma Krishnaswami has a blog.

http://umakrishnaswami.blogspot.com/

Susan Taylor Brown
http://susanwrites.livejournal.com

tanita✿davis said...

Thank you, guys!
Now I feel like I'm not out here whining alone!