Blessing's Bead

Blessing's Bead

Debby Dahl Edwardson
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2009

This is a family generational story that ends in 1989 and begins in 1917. Book I is Nutaaq's story. Her family are Inupiaq Eskimos. At Sheshlalik, the annual trade fair Nutaaq's older sister Aaluk marries a young man from Siberia. Before Aaluk sails off with her new family she gives Nutaag two Blue Beads which are believed to calm the spirits. That is the last gift that will ever past between the sisters.

Thanks to Ice Curtain,the borders between Alaska and Russia are closed. Families are now seperated by an ocean. Nutaaq's story is just under 60 pages, but the author manages to paint a clear picture of the Inupiaq people. From the first page I was quickly taken by the authors writing.


Book II is Blessing's story. Her Eskimo name is Nutaaq, named after her great-grandmother. Blessing and her younger brother, Isaac are sent to live with Aaka, their grandmother when its discovered their mother is drinking too much. Aaka's Eskimo name is Aaluk, named after the aunt she never meant. Nutaaq and her grandmother are connected by to their Eskimo names.

Blessing and Isaac are now surrounded by family they hardly known. Blessing's story is as captivating as her great- grandmother's. She slowly begins to understand the strength of her name and find the rhythm to an Inupiaq dance buried deep inside her consciousness. Blessing's Bead was a real joy to read. Edwardson's writing is straight forward kind of beauty. I loved it.

The author's interviewed @ Jacket Knack
The author @ Cynsations

Color Online Quiz: Literature and Women's Studies

Quiz #82

Answer the quiz and your name will be entered in a monthly drawing. Post your reply to the comment box. Must provide your email addy to be eligible to win. Cool prizes, check out our Prize Bucket.

She was born in Berlin, Germany, to army lieutenant and saxophonist father. Her mother was a health care worker Raised in Washington, D.C.,she attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Oxon Hill High School.


Meshell Ndegeocello. Thanks, Ana.

Sunday Salon: Books, Books & Books

Hello all, hope you enjoyed the holiday with family and friends. We had a small group of twelve at my aunt's. I ate too much but better than previous years and that's because I knew I'd be seeing my trainer the next day. That night, I got on the treadmill and Friday I showed up at the gym. Don't be too impressed. I have quite a few pounds to drop so a chica is doing what a chica has to do.


This week we feature Tara Betts in our Women Writers of Color Series. Show her some love. Buy her collection, Arc & Hue.

More community news: We have lots of winners to announce. In order to simplify my life and hopefully to increase your participation, at the end of each month I'll post a single listing of monthly winners. We exist to support writers and that means among other things, reading and reviewing their work. We provide ample opportunity for you to acquire books. If you haven't been participating in our giveaways, the quizzes or memes, I strongly encourage you to do so. Winning is as simple as commenting or reviewing on your blogs. No hoop jumping. Support and your name is likely to be entered for you by me. November Winners' Circle:

Bum Magnet Giveaway- Akila from The Englishist
Color Online Quiz - Elizabeth at LiveJournal
Color Me Brown- Debbie at Genre Reviews
Women Unbound- Danielle at Leaning Towards The Sun
CORA Diversity Roll Call- Erika at Reading With Momma

This week Women Unbound announced that Color Online is sponsoring a monthly book drawing each month. We will draw a winner among participants who spotlight women of color. Represent Color Online and promote women writers of color. Join the challenge.

Don't forget to sign-up for our Greeting Card Exchange. Please join us.
Looking forward to celebrating the holidays with you.

Women Writers of Color: Tara Betts

Full name: Tara Betts
Birth date: January 7
Location: East Coast, but originally from the Midwest
Website/blog: Tara Betts
Genre: poetry (and writing more prose)


WiP or most recently published work:
Arch & Hue, Willow Books imprint of Aquarius Press

Writing credits:
My poems have appeared in Essence, Callaloo, Drum Voices Revue, African Voices, and Meridians, Reverie, and Kweli among others.
My work is also in the following anthologies:
Gathering Ground, Home Girls Make Some Noise: Hip Hop Feminism, ROLE CALL, That Takes Ovaries!, Bum Rush the Page, Spoken Word Revolution, and Spoken Word Revolution Redux.

How frequently do you update your site?
Since I just revamped my site, I will be updating it daily, or at least 3-5 times a week.

Is your site designed for reader interaction?
Yes, I have an RSS feed, a guestbook and the option to share comments on some elements of the site. There should be video and items available in the store section soon. If readers have questions, they can email info@tarabetts.net or link up with me on twitter or the facebook fan page.

Post of note, something in particular you want readers to check out:
Since I just started blogging again, my first entry that talks about reading in Chicago just after the beating death of Derrion Albert. I saw so many young people that I really care for while I was there. I taught in Derrion’s neighborhood and often walked on the same streets where Natasha Howliet was gunned down at a bus stop near Westinghouse High School. I know some of her teachers. This is why I keep writing and teaching. We have an urgency to serve directly. We have to work toward changing the way people think and envision our surroundings, immediate and global. This moment made me consider that deeply, "Not The Only Child."

100 words or less how would you describe your work?
I’d say that there’s a heavy narrative hand that lays down what I want to say. A poem or a story should have a hard slap or grab a throat. Yet, it should cradle a bit of the dreamer, make connections, and soar. Metaphor and imagery seems to do that. I focus on the specific, but find myself reaching toward timeless issues poets address: love, hate, loss, and affirmation. Pablo Neruda, Sonia Sanchez, Toni Cade Bambara, Nazim Hikmet, Agha Shahid Ali, Julia de Burgos are some of the poets who achieve that kind of balance. I seek that.

100 words on less please share your thoughts on one the writing life:
What keeps me writing often has little to do with writing. What haunts me and obsesses me, topics that keep emerging and intriguing, compel me to write. I’m a lifelong reader too. My house is inundated with books. Their presence reminds me how much work I have to do. I can pluck inspiration from a shelf. The writing life is a precarious balancing act of generating, revising, reading, and sharing, which means readings, flurries of correspondence, travel, stuff that has nothing to do with writing. There are workshops, submissions, teaching, thinking about writing. It’s a lot to balance.

Monkey Beach: Some Dreams Shouldn't Come True

Monkey Beach
Eden Robinson
Mariner Books
2002
reviewer: Bonnie

Lisamarie Michelle Hill is a young girl from the Haisla Native American Tribe that lives on the West Coast of Canada in Kitamaat Village. Lisa lives together with her mother, father, and younger brother Jimmy. The story opens with her family receiving the news that her brother and the boat he was crewing have disappeared at sea. But Lisa already knew something was wrong;
she has received visions and portents all her life, through dreams and through visitations from spirits. What follows after she hears the news is a flashback journey through her life up to this moment, as she searches for her brother.

Lisa comes from a large extended family, with many aunts and uncles and cousins casually taking of space in her life. There are many long walks through the forests around Kitmaat with her Ma-ma-oo, her grandmother, and hunting trips with her beloved uncle Mick. Memorable moments in her life are described in vivid detail, placing the reader easily within her world. The references to the Haisla people and their culture barely cause a ripple, as Lisa, and therefore the reader, accepts them as naturally as we do our own history.

Growing up is never easy, but for Lisa, it becomes very hard, as she continues to lose the people she loves most through the inevitable cycle of life and death. Two family members that she is closest to pass away within a few years of each other, just as she is becoming a teenager, and her grieving process for them is dangerous, self-destructive, and necessary. Interwoven through her life are legends and stories from the Haisla, as well as descriptions of the prophetic dreams Lisa has and her strange encounters with magical creatures. B’gwus, the Sasquatch, is my personal favorite.

This is a story about family and loss and how one deals with them. Robinson weaves a captivating story, bringing to life this girl and her people as they balance tragedy with happiness. It isn’t about balancing between Native traditions and Western culture, although that aspect is there. It is about growing up, and remembrance, and accepting things the way they are, regardless of how strange that reality might be. Lisa struggles to understand her strange gift and goes through phases of hating it and fearing it; at times, she wishes she understood it better so its use would be easier. The magical realism of the book blends so well with the narrative that if the reader were ever in Canada, it would be easy to imagine stepping into the woods and running into a B’gwus or other spirit.

It is such a rich story, with wonderful and memorable characters. Uncle Mick loves Elvis to distraction, and goes on a drunken bender upon the news of his death in 1977. Ma-ma-oo is a tough woman determined to live as she pleases, with a solemn love for her children and grandchildren. Jimmy is passionately devoted to swimming and wants to be the first Haisla to win a gold in the Olympics, and later becomes passionate about Adelaine, the girl he falls in love with. Lisa herself is strong, stubborn, quick to fight and quick to comfort. The cousins that she grows up with are each individual, with their own faults and personalities. It is amazing how complex Robinson managed to make her characters in such a small space. This book could easily have spread over several volumes from an author less adept at storytelling.

Monkey Beach is absolutely a must read. The glimpses of a different culture and mythos are a big part of it’s charm, but this is a story about family that easily translates to any culture. Families all have their secrets, their shady pasts, their slights and offenses. But they are also full of intimate moments, of loud games of tag with siblings and cousins, of special things that only a few share with you. Eden Robinson has portrayed these moments with unforgettable depth. Go read this book.
___________________________________________________
Bonnie Norman. I'm an English Major, a feminist, and a book lover. Sometimes a writer, too. I'm committed to being a voice for diversification and inclusion in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre, as well as all books and the world at large. Check out Bonnie at A Working Title.

Color Me Brown Links

Every week you will find Color Me Brown Links. This feature grew out of our Color Me Brown Challenge.

I'm back with more reviews from participants in the Women Unbound Challenge. Color Online is supporting this challenge with a monthly book giveaway. You know my mantra: Books are to be shared not hoarded. I take on every opportunity to promote woc writers. I'm hoping CO members will be joining this challenge. I'm enjoying my own reading selections and you can expect reviews. Today's selections:

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros at Leaning Towards The Sun. Danielle is participating in the Women Unbound Challenge. If you haven't signed on, join us.

The Skin Between Us by Kym Regusa. Eva never disappoints, and I'm always tickled when she reads a book I've listed or talked about. Check out her review and two other titles for Women Unbound at A Striped Armchair.

Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi. Check out Amy's review at Steele Entertainment. Amy's blog is new on my radar. Looking forward to reading future reviews.

Color Online Quiz: Literature and Women's Studies

Quiz #81
Answer the quiz and your name will be entered in a monthly drawing. Post your reply to the comment box. Must provide your email addy to be eligible to win. Cool prizes, check out our Prize Bucket.

From the author who gave us a brilliant memoir in an unconventional format, the graphic novel, she again shares intimate, provocative conversations between women. My kind of book.

recounts an evening when nine very different Iranian women gather over tea [or samovar] to discuss men, marital relations and sex. She also describes it as “a long session of ventilation of the heart.” I adore that turn of phrase. It expresses so much.

Thanks, Lu. See full review of Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi at Steele On Entertainment. Join the women at Women Unbound.

New Crayons: What's New On Our Shelves

Remember when you were a kid and getting new crayons was a big deal? Getting new books holds the same kind of magic for some of us big kids. Every week on Sunday, I post what's new in our box. I think crayons is a pretty cool metaphor for multicultural lit. Every week we receive a book is a good week.
Thanks to Carol Rasco, I'll be doing some book shopping for our library and the Prize Bucket. And thanks to Jodie, we have some great titles to shelve now. Won't list everything just a few highlights:


Skunk Girl by Sheba Karim. I really enjoyed this. Doret reviewed it and you can find a cool review at Muslimah Media Watch. In a fast-paced, entertaining read, Nina narrates her life and drama as the only Pakistani and Muslim girl in her high school. She deals with worries about school and boys, as well body hair and strict parents.

The Color Of Heaven by Kim Dong Hwa. I read the first volume, The Color Of Earth and loved it. I also shared this with a friend's daughter who read it in a matter of a couple of hours. This is the final volume in the series. I'm pretty sure we have volume two.One of the keenest pleasures of this book, as with the previous two volumes, is its exquisitely beautiful artwork. Pitch-perfect traditional style and content merge seamlessly with the modern conventions of sequential art storytelling. It’s like a Korean costume drama in two-dimensions…save that costume dramas on television typically depict the lives of the privileged, while the protagonist of the Colors Trilogy is a girl of very modest means and ambitions. See full review at Graphic Novel Reporter.

Come With Me by Naomi Shihab Nye. I'm a huge Nye fan. We have a few collections by her in the library. Very much looking forward to reading this. The 16 free-verse, lyric poems here make a unique contribution to original poetry for children. Nye's voice is direct and natural, but magical in its sensibility, with an attention to the world and to itself that recalls the work of Emily Dickinson or William Stafford. And she has an ear for kids' voices. Read more here.

I have more but my hope is that you'll check these out and report back.

What did you get this week in the mail, at the bookstore or at the library?

Happy reading.

Sunday Salon: What We Read, Said & Wrote

Hello all. Another week has gone by and today is another day to be grateful. I try to be mindful of how much personal information I share here, and I think I've been doing okay. Today I want to share that I'm in a great mood and a better state of mind because I took time to be still, to meditate, to commune with like-minded folk. I attended Meeting this morning. Some of you know that I am Quaker; I attend what we call silent worship. It's a kind of collective meditation.

After service, I attended a poetry reading and discussion in the living room of our Meeting house. We read Mary Oliver and excerpts from Quaker Faith & Practice. I am an Oliver fan so I couldn't have been happier that I had decided to attend today. Because of my work schedule and limited transportation, I haven't attended service in a very long time and I knew I was due, way overdue. Can anyone relate?

I've been feeling anxious, overwhelmed, tired and just plain bogged down with my daily responsibilities. I've been anxious about my limited online access and my restricted time to read and publish. I've been feeling rushed and busy but accomplishing less than what I want.

Today friends at Meeting welcomed me like family they were glad came home. It's good to go home. I hope when you're here, you feel welcomed, that you are among friends in a community that genuinely cares and supports one another. I miss being here daily, interacting and hearing from you.

While we have had a lighter schedule here, I hope you all are enjoying what we provide. If you haven't already, show some love for Lyn. She's spotlighted in COLA. I hope many more of you will sign up for our Holiday Greeting Card Exchange. Doret's here with a review of One Crazy Summer and I have added Color Me Brown Links. This evening, I'm going to our library to work and later I'll be sharing what we got in the mail. Special thanks to Carol Rasco at RIF for her very generous donation.

Good reading this week. I'll be working on reviews and very confident I'll get a few up this week. I'm currently reading Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. Finished my second CORA title, Amy Hodgepodge: All Mixed Up by Kim Wayans and Kevin Knotts and finished Keena Ford by Melissa Thompson. Enjoyed Stealing Buddha's Dinner: a memoir by Bich Ming Nguyen.

Stay tuned for our newest, youngest reviewer, Zoraleigh. This young girl has plenty to say. I think you'll enjoy her as much as I do.

How was your week? What good book do you recommend? Happy reading.

COLA: Lyn Miller-Lachmann

Blogger: Lyn Miller-Lachmann

Blog name: Flip the Page: The No-Hype Book Blog

Web site: Lyn Miller-Lachman

Regular features: The site contains information about MultiCultural Review and the works of fiction that I have authored or edited—Once Upon a Cuento (Curbstone Press, 2003), an anthology of stories for young people by Latino authors; my eco-thriller for adult readers, Dirt Cheap (Curbstone Press, 2006); and most recently, my critically acclaimed young adult novel set in Chile and the United States, Gringolandia (Curbstone Press, 2009). Also included are reading group discussion questions for Dirt Cheap and lesson plans and teachers guides for Once Upon a Cuento and Gringolandia.

Pub schedule. How frequently do you update your blog? I add entries every two weeks, though I take time off in the summer. Many of the blog posts report on my appearances in schools and libraries and on discussion questions and activities that worked well. Other posts highlight books of note for children and adults, particularly ones published by small presses that get too little attention from the mainstream media.

Post of note, something in particular you want readers to check out: My recent review essay on middle grade and young adult books that depict allies has gotten a lot of attention:"How To Be An Ally."

100 words or less how would you describe your work? Since I began teaching high school in New York City three decades ago, I have been interested in exploring and championing the diversity that makes us human. I have come at this goal in a variety of ways. Through two reference books and MultiCultural Review I have evaluated multicultural materials for quality and authenticity and highlighted those I feel worthy of widespread attention. I have written novels that explore intercultural relationships and the challenges faced by young people who have become activists for justice and human rights. I have been involved in activism for peace, human rights, and the environment and continue to teach as well.

100 words on less please share your thoughts on writing and activism:
Dirt Cheap and Gringolandia grew out of my involvement in environmental issues and my work with refugees from Central and South America, respectively. The story of a person is far more compelling than abstract arguments or statistics. For example, what made me come back to the manuscript of Gringolandia after I lost a contract with a major publisher years ago were the revelations at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo, the FOX show 24, and debates over the efficacy of torture—as if torture could ever be justified. I’ve seen what torture can do to a person and to his or her family, and that’s what I’ve tried to convey in the novel.

Top 5 reads for 2009? In addition to the two featured in “How to Be an Ally,” my favorite MG and YA novels of the year are Debby Dahl Edwardson’s Blessing’s Bead, Zetta Elliott’s A Wish After Midnight, Marge Pellegrino’s Journey of Dreams, Francisco X. Stork’s Marcelo in the Real World, and Neesha Meminger’s Shine Coconut Moon.

What do you hope readers will gain, find or enjoy because they’ve visited your blog? I’d like readers to learn about the various aspects of my work on behalf of multicultural literature, intercultural understanding, and human rights and how all of these come together. Even my environmental novel, Dirt Cheap, ties into these themes in its exploration of how people create in the face of long odds a diverse ad hoc community to seek justice. Having been a teacher for many years, I’d like people to examine the various reading guides, lesson plans, and reports on school and library visits to get an idea of how fiction can be used in a variety of social and educational settings.

Thanks, Lyn.

Color Me Brown Links

Every week you will find Color Me Brown Links. This feature grew out of our Color Me Brown Challenge.

In light of the Women Unbound Challenge, I chose the following titles including some nonfiction, which I don't read enough of.


Queer in Black and White at Feminist Reviews. I really need to make a greater effort to read FR more regularly. The site is chock full of the types of books and topics I'm interested in. If anyone has read or reads this work, I'd love to hear what you think of it.

Hardboiled at the Reading Life. Melu is a WU participant. Was glad to find this review. If you've read Yoshimoto, please weigh in.

Love, Pray Eat (dessert) at Brown Bag. Niranjana is a writer and critic. Trust me, if she's reviewinga title, you can be sure to find a good read and analysis. BB is another blog I intend on reading more often.

Color Online Quiz: Literature and Women's Studies

Quiz #80
Answer the quiz and your name will be entered in a monthly drawing. Post your reply to the comment box. Must provide your email addy to be eligible to win. Cool prizes, check out our Prize Bucket.

It is a nostalgic, pop culture fueled book that will appeal to anyone who can't leave the '80s behind. It is also a touching, almost gut wrenching story about Vietnamese boat people and their assimilation in the US. These two threads coalesce in a [author] glamorizes while growing up in Grand Rapids, MI.
Name the author and title.

One Crazy Summer: Time Well Spent

One Crazy Summer
Rita Williams-Garcia
Amistad
January 2010
reviewer: Doret

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia It's 1968, three sisters, 11-year-old Delphine, 9-year-old Vonetta and 7-year-old Fern will be spending the summer with their mother in Oakland, CA. They live in Brooklyn, NY, their dad and grandmother, Big Ma. Their dad decided it was time they got to know their mother. I loved these girls voices. They rang true and familiar.

The sisters call their mother by her first name, Cecile. She left right after Fern was born. The girls quickly realize they will have to keep themselves occupied for the summer. Cecile is a poet and not maternal. The kitchen is her workspace and it's off limits to the girls.

At night they eat takeout on the living room floor. In the mornings, the sisters go to the People's Center, for the free breakfast provided by the Black Panther's. They stay for the program, which is taught by Sister Mukumbu. The author gives glimpses into lessons being taught at the center, though it's really from the girls' actions that we understand the impact the Black Panthers have on them.

The sisters attend the summer program throughout their stay in Oakland. At the end of the summer, the Black Panthers have a rally in the park for 17-year-old Bobby Hutton. He was the first member of the Black Panthers and was shot down in his underwear, while trying to surrender. The Panthers want the park to be named in his honor. The children of the summer program are allowed to participate. The sisters decide to recite one of Cecile's poems. It's a beautiful poem, that I've read several times. It reminds me of Nikki Giovanni's "Ego Tripping."

If I had to guess, I'd say Williams-Garcia spent time with these sisters before she let them out in the world. Their relationship is natural and believable. Though it's Delphine voice, we hear most often, the author gives each girl a distinct personality.

I smiled my way though this book. It's filled with an honesty I love to see in middle grade fiction. The sisters are simply beautiful. There isn't much middle grade historical fiction featuring Black characters that at some parts warm your heart making you laugh out loud, then just as quickly teaches something. I wish this book was around when I was younger, I would've swallowed it whole.

The Black Panthers are a very important part of history, but they've been ignored until this year's release of The Rock and The River by Kekla Magoon and soon One Crazy Summer. It's inevitable that these two novels will be compared. I think it would be best if they were simply paired. Though both books are about the Black Panthers, the authors' approaches are different. There is no better, just another way.

One Crazy Summer scheduled release date is January 26. I highly recommend pre-ordering it right now. Ages 9 up.

While you wait if you haven't already, check out the above mentioned The Rock and The River by Magoon or Williams- Garcia's recent YA release Jumped, which is a National Book Award finalist this year.

Publishers Weekly: The Women They Overlooked

Community, have you read any of the backlash about Publishers Weekly's Top 10 for 2009? At She Writes, there's been quite a stir. There's no women in the top ten though a few are mentioned in other categories. Even if you haven't read the list, most of us here wouldn't be surprised by the absence of color.

Of course I asked where was the shared outrage over the absence of women of color. Kamy, one of the co-founders not only read my multiple posts to different responses, but she in turn asked me to share a list of women of color who published in 2009 who rightly deserve to be recognized.

I read mostly YA and I don't normally read new releases. Ego aside, I want to get this right. She Writes has a huge membership so I am calling on you to help me submit a solid list. Share with me your picks for women of color who had works published in 2009. Most of the top 10 are literary works.

I'll start:
The Other Side of Paradise by Stacy Ann Chin
The Map of Home by Randa Jarrar
Stealing Buddha's Dinner: a memoir by Bich Ming Nguyen
The Weight of Heaven: A Novel by Thrity Umrigar
The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Daughters of the Stone by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa
Secret Son by Laila Lalami

Color Online Holiday Greeting Card Exchange

Color Online's Greeting Card Exchange
November 15-December 5th

I was waffling on this idea but today I saw a post and got all sentimental and decided to go with my heart and not my head (which is screaming, "You do not need another project.").

Anyhoo, I love Christmas. I love every holiday during this time of year that celebrates family, friends, love and goodwill. Please accept my invitation to participate in Color Online's Greeting Card Exchange.

I love doing these. I've done many over the years. Leave a comment here if you want to participate and complete form. You will receive a mailing list up to 5 members. You are free to send greetings to those who send you cards but you are only obligated to contact your list.

Sign-up is open till December 5th. I will blast the activity so hopefully we will get a great turnout. You can expect that you'll send no more than 5 cards unless you request more. Let us celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid, Kwanzaa and Solstice together. Recap:

Complete form.
Each participant will receive a mailing list by December 6th.
All greeting cards are to be mailed by December 12th.

Feel free to thank members in our dedicated greeting thread when you receive well-wishes.

Please do not post snail addresses here.

Sunday Salon: What We Said, Read & Wrote

Well, if you've been by this week, you know it's been quiet. As many of you know, I'm at a new job and in class all day. I take a major exam tomorrow. I feel good about it and yes, I'll be studying for it later today.

Exciting news for Zetta. Amazon has its own publishing division and they are publishing Zetta's, A Wish After Midnight. Check out Tashi's review and interview at Taste Life Twice and support one of our own. By the way, I love books for Christmas. I'm just saying.

We've had a good week in terms of mail. Thanks to Jodie for sending us donations. We'll talk about those over the holiday weekend. This weekend, I picked up books for our CORA Diversity Roll Call Challenge. We're looking at early readers. You all know how I feel about kids reading so do join us. To get a sneak preview, check out my Saturday Six Sentences at Black-Eyed Susan's.

To all winners, expect books in a week or so. The post office will tell you it takes up to three weeks but my experience says more like 7-10 days. Don't forget about our Bum Magnet Giveaway and do drop me an email if you're interested in reviewing Searching for Tina Turner.

This week I finished Paper Towns by John Green. Thanks Edi at Crazy Quilts for sending me the book. I need to find out how to pass it on. I'm finishing up Stealing Buddha's Dinner (see my sss post) and will be reading all evening except when I'm studying. Have you checked out Women Unbound? You should. Who's going to represent Color Online?

If you have news, concerns or requests, please drop me an email. Because of my crazy schedule, I need to make a request. Please let me know about links for Color Me Brown or if you have a review you'd like to have featured here. Normally, I scout all week but I currently don't have Internet access during the day. Thanks again to Doret from Happy Nappy Bookseller for stepping up as an admin. We've been talking and working. You can expect a full week of posts here soon. Tell us what's going on in your world. Know that we support you.

Pick up a book and have a great week. Happy reading.

Color Online: Literature and Women's Studies

Quiz #80
Answer the quiz and your name will be entered in a monthly drawing. Post your reply to the comment box. Must provide your email addy to be eligible to win. Cool prizes, check out our Prize Bucket.

"Perhaps ... I am the face of one of your fears. Because I am a woman, because I am Black, because I am a lesbian, because I am myself -- a Black woman warrior poet doing my work -- come to ask you, are you doing yours?" This is how [ ] introduces herself in a paper entitled "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action.~Audre Lorde
February 18, 1934- 1992."


Name the collection of essays this is taken from and name the writer.

Marc Just Couldn't Sleep: New Bedtime Tale

Marc Just Couldnt' Sleep
Gabriela Keselman
Illustrated by Noemí Villamuza
Kane/Miller Book Publishers
2004
Reviewer: Tarie

Marc Just Couldn't Sleep is a whimsical picture book for children ages 3 to 5. Marc can't fall asleep because he is worried and scared of just about everything. He is worried a giant mosquito will fly into his room and bite him. So his mom makes him a pair of mosquito-proof pajamas. He is also worried that the moon will melt and the world will go dark. His mom gives him a pair of glasses with glow in the dark lenses and writes the moon a letter warning it not to melt. But even after his mom shoos away monsters, witches, nightmares, and ghosts, Marc is still scared and can't fall asleep! The final solution to help Marc fall asleep warmly shows the love between mother and child.

Both the illustrations and the text of Marc Just Couldn't Sleep highlight an incredibly endearing and adorable little boy and the strong, patient, playful mother who would do anything for him. This story will deeply touch children's hearts and stir their imaginations. Reading Marc Just Couldn't Sleep can easily become a new favorite bedtime ritual for the family.

Marc Just Couldn't Sleep was originally published in Spain by Editorial Kókinos in 2001.
_______________________________________
Tarie is a reader, graduate student, editor, and English teacher in the Philippines. She blogs about literature for the young and young at heart at Into the Wardrobe.

New Crayons: What's New On Our Shelves

Remember when you were a kid and getting new crayons was a big deal? Getting new books holds the same kind of magic for some of us big kids. Every week on Sunday, I post what's new in our box. I think crayons is a pretty cool metaphor for multicultural lit. Every week we receive a book is a good week.

This week's goodie:

Our friends at Hatchette sent me Searching for Tina Turner by Jacquline Luckett for review. As many of you know, my plate is full so if you're willing to review this, leave me a comment with your e-mail. You don't have to have a blog. I'll publish the review here. First come, first serve.

On the surface, Lena Spencer appears to have it all... When Randall decides that he's had enough of marriage counseling, he offers his wife an ultimatum: "Be grateful for all I've done for you or leave." Lena, realizing that money can't solve her problems and that her husband is no longer the man she married, decides to choose the latter. Drawing strength from Tina Turner's life story, SEARCHING FOR TINA TURNER is Lena's struggle to find herself after 25 years of being a wife and mother.

What did you get in the mail, the book store or the library this week? Happy reading.

The Sunday Salon: What We Read, Said & Wrote

Good morning all,

I have lots to share this morning. We have a new giveaway, Ali has a new CORA Diversity Roll Call up, we have more great posts this week, many which were posted pretty close together so do check the digest here so you can check everything out. We have mail.

Before I go on, I want to thank my friend and partner in crime, Doret for stepping in. As many of you know, I have a new job. Couple my new responsibilities with adjusting to life with a teen in a high school and the reality is I have too much on my plate. I cannot keep up the publishing schedule and duties here as I had been and so Doret will be taking on more responsibility so we as community continue to thrive and grow. Doret, I can't thank you enough.

On to the reading life: I have had to take a hiatus from Liar but for a good reason. Last week when I visited my stylist to get my locs tightened I had my copy with me. I shared it with my stylist's daughter who was very interested in it. Of course, I let her keep it. I'll pick up where I left off later with my daughter's copy. In the meantime, I've been reading Paper Towns by John Green and just like Doret said, I am enjoying it. A few times, I've laughed out loud on the bus on my way to work.

Did you check out COLA this week? We have the amazing Justine Larbalestier. If you haven't already, show her some love, people. Justine rocks.

If you don't know about Girls Write Now, do read about this amazing organization. Link in the sidebar. Author, Tayari Jones and I are talking about ways Color Online and GWN can support each other. I'm beyond impressed with GWN, I'm envious. I want them here in Detroit. Read and support these young women.

It's about connecting readers and writers. Tget your chick lit fix with Ms. Brady's debut novel. And if you don't normally read chick lit (waving my hand) don't dismiss this. Read beyond your comfort zone and you might discover you like more than you thought. To help you out, we're hosting The Bum Magnet Giveaway.

I have more, check out reviews from Karen and Bonnie. Karen reviews Speak So You Can Speak Again: The Life of Zora Lee Hurston by Lucy Ann Hurston and Bonnie reviews Dawn by Octavia E. Butler.

Ali is back with a new CORA Diversity Roll Call assignment. This week we look at early readers that feature poc children. If you don't know, each month a participant will be randomly selected to pick a book for our Prize Bucket. October's winner is Akilah of The Englishist. Join us. Discover new reads and earn a chance to win a free book.

Don't forget about our quizzes, another opportunity to win books. Check out our current Color Me Brown Links. Find for more reading suggestions in our New Crayons feature. I'll post that later this evening.


How was your week? What have you read lately?