Today, we at Reading While White express our love for all children, and renew our commitment to open space in children’s and YA book publishing for voices that affirm the lives of children of color, of First Nations/Native children, of children of LGBTQ+ and queer communities, of children of all abilities, of children of all faiths.
I bought Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe from my local indie bookstore.
ReplyDeleteThat's such a great book, KathArine! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea, and I'd like to add that we should start becoming more familiar with and appreciative of the work of small presses. After Reagan was elected in 1980, the major publishers started publishing different kinds of books -- less critical of society, fewer by authors of color. Small presses, committed to a different kind of culture and politics, picked up the slack, and it was out of this milieu that some of our most respected small presses today, including Children's Book Press, Lee & Low (which acquired CBP a few years ago), Just Us Books, and Cinco Puntos Press, were born. I expect that new publishers will emerge and existing ones will grow (as did Curbstone Press in the 1980s -- the publisher of three of my books) and they will serve as true alternatives with a mission of diversity and social justice in opposition to the dominant value system.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that brief history and reminder, Lyn.
ReplyDeleteYes, thank you, Lyn. I'll also put in a plug for open-mindedness towards, and support of, self-published books (I'm directing this at myself as much as anyone--I really need this reminder).
ReplyDeleteCertainly not a children's book, but I have been telling everyone I know to read Outside the XY, a nonfiction collection by masculine spectrum, queer people of color. Available here: http://bklynboihood.bigcartel.com/product/outside-the-xy-queer-black-and-brown-masculinity
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