More Alike Than Different: Poems of Friendship

April is Poetry Month. I celebrated the launch of the 2018 Poetry Season with a post about H IS FOR HAIKU, HERE, which was a collaboration of sorts between mother (author) and daughter (advocate). 

It's fitting to follow that with a co-authored, co-illustrated collection of poems that I first read while evaluating books for the CYBILS awards for poetry. CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR? POEMS OF RACE, MISTAKES, AND FRIENDSHIP was a hot contender, in my opinion. Authors Irene Latham and Charles Waters met "virtually" through their mutual love of poetry. Editor Carol Hinz of Carolrhoda Books proposed their collaboration on this project and it was an inspired choice. Illustrators Sean Qualls and Selina Alko completed this multi-racial, honest, and open exploration of the childhood perceptions, misconceptions and relationships.

I expected to enjoy this, but it far exceeded those expectations. The simplicity and directness from each of the two voices allowed me to slide right into their respective identities, into their school and home relationships, into the gradual shifts of their interactions from anxious concern to naturally developing mutual respect and friendship. 
The dialogic poems, simple but helpful illustrations, and discreet details from the two lives and points of view offer readers of any age an open door to reflect on privilege and unrecognized bias. 
The free verse poems and topics developed provide effective mentor text and present subtle character development from which young writers can learn to "show, don't tell" in their own writing.

Read the Kirkus starred review, HERE, to see why this is a book for today, for Poetry Month, for EVERY month, and for years to come.

American Library Association (ALA) Annual Awards- 2015: #WNDB

I’ve been devoting my time to revisions on my sequel to Odin’s Promise, not to mention getting out into the lives of educators, classrooms, and other groups with interest in writing and reading. All in all, I’ve devoted very little time to posts here, or to posting news on my website. (I'm even sneaking this in on both sites!)

Forgive me? 

It seems to me the best possible time of year to reduce my output since the rest of the kid-lit world is cranked into high gear. The American Library Association (ALA) has it’s annual mid-winter meeting each January. On Monday morning this week, Groundhog Day, to be precise, Medal-winners and Honors-winners for the most prestigious awards in the industry were announced. For the complete list, click here: I LOVE LIBRARIES. 

The next time you find yourself watching reruns of a program, treat yourself to an hour+ of pure book-love instead by watching the full video of the announcements, here.

The Oscars this year got some serious grief for its lily-white nominations, overlooking some extraordinarily worthy movies from 2014. They should have followed the lead of the ALA awards, which recognized multiple titles featuring diverse topics, characters, and conflicts. Diversity represents much more than just racial/ethnic differences. And since the honored titles represent just a tiny portion of the many books produced in 2014, BOOKLIST (here) offers up this fantastic list of other diverse titles that allow readers to see themselves and others through a very wide lens. The #WNDB (#WeNeedDiverseBooks) momentum embraces the concept that books can and should provide both a mirror and a window to every reader of every age.

I felt a bit smug in that I’d managed to read 90% (or more) of the medal/honors titles across all categories, and most of those on the Booklist resource. Those I missed are already on my hold list at the library. I don’t say that to brag, but to reflect the priorities in my life these days: writing and reading.

Please share these lists with readers in your own life- and don’t waste a minute getting started. I’m outta here to do the same!