Blog name: Mitali’s Fire EscapeBlogger: Mitali Perkins
Blog Origination date: April 23, 2005
Focus: Kid/YA Books Between Cultures
Regular features: Books featuring children of war, author interviews, Poetry Friday
How frequently do you update your blog? Once a day, M-F, with some time off in the winter and summer while I focus on intensive writing.
Post of note: Something in particular you want readers to check out
Bowdlerizing Children's Books: A Poll
Should publishers edit beloved children's books like LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE or THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA to eliminate racial or ethnic stereotyping?
Writing Race: A Checklist For Writers
50 words or less how would you describe your blog:
A safe place to think, chat, and read about life and books between cultures.
Name your top 5 reads for 2009?
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
14 Cows For America by Carmen Agra Deedy and Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah
Outcasts United by Warren St. John
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
What do you hope readers will gain, find or enjoy because they’ve visited your blog? I hope to open eyes, hearts, and minds, including my own, to the power of literature in fighting racism, poverty, and the suffering of children.
*Read Shelf Elf's review of Mitali's latest work, Secret Keeper here.
11 comments:
We're looking forward to featuring Mitali in the Writers Against Racism series! She always raises important points.
Thanks again Susan for bringing new bloggers to our attention! I notice Mitali has a great post on her blog that other readers might want to seeon "Black Women Kid Lit Illustrators" with links to African American female children's book illustrators.
I love how Mitali encourages readers and writers to think about and discuss the identities of their characters.
I never know what I will find at the Fire Escape and that is part of the fun.
I loved Secret Keeper
Mitali's an important resource for anyone needing/wanting to come up to speed with things happening in the kiddie lit arena. Her insights and information are invaluable.
Mitali is a real gift to the children's lit community - glad to see her featured here!
Feeling virtually hugged here; thanks for the love, my dears. Inspires me to keep going, but I'm sure glad that there are bunches of us now speaking out from the edges.
I forgot to include the audio version of Sherman Alexie's ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY as one of my favorite "reads" this year.
Oh, I love The Absolutely True Diary, too.
What fun to read more about Mitali, one of my favorite blgogers! We first met online when I reviewed the wonderful Monsoon Summer, and I've enjoyed reading her thoughts (and books!) ever since. As a Mississippi native living in New York (now the 'burbs), I could relate to her "between cultures" immediately.
One more virtual hug, Mitali!
Mitali's book Rickshaw Girl is one of the books chosen for the Children's Masterlist for Oklahoma's Sequoyah Award, which student vote for their favorite book in April. I really enjoyed the read. It was hard to put down. I was able to remove myself from the present and I became the main character. I am looking forward to reading more of her books.
Thank you for further introducing us newer bloggers in particular to Mitali whose comments on Twitter and blog itself I have so enjoyed visiting over the last 11 months. Mitali,thank you for the voice you give to children who often have no advocate; you are a voice to which people stop and listen out of pure respect, the best way to operate in my "book"!
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