May I Have Your Attention, Please?
Imagine for a moment: you are an author devoted to creating beautiful and inspiring books for children and young adults. Perhaps, somewhere in the back of your mind, you wonder if, someday, your work might be honored to receive a National Book Award. Then imagine that the impossible happens: You learn that your latest book […]
Nine Not-to-Miss Novels
Coming up with the title for this blog was a breeze. As a poet, I’m partial to alliteration. However, I fell in love with a good deal more than nine books this summer, so I’ve decided to list all of my faves and let someone else worry about the final tally. First, a couple of caveats: […]
The Trouble with YA Literature Today
The problem with YA literature today is— fill in the blank. Some scream that the genre has gone too dark: drugs, alcohol, dystopian tales, profanity-overkill, parades of paranormal fantasies. All true. Others complain about zombies and other gore, about witches and warlocks and werewolves. But I have a bigger bone to pick: originality, or the […]
9/11: Fragments of Thought
It was a lovely, late-spring day. The blue sky seemed limitless, and the first fingers of almost-summer-sun warmed the air. I’d just finished turning in final grades for the students of my freshman creative writing class at Livingston College, and was looking forward to a few days of rest and relaxation. I was ready to […]
Where Have All the Female Illustrators Gone?
For the longest time, I had the distinct impression that there were precious few women illustrators in the children’s book market. Can you blame me? According to one noted illustrator, a scant 20% of the illustration work goes to women. If that’s true, no matter how you look at it, that’s a pretty low percentage. […]
“Eyes on the Prize”
Children’s poetry is the bastard child of American Literature. Bet that got your attention. “That’s strong language,” you say. Actually, the term is quite appropriate. Let me explain. You can win a Pulitzer Prize or a National Book Award for poetry, provided you write poetry for adults. As a poet for adults, the Guggenheim is […]
Revisiting Historical Fiction
Since when did the American classroom become a democracy? When I was in school, long after dinosaurs became extinct, I was made to sit through lessons on math, general science, and social studies, none of which suited my fancy. I wasn’t particularly fond of Shakespeare either, at least not when his works were first introduced. […]
Black Box: Race in Children’s Literature
“Why must you always bring up race?” That’s not a question a black person asks. In fact, most of us would be quite happy if the issue of race were never raised in our day-to-day lives. But the fact is, in our society, the specter of race is raised again, and again, even in the […]
This Ain’t No Joke
Bilingual My girlfriend Guadalupe knows she’s not the only one who speaks two tongues. I’m fluent in two Englishes: one “Black” the other “good.” It pays to speak both languages /in my neighborhood. —A Dime a Dozen _______________ This is a touchy subject, so I may as well jump on in. I was recently asked to read and comment on a […]
Out of the Box
Why is it that most publishers push their authors to keep writing the same book, over and over again, but with a different title? (I’m not wrong here, am I?) The argument goes that it is easier to market a new book by an author when it is like that author’s previous book. I think […]