Diversity

A group of aspiring Latino writers gathered in Brooklyn, NY, earlier this month at the second annual Comadres and Compadres Latino Writers Conference held at Medgar Evers College. Approximately half of the 75 writers and publishing professionals in attendance to exchange advice, tips, and words of inspiration participated in panels dedicated specifically to children’s literature.

Kristin Elizabeth Clark recently sat down with her mentor, Ellen Hopkins, to talk about writing, her transition from middle grade to young adult lit, and just how her book Freakboy was born.

To better serve the growing Spanish-speaking population in Dallas, TX, the local school district’s library media services director, Gay D. Patrick, put out a call for volunteers. Since 2006, this group of intrepid school media specialists, the Luminarias committee, has been developing an annual list of 20 of the best bilingual and Spanish-language books for children. Their goal is to help fellow librarians curate quality materials to meet the needs of the young Hispanic community in Dallas, while staying true to the culture and the language.

Welcoming Schools—a project of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation that provides tools and lessons to educators to stop bias and bullying in schools—is releasing a new short film and related materials for educators and parents. The film spotlights teachers in the classroom generating open conversations with students about the impact of bullying and the power of students to stop it.

From social media to publishing industry-led initiatives, the call for diversity in children’s and young adult literature has steadily grown into a loud roar in the past months. As part of School Library Journal’s SummerTeen virtual conference, the “Embracing Diversity” panel featuring Karen Arthurton, Jonathan Friesen, James Klise, and Amanda Sun, led to a lively and ongoing conversation about the importance of not only publishing books for kids by and about diverse people, but also getting them in the hands of readers. SLJ spoke to industry professionals who are raising awareness on the need for different perspectives in young adult books, and compiled a list of resources to find these titles.

First Book has made significant strides this summer toward its new goal of dramatically expanding the market for diversity in children’s literature, its president and CEO Kyle Zimmer tells School Library Journal. Through its unprecedented launch this spring of "The Stories for All Project" and the project’s successful, gradual implementation over the past few months, First Book is now poised to lobby publishers and influence the kid lit industry like never before, Zimmer says.

Libraries are embracing technology programming for kids and teens. Just in School Library Journal alone, there are articles about programs like ‘Can*TEEN’ Encourages Girls With STEM and Powerful Partnerships, Pi, and Python Behind the Success of Teen Tech Camp and Life With Raspberry Pi. Technology, coding, all good things. And, with women underrepresented in fields like computer science [...]

Superheros, extraordinary science, and unexpected twists keep readers on their toes in Jessica Freely's debut novel All the Colors of Love. Thirty lucky SLJTeen readers will get a copy for their library, adding to the LGBT collection.

The diversity of our nation and our struggle for civil rights are clear themes in this month's new titles. Among our selections are two books that address the historic 1963 March on Washington, celebrating its 50th anniversary this month: one in graphic format for older students written by John Lewis, and the other, a picture book by Andrea Davis Pinkney.