The Bluest Eye - Happy Anniversary

Claudia from The Bottom of Heaven asked if I wanted to participate in Blogger's roundtable for Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, to celebrate its 40 anniversary. There was only one answer I could give YES.* First Happy Anniversary to the Bluest Eye. And thank you Claudia for asking me to participate.


The first time I read The Bluest Eye I was 13 or 14 yrs old. I feel very lucky to have discovered Morrison so early. I missed Mildred Taylor, the same thing could've easily happened with Morrison. The Bluest Eye wasn't school reading, though I do recall my 9th grade English teacher, giving me a list of authors right before the beginning of summer. I am pretty sure Morrison's name was on the list. At the time I was reading a lot of genre fiction books by Stephen King or Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. I was just discovering Black authors. Sure I read James Baldwin, Richard Wright even Donald Goines, but it was the ladies who had me.

Of course alot of The Bluest Eye, was over my head the first time I read it. Though that didn't matter since Morrison's characters and language felt familiar.

Forty years later I will always be thankful for Morrison's first novel. The Bluest Eye opened literary doors for many Black female authors.

Without it I may never of had the chance to read Tina McElroy Ansa, Toni Cade Bambara, Gaylor Naylor, Ntozake Shange, Alice Walker and all the other Black female authors whose stories speak to me like genre fiction never will.
There were a few topics, we could've tackled for this roundtable. I choose - Humanizing Cholly Breedlove: Vilified? Redeemed? How did you respond to this character or how might we read him today?

The first time through Cholly Breedlove was evil. Any man who would hit his wife, set his house of fire and rape is daughter couldn't be anything but evil. Years later when I reread The Bluest Eye, I payed closer attention and noticed there was more to Cholly. I felt compassion towards him.

This was the first time I had to reevaluate my perception towards a particular character after rereading a novel. So I decided to take an even closer look at Cholly.

Cholly Breedlove is Pecola's father. Pecola is the little girl who dreams and wishes for blue eyes. With blue eyes Pecola believes she will be beautiful and loved. Breedlove's are poor and ugly. One is bad but both is unforgivable.

Before Cholly becomes half of a marriage that thrives on conflict, he is a man with potential. Cholly almost lost his chance at being anything. When he was four years old his mother placed him on a junk railroad. He was saved by his great aunt Jimmy.

Cholly's aunt raised him until he was 14yrs old. When she's dies, Cholly ran away to find his father. His aunt took care of him but there was no love. Cholly's went searching for a male role model and someone to love him.
Many young men and women would've been disillusioned to the idea of love if they hadn't already experienced it by the time they were teenagers. But Cholly still believed in love and wasn't afraid seek it out. Since he wanted it so badly, I believe Cholly could've easily returned love properly if he knew how.

There isn't much interaction between Cholly and Pecola until the very end, since he doesn't know how to be a father. Though when one looks closely, its easy to see, if given the chance Cholly would've tried to learn how.

"One winter Pauline discovered she was pregnant. When she told Cholly, he surprised her by being pleased. He began to drink less and come home more often. They eased back into a relationship more like the early days of their marriage." (p121)

The first time I read the scene where Cholly raped Pecola, it was an act of violence with no redemption. The next time my heart went out for Cholly as well. He is a Black man who must admit he failed to protect his daughter from a world that more than willingly to destroy her.

"Her back hunched that way, her head to one side as though crouching from a permanent and unrelieved blow. Why did she have to look so whipped? She was a child - unburdened- why wasn't she happy? The clear statement of her misery was an accusation. He wanted to break her neck - but tenderly. Guilt and impotence rose in a bilious duet. (p161)

It must have been hard for Cholly to face his family knowing (or feeling as if) he failed them, especially Pecola. Daughters are supposed to be protected. Cholly wondered what he could give his daughter, this makes me believe, if Cholly had anything to give he would.

What could he do for her ever? What give her? What could a burned out Black man say to the hunched back of his eleven year old daughter? If he looked into her face, he would see those haunted, loving eyes. The hauntedness would irritate him the love would move him to fury. How dare she love him? Hadn't she any sense at all? What was he supposed to do about that? Return it? How? What could his colloused hands produce to make her smile? What of his knowledge of the world and of life could be useful to her? What could his heavy arms and befuddled brain accomplish that would earn him his own respect, that would in return allow him to accept her love?

Cholly was as much a victim as Pecola. Every time I read The Bluest Eye, I see Cholly clearer. There's little boy who almost never was, the boy who went unloved, the young man who had his first sexual experience ruined by two White men, the young man who was dismissed by the father he never knew, and a man who never learned how to love.

Inside the Story Circle, by Award-Winning Author Linda Boyden

The following post is also featured at Multiculturalism Rocks! Linda Boyden graciously accepted to be my guest blogger. In the following article she raises awareness about elements that often misrepresent Native American cultures in children's literature.

In July of 1992, a group of Native American writers and storytellers convened in Norman, Oklahoma. As a result, Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers was formed the following year. Today, Wordcraft Circle has active members from forty states, three Canadian provinces, and two countries representing more than 135 sovereign Indigenous Nations/tribes.

Wordcraft ‘s unique purpose, to ensure that the voices of Native writers and storytellers–past, present, and future–are heard throughout the world, urges members to “return their gift” of creativity by mentoring and volunteering both within Wordcraft Circle and their local communities as well.

In that spirit I would like to share some ideas to consider when choosing books on Native Americans for children.

~ Begin by reading “Through Indian Eyes, The Native Experience in Books for Children,” edited by Beverly Slapin and Doris Seale ©1998. This is a comprehensive overview of many children’s books in print about Native Americans. It gives reviews, both positive and negative, and is an invaluable source in helping parents, teachers and librarians make intelligent and sensitive choices. Also visit their related website, www.oyate.org. Another excellent source book is Lessons From Turtle Island by Guy W. Jones and Sally Moomaw published by Redleaf Press, ©2002.

~ Check alphabet books, making sure they do not contain an “I is for Indian” or “E is for Eskimo” type of page. Most publishers of today are aware of this, but many libraries and used bookstores have older books in their stacks with such entries.

~Read or peruse what your children/students read, preferably beforehand. Don’t choose books in which the Native American characters sport ridiculous names, such as “Chief Big Foot.” A Boy Called Slow, the picture book biography of the Hunkpapa Lakota warrior, Sitting Bull, by Joseph Bruchac is a great way to help non-Indians understand the significance of Native American names.

~Avoid books whose Indian characters speak in what Beverly Slapin calls Early Jawbreaker, such as “Me go...Ugh...Me see ‘em.”

~ However, don’t discard classic children’s literature, such as Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” series, because of the bias. Instead, address the issue and use the biased sentiments as a springboard for discussion or debate. Have children dig deeper to discover what caused Ma and other settlers to fear and hate Indians. Contrast that point of view with Pa’s. Explore and expand the role of the Osage warrior, Soldat du Chene, in “Little House on the Prairie”.

~ Words such as “squaw,” “papoose,” and “brave” are regarded by many Native people as racial epithets and as such are inappropriate to use. If found, tell children the truth: at one point in history these words were used; today, however, they are offensive to most Native Americans.

~Make sure that Indian characters are not portrayed as bloodthirsty savages, simpletons needing to be rescued or discovered, cute toys/mascots, or illustrated as Caucasians who are merely colored brown–or worse–in red.

~Native people of long ago did NOT all live in tipis. Homes, clothing, hairstyles, regalia* and customs differed according to each region and tribal affiliation.

~Native people of today are VISIBLE and live very much the same way as most other Americans. Many still live a traditional lifestyle and balance the two.

~Many objects, such as sand paintings, masks, drums, pipes, or rattles, are considered by most Native Americans to be sacred and should not be used as classroom crafts. A little research will yield much respect.

~Songs like, “Ten Little Indians” are not cute; they are demeaning and relegate human beings to the status of pets or animals. Instructing students to sit “Indian-style” on the floor is also inappropriate. Ask your primary students to crisscross or sit on their pockets instead.

~Do attend local powwows, which are Native American social gatherings. Many reserves or reservations have museums that are good resources for educating yourself about American Indian cultures. Explore websites, such as Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers www.wordcraftcircle.org and resource websites such as Hanksville, www.hanksville.org which provides a comprehensive listing of contemporary Native writers or Native Languages, a website that preserves Native languages and cultures at www.native-languages.org.

*Note: please do not refer to ceremonial clothing as costumes because costumes are items to be worn for Halloween etc. In contrast, many powwow regalia have been handed down from one generation to the next. Almost all regalia has been hand-made by family members.

Once enlightened, I believe we cannot go backwards. Racism and stereotypes hurt both in the present tense and in the future. Be informed to make better choices. Read as much as you can, but be selective in your choices, keeping in mind that much in print has not been written from the Indian point of view.

Finally, let this be your guide: imagine you are the Indian child sitting within the story circle. Imagine how the words and pictures of the book you have chosen will impact her as well as the non-Indian friend sitting beside her.

About today's guest
Linda Boyden has spent most of her adult life leading children to literacy. From 1970-1997, she taught in elementary schools, receiving her master’s in Gifted and Talented Education in 1992 from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. In 1997, Linda decided to change careers and abandoned full-time teaching for full-time writing. Her first picture book, The Blue Roses, debuted in 2002. It was the recipient of Lee and Low Books’ first New Voices Award, the 2003 Paterson Prize, Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers’ Book of the Year, Children’s Literature, 2002-2003, and was included on the prestigious CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center) 2003 Choices list of recommended titles. In 2006, her “Grammy Linda” preschool storytelling DVD was released. Since 2007, she has written and illustrated her second and third picture books, Powwow’s Coming (2007) and Giveaways, An ABC of Loanwords from the Americas, (Fall, 2010) both from the University of New Mexico Press.

Linda is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers. She enjoys doing author visits and storytelling at schools and libraries across the country.

For more information about Linda and her work, please visit www.lindaboyden.com

New Crayons

New Crayons is a metaphor for multicultural lit. The excitement of getting a new book is kind of like the excitement felt as a child opening a new box of crayons.

This week we got:

 Ari-

Don't Know Where, Don't Know When by Annette Laing

Hannah and Alex move from San Francisco to boring Snipesville, where they meet Brandon, a dorky kid who is plotting his escape from the Deep South. Suddenly, the kids are catapulted to World War Two England. They encounter a world of bomb blasts, dragon ladies, painful punishments, and non-absorbing toilet paper. But they can't go home unless they find George Braithwaite, whoever he is, and whatever it is that he has to do with Snipesville.

 

 

The Agency: The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee
July 1859. A bricklayer falls to his death from the Clock Tower of the Houses of Parliament – the most recent horror in a string of scandals that plagues the building site. With the British people eagerly watching the installation of Big Ben, Mary Quinn disguises herself as a 12-year-old boy laborer to uncover the grim truth. Her fellow workers are suspicious. Mary’s secret past distracts her. And then James Easton returns…

 

 

 

 

Losing My Cool by Thomas Chatterton Williams

A pitch-perfect account of how hip-hop culture drew in the author and  how his father drew him out again-with love, perseverance, and fifteen thousand books.

Williams is the first of his generation to measure the seductive power of hip-hop against its restrictive worldview, which ultimately leaves those who live it powerless. Losing My Cool portrays the allure and the danger of hip-hop culture like no book has before. Even more remarkably, Williams evokes the subtle salvation that literature offers and recounts with breathtaking clarity a burgeoning bond between father and son.

Moonshine by Alaya Johnson

 Imagining vampires at the heart of the social struggles of 1920s, Moonshine blends a tempestuous romance with dramatic historical fiction, populated by a lively mythology inhabiting the gritty New York City streets Zephyr Hollis is an underfed, overzealous social activist who teaches night school to the underprivileged of the Lower East Side. Strapped for cash, Zephyr agrees to help a student, the mysterious Amir, who proposes she use her charity worker cover to bring down a notorious vampire mob boss. What he doesn’t tell her is why. Soon enough she’s tutoring a child criminal with an angelic voice, dodging vampires high on a new blood-based street drug, and trying to determine the real reason behind Amir’s request—not to mention attempting to resist his dark, inhuman charm.

Terri-

Address: House of Corrections by Monice Mitchell Simms
Award-winning writer Monice Mitchell Simms' engrossing debut novel, "Address: House of Corrections" seamlessly shifts through time and locale to follow the empowering, entertaining journey of Merry, a stubborn 32-year-old ex con and recovering addict, who moves to 1947 Detroit as a spunky twelve-year-old with her estranged mother and comes full circle as Merry fights to stay sane, stay straight and make peace with her children and her torrid past. Gritty, yet hopeful, Mitchell Simms ingeniously births refreshing characters in this, her first book in a trilogy series, and elevates what could have easily become a stereotypical hard luck tale into a literary triumph.

Overcoming Speechlessness by Alice Walker
More by Austin Clarke
Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo by Ntozake Shange
No Sweetness Here by Ama Ata Aidoo
Bitter Sweets by Roopa Farooki


What books have you received this week? What are you looking forward to reading?

LGBT Week: June 25th - July 4th

Hello!

In honor of LGBT Week, here are a few links of interest:

o LGBT Week is hosted by Rae on her blog In the Forest. For the next ten days she will be reviewing books and tempt us with giveaways.

o Author and LGBT rights advocate Malindo Lo wrote a series of posts on Avoinding LGBT Stereotypes in YA Fictions. Whether you're a writer or not, you will be interested in what she has to say. She is thorough.
Malinda's novel, ASH, came out last September, and is described as "Cinderella with a twist". Click here to read the review from Lambda Literary.

o If you're looking for great LGBT YA recommendations, please visit Librarian Daisy Porter's website. What I like the most is how she breaks down the titles in every way imaginable (by author, by ethnicity of characters, genre, etc...)

Have read a great LGBT YA lately? Feel free to share it with us! :)

Sequential Art Review: Le pacte des yokai (Natsume Yuujinchou) V. 1 by Yuki Midorikawa

Title: Le pacte des yokai V. 1 – trans. The Pact of Yokai [1] (Original title : 夏目友人帳 Natsume Yuujinchou – trans. Natsume’s Book of Friends.)
Creator: Yuki Midorikawa trans. by Yuki Kakiichi
Genre: Shoujo[2], drama, supernatural, episodic, slice-of-life
Serialized magazine: Lala
Publisher: Hakusensha (Japanese publisher), Édition Delacourt (French publisher)

Summary: Orphaned teenager Takashi Natsume has always been able to see the yokai since he was a child. His life becomes complicated when a notebook, inherited from his deceased grandmother Reiko, falls into his hands. This notebook contains all the names of the yokai his grandmother has defeated in battle, names which allows Natsume to control the yokai and determine their life or death. This powerful inherited notebook brings Natsume new friends and foes as other yokai seek the notebook either to free themselves or to possess the notebook and all the power it contains.

TL;DR: A fantastic debut to a great series, with evocative art, a sweet protagonist to root for, and heartfelt stories that with grab readers by the heart, this is a manga series no one should miss out on.


The Review: Let me indulge in some basic manga perimetres, as this is my first attempt at a manga review and I want to make this clear. In these story mediums using sequential art, the art ITSELF is essential to the story. Art can either make or break a story – and not simply in the sense that ‘oh the art is ugly thus it sucks’ or ‘oh the art is pretty thus it’s good’. Good art in manga is not simply art that looks appealing to your eyes, though of course, like Cover Art in Novels, pretty, appealing art styles of the manga creator can be a drawing factor to get a new audience member to pick up the manga volume. But in all forms of sequential art, THE ART IS THE STORY. The story is told through art. Thus, if the art cannot convey or carry the story, then the story has no substance. The ability of the creator to correctly and smoothly transition the art through action or character contemplation or what you will is far more important than say, how detailed the outfits are, or how lovely the background is.

The art of Natsume Yuujinchou is not one that’s immediately appealing to a new audience. Midorikawa does not use strong bold outlines or fills her manga with lush details. Rather, the art has a ‘soft’ quality, kind of like light sketches in a sketchbook that captures enough of the essence of the image the artist wants to convey, but is absent of a sharply penciled outline of the sketch to make it look more ‘finished’. I have seen accusations of this art being deemed ugly because of this ‘unfinished’ look, but if you look closer you’ll realize that Midorikawa always draws enough to convey all that is necessary to tell the story, and she never slacks on background details when they’re needed, and her art is always spaced out in a way to lend for easy art flow. Midorikawa’s art is by no means flashy, but it has substance, and great thought put into it, and I appreciate this style of art very much. Also, this sketch look in her art lends a whimsical, unassuming quality to her story, and thoroughly charmed me from page one.

Midorikawa favours a three-way vertical split in her page outlines, and it works rather well for her. Transitions within scenes are usually done exceptionally well, and Midorikawa excels at portraying emotional moments of character insight with her minimal, deft artistic hand. She is weaker with the action scenes, but they are serviceable, and this is mostly just nitpicking on my part. Besides, you don’t read Natsume Yuujinchou for the action, lol.

From the premise of boy getting his hands on a powerful notebook, this sounds like your typical shounen adventure fare. What is key to keep in mind is that this is Yuki Midorikawa, and that this is essentially a shoujo story, manga targeted towards teenage girls. She takes a premise normally found in manga for teenage boys, and breathes heart and soul into the story rarely found in the shounen scene. Midorikawa’s true strength in her storytelling abilities is her way of breathing human qualities and thoughtful insights into her characters, not necessarily through an indulgent soliloquy, but moreso through the glimpses of character interactions and things said/unsaid, and her way of making the art slow down or speed up at key moments for maximum effect. In short, Midorikawa is best at reeling in and evoking character sympathy, and then breaking the audience’s hearts. Reading a work by Midorikawa is heartfelt not because of melodrama, but because it is quiet and so dearly sincere.

Instead of taking the powering/leveling up motif that is common in for this type of premise in the shounen market, Midorikawa instead focuses on the human level of what these abilities means to our main protagonist. How does it feel to be able to see things that others can’t? How does it feel to be accused of being a liar for it? Sent away from foster home to foster home because each foster parent thought you were either lying or creepy or sullen in his solitude and loneliness? How does it feel to inherit something from a family relations and discovering that maybe you aren’t so alone after all, that someone besides you had these abilities and gave you an everlasting vestige of her legacy? How is it like, despite all these obstacles, having the desire to want to belong? How do you relate to others when you know that other humans cannot see what you were born able to do? All these questions Midorikawa addresses attentively, the connection between human and yokai, Some of the most compelling sustained character relationships in this series is that between Natsume and Reiko, his deceased grandmother, how he slowly gains insight of her thoughts and feelings in this notebook of hers. This is one of the defining things that make this typical shounen sounding premise morph into an atypical shoujo story: Midorikawa does not choose to develop a story of Natsume rising up to be the king of yokai or even a top notch yokai slayer. Instead, Natsume sees this notebook as something important of his grandma’s, the only woman he knows of who might have understood his feelings and emotions. Natsume chooses to instead give back the names taken by his grandma back to the yokai in question, and through this learns more about his grandma, and the yokai that come to see and meet him. This is not a story of the underdog becoming the best. This is a story about the every day things, the desire for connection as characters interact and grow. (Also I find the compare contrast between our protag and his grandma fascinating because they have the same abilities but it shaped them very differently.)

Midorikawa shapes this story in an episodic fashion, each chapter an equivalent of one episode wherein he would typically help out or get involved with a different yokai each chapter. In these episodic type narratives, a compelling main character is key, because why else would we continue to read an episodic series if we didn’t care about the protagonist? I’ll be upfront and say that Natsume is one of the most sincere and sweetest protagonists I’ve ever encountered in all stories across all sorts of mediums, and he charmed my heart. I understood this fictional character like he was a real person next to me, a living, breathing friend. How he keeps aloof from humans in fear of being rejected, how he has trust issues and how he wants to be kind and good to those he cares about but isn’t very good with his words, how he recklessly acts in order to help those who come to him and how he’s one of the most unselfish and kind protagonists I’ve ever had the pleasure of encountering. I could literally spend all day being like this, rambling on and on about how much I love this protagonist, but let me finish off by saying that Midorikawa has created a protagonist that will make a follower out of the readers and you’ll be willing to read his adventures anywhere and wherever the author chooses to take you.

As for the episodic stories themselves, what can I even say? Words cannot describe how beautiful these stories were. Chapter 2 and 4 especially made me teary-eyed. I found the theme of (missing) communication between yokai and human and a futile desire to connect very evocative and compelling amidst the heartbreak. The heart of these stories has an underlying message of friendship, not in the typical shounen sense of FRIENDS STICK TOGETHER kind of thing, but a desire to form ties with others that has nothing to do with romance and everything to do with wanting to be close to another being who means something to you.

This thoughtfulness in the stories are by no means accidental, as reading the notes written into the sides and endnotes at the end reveal. One of the cool things about (re)reading these serialized manga works (fyi, usually manga is serialized in magazines wherein there is either weekly or monthly chapter updates, kind of like how Charles Dickens wrote a chapter in newspapers if we are looking for an English novelization equivalent…) in Volume form is that they usually come with commentary. I really like reading Midorikawa’s commentaries because they always make it clear how thoughtful she is when she plans out her stories, that she really thinks carefully about her craft and what ways shall she use to bring her story to life, her thoughts on how to carefully position her characters in the best manner, and her worries on using an episodic-type narrative to tell her story (fyi it’s her first time, not that anyone could tell since she mastered it so completely on her first shot.) I also liked the detail on how Nyanko-sensei/Madara/Maitre Griffou (if you read the French version) came to be, and her acknowledgments and praises towards her editor and assistants.

As for the translations itself, I read the French version, and it was passable. They decided not to keep any of the original Japanese syntax and even completely changed the name of Nyanko-sensei, which saddens me, but I almost forgive them because this French edition gives us a lot of brilliant endnotes at the end on the folklore Midorikawa referenced and the yokai lore as well. They even had an interesting yokai overview at the back of the volume. I didn’t care for the yokai-are-the-same-as-demons, but I suppose it’s better than a sublimal message on Othering Yokai and Japanese folklore, etc. *shrugs* I have yet to read the English editions that are out, but you know, the nice thing about manga is that the art tells 80% of the story, so even if the translation was subpar, the art will convey most of the message through, so I say to all the English-speakers to get their copy ASAP!

Quick note on the title: I can see why the French publisher changed the title because Natsume’s Book of Friends does kind of sound boring and cheesy, but I’m weirdly fond of it all the same? *shrugs* Oh well, at least it’s actually related to what’s going on within the story as well.

Art: A
Story[3]: A

[1]Yokai is an umbrella term for supernatural creatures of Japanese folklore, demons being a rough equivalent if we want to think of a European folk creature counterpart.
[2] In this context, Shoujo means manga geared towards teenage girls. For manga, there are two markets for teenagers, shoujo manga for girls and shounen manga for boys. Of course, boys can read shoujo and girls can read shounen, but the general rule is that these mangas are geared towards the specific target audience they have in mind. Shounen and Shoujo thus have very different troupes and conventions.
[3]You may be wondering why I am rating these two separately, since I spent forever trying to explain that there is no story without the art, aka ART = STORY. But what I mean by rating them separately is that, for the Art, I’m rating it based on how effective was the creator in telling the story (which is always predominantly through the art, the positioning of the art, etc) and the rating for story is for the actual story events in the volume, if there was a proper beginning/middle/end, etc. I guess a novel equivalent would be that Art => Writing Style and Story => Plot?! I hope this isn’t confusing.

A Molly Ringwald Ending For A Poor Black Girl

32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter
Davidia Jones is poor ugly duckling. She lives with Cora (her mother) in a small Mississippi town. No one loves Davidia, Cora never has a kind word. Davidia classmates bully her with the name "monkey night " for her dark complexion.

Its the 80's Davidia loves John Hughes films. Like Celie from the Color Purple, Davidia may be poor, black, she may even be ugly but she still dreams of a Molly Ringwald ending. Sixteen Candles is Davidia's favorite Ringwald film. She thinks she's found her very own Jake Ryan in James Farrell.

After a very bad encounter with Cora, Davidia stops speaking. She goes through life silently taking all the insults. When it becomes too much 15 yr old Davidia leaves Mississippi behind.

I've shown a lot of restraint waiting this long to say I loved 32 Candles. Its ridiculously good. Its my favorite fiction debut of the year. I cared about and loved Davidia from the beginning. Her voice is original and realistic. In the first half of the Davidia Jones is the victim. In the second half, Davie Jones begins to take charge. 32 Candles is sad, funny, smart and entertaining, basically everything a great book should be.

If you've seen Sixteen Candles you must read 32 Candles. If you've read Color Purple (Davidia's favorite books) you must read 32 Candles.

New Crayons

New Crayons is a metaphor for multicultural lit. The excitement of getting a new book is kind of like the excitement felt as a child opening a new box of crayons.

This week we got:

Benjamin Banneker: Astronomer and Mathematician, by Laura Baskes Litwin. (from the library)


I've always been interested in the unseen/not-in-the-spotlight people of color who contributed to science. I really got exposed to them when I started college. Our science tutoring room was full of posters about the great discoveries in science, but with an emphasis on African American, Egyptians, Asians (and more) mathematicians, physicists or engineers.

Benjamin Banneker was a free African American man in a time of slavery, and as such not welcome in White society. Born in 1731, he spent most of his time on his Maryland farm. He taught himself mathematics and astronomy. Among his astounding accomplishments, he surveyed the site for the nation's capital city, Washington, D.C. He published almanacs with tide calculations and weather predictions. He is also famous for being one of the first African Americans to speak out against slavery, as well as for his correspondence with Thomas Jefferson.

He is one of the few with several books written about him.  His buigraphy was written by Laura Baskes, and published by Enslow Publishers, Inc.

Getting There, by Marla Steward Konrad, published by Tundra Books.(library)

It's a WorldVision Early readers book about transportation in different parts of the world. The cover attracted me, the pictures are gorgeous and the book looks so positive that I couldn't resist. :)

Oh, No, Toto! written by Katrin Hyman Tchana and Louise Tchana Pami, and illustrated by Colin Bootman. (Library)

I heard of this picture book on numerous occasions. It takes place in Cameroon, and Toto is the name of the name character, a little boy who is very much into... food! I look forward to getting to know the writers through their writing. As for the illustrations, I'm a huge fan of Bootman's work and his way of capturing facial expressions. This is another book I look forward to.

Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet, by Kashmira Sheth

The book is about Jeeta, an Indian girl caught in an arranged marriage situation, topped by her duty in honoring her family traditions and the desire to follow dreams of own independence. 

I am wondering how she will conciliate or choose or reject, while figuring out who she really is. :)

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives: A Novel by Lola Shoneyin

This book will officially be released in June 20, 2010.  Here's the official description:

"When Baba Segi awoke with a bellyache for the sixth day in a row, he knew it was time to do something drastic about his fourth wife's childlessness.

Meet Baba Segi . . .
A plump, vain, and prosperous middle-aged man of robust appetites, Baba Segi is the patriarch of a large household that includes a quartet of wives and seven children. But his desire to possess more just might be his undoing.
And his wives . . .
Iya Segi—the bride of Baba Segi's youth, a powerful, vindictive woman who will stop at nothing to protect her favored position as ruler of her husband's home.
Iya Tope—Baba Segi's second wife, a shy, timid woman whose decency and lust for life are overshadowed by fear.
Iya Femi—the third wife, a scheming woman with crimson lips and expensive tastes who is determined to attain all that she desires, no matter what the cost.
Bolanle—Babi Segi's fourth and youngest wife, an educated woman wise to life's misfortunes who inspires jealousy in her fellow wives . . . and who harbors a secret that will expose shocking truths about them all."

And that concludes today's post. What books have you received this week? What are you looking forward to reading?

Picture Book Review: A LION'S MANE, written by Navjot Kaur & illustrated by Jaspreet Sandhu

A Lion's Mane is picture book written by Navjot Kaur, illustrated by Jaspreet Sandhu and published by Saffron Press (Canada).

Favorite quotes:
"I have a lion's mane and I'm different, just like you."
"Do you know that you can actually lionize someone?"

As soon as I opened A Lion's Mane I understood why it got nominated for the Cybils Awards: the book has heart and is really well produced. I couldn't help myself, the illustrations transported me back to my kindergarten and elementary years, with colors as vibrant as the ones I used to see the world through. Kuddos to illustrator Jaspreet Sandhu for the playfulness she instilled in her work. They are a delight to look at and, in my opinion, they suit perfectly the narrator 's youth and innocence.

I like the fact that Sikh children get to see themselves on the book cover, that kids unfamiliar with the Sikh culture have their curiosity picked as soon as they look at this boy standing in front of a mirror, his hands raised. I want to ask the young audience, "What do you think he is doing?"

I think it would be the beginning of a wonderful conversation.

Another interesting aspect of a Lion's Mane is its interactive platform, served by the way text and illustrations play with each other. Indeed, at some point the narrator repeatedly asks the reader and the audience if they can see what "lion" means, illustrated in a specific cultural context. The answer is partially in the pose that a character strikes, as well as the writing in the red turban; it encourages the children to read on their own, thus becoming participants of the story.

I learned about a Sikh martial art called Gatka! I didn't know it existed, I YouTubed it and my jaw dropped. It's scary great. *Don't let your kids watch the video!*

The book empowers the reader by its cultural knowledge. It reminds that being different is, in fact, normal, even if it means being the only kid in the classroom wearing a turban on your head. The reader gets to learn words in Swahili, Sikh, Sanskrit... We learn what the lion's mane means in the Native Indian Ohi tribe, what it meant in medieval times. There would be more to say, notably about great female figures of our century, but I don't want to spoil your reading experience.

To summarize regarding the review, A Lion's Mane is a wonderful, meaningful picture book ~ yet another picture book that stole my heart. I have NO doubts children would grab it and read it over and over (I know I did) if displayed in libraries and bookstores.

Other facts you might be pleased to know:
o A Lion's Mane is written on 100% recycled and chlorine-free paper! 625 trees will be planted for its first edition.
o Part of the book's proceeds goes to SEVA Canada's work to restore sight and prevent blindness in children.
o If you ever looked for a book dealing with bully-ism, this would do wonders in the classroom. The topic is dealt with such a positive and genuine attitude!
o A Lion's Mane received the 2010 Skipping Stones Honor Award, as a multicultural and international awareness book.
o Age range: 5 to 10 years old.

About the author:
Navjot Kaur is a Toronto-based elementary teacher of Sikh-Punjabi heritage, who grew up in England. A lion's Mane is her first book.

To purchase a Lion's Mane and for more information, please check the following links:
o Saffron Press' Website
o A Lion's Mane on Facebook



Disclosure: I received the book from the author. Reviewed posted on MR.
Edited 6/16/2010

Rukhsana Kahn's Speech

Rukhsana Khan (pronounced ruk-SA-na kon) is a Canadian award-winning writer and storyteller. She visits over eighty schools a year in the United States and in Canada, and as stated on her website, her presentations "go from light-hearted fun for primary children to serious issues like teen suicide, loss and abandonment and child refugees." She is the author of Silly Chicken(Viking Juvenile, 2005), Big Red Lollipop (Viking Juvenile, 2010) and Wanting Mor (Groundwood Books, 2009), a story about an orphaned teenage girl abandoned in a marketplace in Kabul, Afghanistan.

In September 2008, Rukhsana Khan gave a speech at the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) World Congress in Denmark, in which she explores the theme of integration, the reasons behind the need for cultural diversity, the challenges awaiting authors writing outside their culture and those eager to represent theirs... The speech is titled:

FREEDOM OF SPEECH VERSUS CULTURAL SENSITIVITY
Balancing the Right to Create Freely vs. the Need of People to be Respected 

Here is an extract:

"Imagine how dull the world would be if we all looked the same, ate the same food
and dressed the same way!

I believe that just as biodiversity allows species to take advantage of evolutionary
niches, diversity of cultures explores all the societal permutations possible and helps mankind to progress.

Societies are in a constant state of flux. Members move between communities
and with this comes the cross pollination of ideas. Over time cultural norms must change and adapt as a result of this.

All this cultural exchange is very healthy. It prevents stagnation. It challenges a
culture’s status quo and allows for the vetting of long held assumptions. Ultimately only the best and fittest concepts will survive to further contribute toward the progress of mankind."

The entire speech is available on Rukhsana's website. I found it utterly honest and thought provoking. I hope you read it, too.

Disclosure: This was first posted on the blog Multiculturalism Rocks!

Color Me Brown Links

Color Me Brown links are links of interest relating to literature and people of color, whether it's reviews, discussions, author interviews, etc.

An absolute must read is The Elephant in the Room by Elizabeth Bluemle not only does it talk about the need for more diversity in books, it lists ways that we can all fix the problem (readers, editors, publishers, etc.) It also includes links to resources on the Internet (Color Online got a shout out, yay!) Below is an excerpt from the article

The truth: we in the book trade have fallen shamefully behind our own culture, and our own times. We can remedy that with open dialogue, new paradigms, and concerted effort. And—we have to remedy it. When adults shout racial epithets at our country’s elected leaders, when bullied children are hanging themselves out of despair and shame, when children’s faces in art murals on the sides of schools are criticized for being “too dark,” when racism is still alive and vicious in this country, we can’t politely avert our eyes.

It is our responsibility—as people who create, produce, and distribute the lion’s share of books that reach and teach and entertain children—it is our highest calling to provide written, illustrated worlds that embrace and prioritize all children, books that resemble the playgrounds and classrooms and homes of this country and the rest of the world. And in order to do that, we must open the gates of our publishing houses to a greater variety of voices and cast aside outdated assumptions of what people will or won’t want to read, will or won’t want to edit or publish or sell.

Neesha Meminger had a thoughtful response (or continuation) to the Elephant article in More on Race

This is the same discussion feminists were having years ago when men ran and owned all publishing houses, and women's writing was not taken seriously. It was too "emotional", it was too "flowery", women didn't write about "serious" things, and women weren't getting published. Men were viewing women's writing through a very male lens and never had to bend or shift their perspective. It was out of this that feminist presses and women's presses began sprouting and taking root. They showed that women could write and there was a market for that work and that it sold. Eventually, these small presses began dying out because the larger publishers began publishing more work by women. AND because there were now spaces for women to write, to nurture and cultivate their careers, there were grants and financial support for women who wanted to take writing seriously. In other words, there were larger, societal changes *in addition to* well-meaning editors. AND, here's the key, there were more women editors.

The children's/teen publishing biz has a whole LOT of women editors now. And two of them are women of colour. Ha, just kidding. It might be five. But the same needs to happen now. This is a subjective business. Editors and booksellers can like whatever they like. Let's just get more - including those who understand and value different aesthetics and traditions, and those who aren't necessarily looking for a polished, refined, brown version of Twilight or Harry Potter or Gossip Girl. Let's think outside of the publishing box we've all been shoved into. Let's get representation of ALL children and their histories/stories. Even if it means taking a little more time to nurture a new writer or new voice, or reading everything you can in a particular genre by authors from different backgrounds and literary traditions

There's a very interesting discussion going on at Hunger Mountain (the online magazine for the Vermont College of Fine Arts). Tanita Davis and Mitali Perkins offer two different perspectives on having POC faces on cover. Read both articles, Reflected Faces (Tanita) and Teens Do Judge A Book by the Cover (Mitali)

Lyn Miller Lachmann is leaving the Multicultural Review. Read her post about her last issue. The MCR will miss your wise leadership Lyn!

Good Fortune

Good Fortune by Noni Carter 2010
Simon & Schuster

Good Fortune traces the journey of Ayanna Bahati, who is captured and taken from her African village and sold into slavery in America. She is renamed Sarah but she still has flashbacks of her life in Africa and the traumatic events of coming to America (she was seven at the time). Sarah is determined to escape to freedom especially when her "master's" son (Jeffrey) begins to pressure her and he looks like he will make her his mistress. Sarah would rather die than suffer that fate so she begins to plan on running away.

This is a stunning debut from a very talented young author (she's 18 and attends Harvard University). I was more than a little apprehensive about picking up this book because I haven't been in the mood to read yet another slave narrative. They are depressing and speak to a history that is incredibly hard to be proud of. While this novel is somewhat predictable and redundant in its facts about the horror of slavery, it has a very strong message to it concerning education. I think that in the author's goal to have the book be used as a teaching tool for children, her message overpowers the book in some parts. It puts a human face on the struggles of slaves; Sarah goes through so much and she is so determined to get an education. It made me think long and hard about how many of my fellow African American students (and it's not just us, but I'm focusing on us today) dismiss the educational opportunities they have, we waste them by not reaching to our full potential, we mess around in school (I'm guilty of doing that sometimes too!). I can honestly say this novel made me feel bad for complaining all the time about having to go to school, while I didn't stop completely I do try to complain less.

Something that really bothered me about this novel was that the language seemed to be too-flowery (does that make sense?) It was very formal and it was hard to believe that an uneducated slave would speak in such precise words. However, the author does have a great way with words, she describes scenes that leap off the pages. "Then, one night, as snow fell steadily, heaven must have decided to turn all the elements of nature against me. Down came icy rocks, hurled my way as if the skies were taunting me for the slowness of my pace. I dropped down and tried to shield myself, but they came crashing upon my back and shoulders. I fought to get up again, to seek shelter. My throat burned while the rest of me shook with cold. With the surrounding land mocking me as I stumbled over its bumpy surfaces and my own feet, I searched for refuge from heaven's assault." (pg. 186-187) At times Good Fortune seemed tedious, I think that some pages could have been cut out (it's 470 pages!) because many pages simply have to do with planning and waiting, planning escapes, waiting for the right time. I'm not going to go into much detail about what this novel covers about slavery because it covers much of the hardships; the beatings, the rape (it's not at all graphic though, merely hinted at), the death, the danger of escape, etc.

However, this novel is unique because it has a love story. The love story between Sarah and John helps lighten the horrific situation of slavery, they are young and in love and it's adorable. They face hardship, in large part because Jeffrey (the slave owner's son) wants to keep them apart and he holds the power. Their love is based on hope and trust and they wait. And wait. It's a bittersweet ending. Sarah herself carries the novel. She is incredibly naive, but she has a strong and persistent voice, she will become educated and she will one day marry John.

Good Fortune avoids the trap of being yet another depressing slave story due to the author's magical way with words, the determined main character and surrounding characters (her adopted brother, Daniel, her Aunt Mary, her friend Florence) and the tender love story. I think that at times the author tries too hard to get her message about the importance of education into the reader's head, but it's an important message that needs to be reiterated. I wish that the author had either eliminated Sarah's memories of Africa or more fully explained them because seeing them only though Sarah's hazy flashbacks and nightmares provides confusion for the reader. I will definitely be looking for future work by Noni Carter, her debut was incredibly well researched and showcases her talent with words. Do not let your fear of reading about slavery keep you from missing out on this story.

Disclosure: Received from Nathalie to give away as a prize in the POC Reading Challenge. Thank you so much Nathalie!

The Madonnas of Echo Park

The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse

This is a wonderful fiction debut. It has one of the best Author's Notes I've ever read. (No Contest) The early comparisons to Junot Diaz and Sherman Alexie are well deserved. The Madonnas of Echo Park is several interrelated short stories that tell the tale of Mexican Americans living in Echo Park a Los Angeles neighborhood, in the 80's. Madonna's Borderline video was shot in Echo Park and left an impression on the neighborhood. Skyhorse writing is beautiful and smooth. The characters and situations are fully formed. My favorite story was Rules of the Road, about Efren Mendoza a by the book bus driver. He refuses to speak Spanish to Mexican riders and has no time for illegal Mexicans. Mendoza's story is a testament to the different voices in The Madonnas of Echo Park.

Pam Grier - An Icon is Coming

Pam Grier will be reading and signing her autobiography Foxy: My life In Three Acts at Borders Buckhead in Atlanta,GA. June 16th at 7:30pm. I loved Foxy and I am ready to fan gush.Which means all my words will be jumbled or I will forget how to speak all together. I always enjoying going to booksignings and working them. As a fan, I love getting a chance to meet authors whose work I enjoy. As a bookseller I get a thrill out of watching customers meet authors they like. For some its an event. They drove a long way and its the first signing they've ever been to. So its pretty cool to watch them leave happy with an autograph and a picture.

Three authors I loved meeting. Valarie Boyd, who wrote Wrapped in Rainbows. A biography on Zora Neale Hurston. Laura Lippman, a mystery author. I've been to two of her signings. Sarah Dessen a young adult author. All three were very nice and I was happy to be there.

I never had a bad experience with an author until a few months ago. I don't expect a conversation but a halfway decent hello would've been nice. It was a real let down. Their indifference was just plan ugly. In the end that's what really got me, they couldn't even bothered to fake it. I didn't want to keep the book and be reminded of that moment, so I gave it away about five blocks later.

Which authors did you love meeting?

Which authors did you not like meeting? Did you stop reading their books?

Women Writers of Color: Alaya Johnson

Full name: Alaya Dawn Johnson

Birth date: March 31, 1982

Location: Washington, DC

Website/blog: www.alayadawnjohnson.com

Genre: Fantasy

WiP or most recently published work: Moonshine or The Burning City (they came out within weeks of each other)




Writing credits: The first two books of The Spirit Binders trilogy: Racing the Dark and The Burning City. Also, unrelated, Moonshine, the start of a historical fantasy series staring Zephyr Hollis.




How frequently do you update your site?
Infrequently. Mostly when I have big publishing news to share (book covers, pub dates, big sales, etc.)





Is your site designed for reader interaction? No.





Post of note, something in particular you want readers to check out: I wrote a guest post for The Angry Black Woman this summer about race issues on one of my favorite television shows, Supernatural: http://theangryblackwoman.com/2009/09/09/an-open-letter-to-eric-kripke/



Top 5 reads you’re looking forward to reading in 2010?


Blackout by Connie Willis

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

Bite Marks by Terence Taylor

White Cat by Holly Black




100 words or less how would you describe your work?
I hate repeating myself with my writing, so the next thing I'm working on is usually very different from the last. Moonshine and The Spirit Binders trilogy are about as far apart thematically as you can get while still falling under the broad category of fantasy. But my overarching themes tend to center around issues of family, female relationships, love (romantic and platonic), and broader issues of coming of age and identity.


100 words on less please share your thoughts on one of the following topics:

Writing life

It's a cliche, but writing is one of the hardest things you can do, and one of the most rewarding. When it's going well, I'm immersed in my stories, my characters and my worlds and I can barely spare the time to eat before I have to get back to them. Unfortunately, it doesn't always go well--many days I stare at my computer screen and wonder why I ever thought I was capable of putting a sentence together. But no matter how difficult it gets, there's never been anything else I've wanted to do. Frustration comes with the territory, but I never forget how lucky I am.

Author Interview: Candy Gourlay

This interview was originally posted at Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind on November 30, 2009.



Tall Story is about Bernardo, an 8 ft. tall boy (a giant!) in the Philippines, and his half-sister Andi in the UK. I really enjoyed reading Tall Story. It's an interesting story and I love so many things about it: How it is about family, Filipino legends and superstitions, and basketball. Its melding of British humor and Filipino humor. Andi's strong and fresh voice. How the main characters seem so real that a part of me thinks there really is an 8 ft. tall boy named Bernardo in the Philippines with a sister named Andi in the UK. I love how in Tall Story there is the question of how belief in legends and superstitions affects how one reacts to events... And does something happen (or not happen) because of a person's belief (or lack thereof) in a legend or superstition?

Tall Story is for children aged 10+ and will be published by David Fickling Books in the UK (June 2010) and the US (early 2011), and by Cacho Publishing House in the Philippines (date to be announced). Today, I am excited to present an interview with Tall Story author Candy Gourlay!

Candy is a Filipino writer who lives in the UK. In the Philippines, she was a journalist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. In the UK, she was the London correspondent for the news agency Inter Press Service and editor of the pan-European magazine Filipinos in Europe. Candy moved to the UK in 1989 after she married Richard Gourlay, who was the Manila correspondent for the Financial Times of London. Richard and Candy have three children.

Hi, Candy!

What was the spark that set you off writing Tall Story?

I have always been fascinated by gigantism and had the germ of an idea - a teenager who suffers from gigantism.

As an awkward teenager, I felt like a freak - a lot of teenagers, the uncool ones like me, feel like that, don't they? I thought: what if you really were a "freak"? Maybe, a giant?

And then, my sister (Joy Ramos) told me the story of Ujang Warlika.

When her husband, Bong Ramos, a former PBL (Philippine Basketball League) player turned PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) basketball coach, was coaching Aspac Texaco, an Indonesian team, he was asked to turn Ujang into the equivalent of Yao Ming, the Chinese giant.

The thing was, Yao Ming at 7 feet 6 inches was genetically tall ... and Ujang who was 7 feet 4 inches was not tall, he was a giant - he suffered from the disease called gigantism, caused by an overactive pituitary gland that overproduces growth hormones. Ujang ended up spending a lot of time hanging out with my sister's daughter Camille, who is a tiny but formidable basketball player. Camille now plays for La Salle [University] and the Philippine Women's team. Poor Ujang died of his illness.

Please guide us through your writing process, particularly the writing process you used for Tall Story. What influences and inspirations (both literary and non-literary) did you draw from while writing? What were the challenges and rewards from writing Tall Story?

The Philippine legend of Bernardo Carpio is an important part of Tall Story. Can you tell us a bit about the legend and why you incorporated it into the novel? Did you do a lot of research on the legend, or did you rely on the stories you heard growing up?

When I started writing Tall Story in September 2008, I only had that tiny idea - about a teenager with gigantism. I thought of setting it in the UK, but the UK is not a basketball playing country (even though my sons love it, they discovered basketball watching PBA games in the Philippines).

I thought of setting it in the United States - but that would have been super risky, never having lived in the States.

I asked myself what I did know?

I read everything I could find about giants, all the folklore and all the legends. This brought me to Bernardo Carpio, the Filipino legendary giant. I read all the different versions of the Bernardo Carpio story and realized that through the years it had been adapted by storytellers to suit the times - Bernardo Carpio was a metaphor for the resistance against Spain, he was an explanation for a lot of geology in the Montalban area, and he was even a Christ metaphor in the early 1900s. Nick Joaquin wrote a wonderful time travel story featuring Bernardo Carpio in Pop Stories for Groovy Kids, retellings of Filipino stories published in the 80s. That decided me - I was going to tell my own version of Bernardo Carpio and other Filipino folk tales.

I really set out to reflect a Filipino sensibility, despite the story being set partly in London. I had a fear that some Filipinos might not like the way I portray them, given Pinoy sensitivities about their image in the rest of the world. But I set out to capture that unique sense of humour that I miss so much living abroad - our love of poking fun at the way we have domesticated English, the spiritualism that borders on superstition, the rich storytelling seam, the showbiz dramatics, the sense of family and belonging. I hope Pinoy readers will recognize how lovingly I wrote it .. fellow expatriates might feel the undercurrent of homesickness that underlies the whole novel which is the lot of the Filipino abroad. I suspect this will be a constant feature in all my novels!

Was it difficult getting an agent? What was the path to publication for Tall Story?

I have been trying to get published for nine years. I know this because I recorded the date when I started writing my first novel. Tall Story is my fourth!

That first novel was set in London with English characters and had a gripping enough first chapter to have the whole manuscript invited back whenever I sent it out. But I didn't know the ups and downs of plot or in-depth characterization, and had a slew of rejections. I had so much to learn.

I decided to throw myself into the process of learning. I joined the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and tried to attend every event and volunteered for anything going. I thought I would also use my journalistic skills and report on what I learned in a blog - which continues to this day - Notes from the Slushpile.

But it was only when one agent told me, "Why are you writing about English characters? A first novel should reflect the author's experience." that I realized that I was not mining the wealth of experience and story that my heritage had to give. It was only when I started setting my stories in the Philippines and using Filipino characters that my writing really came alive. After that flurry of rejections with my first novel, I became more cautious. I didn't submit my novel to every agent I ever met or heard of. I concentrated on learning to write rather than getting published.

In 2008 I won a place in SCBWI's inaugural Undiscovered Voices anthology with an excerpt of Ugly City, my dystopian fantasy set in a city suspiciously like an extreme Manila. The agent Hilary Delamere had already read another novel of mine and called to tell me she liked it BUT ... after a bit of discussion, she asked if I had anything else. I sent her Ugly City and three days later she signed me up.

Where were you and what were you doing when you found out that your novel was going to be published? What were your first thoughts and feelings? How did you celebrate the good news?

I'm afraid I didn't believe it. I was sure I'd heard wrong and it was only when I actually met my agent at an event a few days after she told me that I felt I had permission to tell the world. Over the years, I guess I'd become overcautious and my default position was rejection. It was really hard to take in the news. I celebrated in little ways with my family and friends. I think it was only the reaction of my 10-year-old friend Hugo that convinced me it was really happening. Last summer I read chapters of Tall Story to Hugo and a bunch of other children.

Candy: Hugo, my book is going to get published.
Hugo: (slightly bored) Which one?
Candy: Tall Story.
Hugo: (genuinely thrilled) TALL STORY? THE ONE YOU READ US LAST SUMMER? THAT IS SO COOL!

And after that I thought it was so cool too!

How are you going to promote Tall Story? What are your plans for its release?

I have not really made plans that far ahead, although June 2010, the launch date in the UK is coming very fast. I want to do some fun stuff online, maybe make some YouTube videos with the kids which I love doing anyway. I will have to redesign my website of course ... and I am hoping my brother Armand Quimpo who is a cool motion graphics animator will make me a book trailer. [Ed. note: See book trailer at the beginning of this post!] I'm definitely going home to the Philippines for the Philippine launch but it's still early days so watch this space!

The two main characters in Tall Story, siblings Bernardo and Andi, make important wishes on a wishing stone. What are your wishes for Tall Story?

Do I get three wishes?

One of my big wishes has already been answered: that a Filipino publisher will take it to a Filipino audience. That has always been so important to me and I made that clear to my agent from the moment we started talking about selling my books. My second wish would be that my readers would love my characters as much as I have come to love them. And my third wish? That the book might inspire kids to read more ... and to write.

THANK YOU Tarie!

Thank you, Candy!!! I can't wait for the world to read Tall Story.

Moonshine by Alaya Johnson

Moonshine
Alaya Johnson
St. Martin's Press
2010
paranormal historical fiction

Imagine it's New York City in the roaring twenties and you teach English in a night school for immigrants. Sounds pretty normal, but add in the fact that vampires and all sorts of "Others" are integrated into society alongside humans. Not sounding so typical anymore, unless you're Zephyr Hollis. Zephyr, reformed "Defender", is a "blessed" blade wielding, social activist extraordinaire, feminist, and closet Jazz singer. The vampire suffragette, as she's affectionately and mockingly known, is sent into a tail spin when a series of events beginning with a half dead little boy she finds in an alley on her way to teach one evening. Zephyr's comings and goings include a charming cast of characters including her hypocritically prudish landlady Mrs. Brodsky, roommate with a sixth sense Aileen, socialite and journalist Lily, and the ever mysterious Amir. Amir is not only an "Other" unlike any Zephyr's ever encountered, but also he's flirtatious, sarcastic, and dangerous- a winning combination for an intense budding romance.


Alaya Johnson has written a fast-paced, engaging novel. Her no nonsense, sharp tongued characterizations of Zephyr and Amir make this an enchanting read. The notion of Moonshine being merely another vampire or paranormal fiction novel is taking it a bit too lightly. Though a quirky and supernatural tale, it's also a guise for a more grounded critique on race. Zephyr struggles daily to get humans to see that the "Others", who openly live, work, and play in mainstream society, are still deserving of humanity even if not human.


Disclosure: This book was provided by the publisher.

New Crayons

New Crayons is a metaphor for multicultural lit. The excitement of getting a new book is kind of like the excitement felt as a child opening a new box of crayons.

This week we got

Efrain's Secret by Sofia Quintero

Ambitious high school senior Efrain Rodriguez dreams of escaping the South Bronx for an Ivy League college like Harvard or Yale. But how is his family going to afford to pay for a prestigious university when Moms has to work insane hours to put food on the table as it is? And Efrain wouldn’t dare ask that good-for-nothing father of his who has traded his family in for younger models. Left with few options, Efrain chooses to do something he never thought he would. He embarks on a double life—honor student by day, drug peddler at night—convinced that by temporarily capitulating to society’s negative expectations of a boy like him, he can eventually defy them.

Sofia Quintero makes a stunning debut writing for young adults with this gritty, complex, and real exploration of the life of an urban teen whose attempt to leave one world behind for a better one could cost him everything.

Foxy: My Life in Three Acts by Pam Grier

Some may know her as hot, gutsy, gun-totin' Foxy Brown, Friday Foster, Coffy, and Jackie Brown. Others may know her from her role as Kit Porter on The L Word. But that only defines one part of the legend that is Pam Grier.

Foxy is Pam's testimony of her life, past and present. In it, she reveals her relationships with Richard Pryor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Freddie Prinze Sr., among others. She unveils her experiences as a backup singer and a blaxploitation star. In particularly candid and shocking chapters, she shares-for the first time-her view of those films and the persecution that blacks, especially women, needed to endure to make a name for themselves . . . including how it felt to be labeled one of the most beautiful women alive, yet not be permitted to try on clothes in a department store because of the color of her skin. And in words sure to inspire many, she tells the story of her ongoing battle with cancer.

From her disappointments to her triumphs, nothing is held back. With FOXY, Pam wishes to impart life lessons to her readers-and hopes to touch their heartsSome may know her as hot, gutsy, gun-totin' Foxy Brown, Friday Foster, Coffy, and Jackie Brown. Others may know her from her role as Kit Porter on The L Word. But that only defines one part of the legend that is Pam Grier.

Foxy is Pam's testimony of her life, past and present. In it, she reveals her relationships with Richard Pryor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Freddie Prinze Sr., among others. She unveils her experiences as a backup singer and a blaxploitation star. In particularly candid and shocking chapters, she shares-for the first time-her view of those films and the persecution that blacks, especially women, needed to endure to make a name for themselves . . . including how it felt to be labeled one of the most beautiful women alive, yet not be permitted to try on clothes in a department store because of the color of her skin. And in words sure to inspire many, she tells the story of her ongoing battle with cancer.

From her disappointments to her triumphs, nothing is held back. With FOXY, Pam wishes to impart life lessons to her readers-and hopes to touch their hearts.

Bitch is the New Black by Helena Andrews

Meet Helena Andrews, sassy, single, smart, and, yes, a bitch—but Tina Fey said it best, bitch is the new black!

When Helena Andrews heard this declaration on Saturday Night Live, her first reaction was How daaare you? But after a commercial break and some thought, she decided to poke at the stereotype that says "successful" and "bitch" are synonyms. Unafraid and frank, she comes to realize that being a bitch is sometimes the best way to be—except, of course, when it's not.

Bitch Is the New Black follows Andrews—sexy, single, and a self-described smart-ass—on her trip from kidnapped daughter of a lesbian to Washington, D.C., political reporter who can't remember a single senator's name. Told in Andrews's singular voice, this addictive memoir explores the roller coaster of being educated and single while trying to become an "actual adult" and find love.

In these candid yet heartfelt essays, she chronicles that ride from beginning to end: a childhood spent on an all-white island, escaping via episodes of The Cosby Show; being set up with Obama's "body guy" Reggie Love by Maureen Dowd; and the shocking suicide of a best friend. Through it all, Andrews and her gang of girlfriends urge each other to "keep it moving." But no one can stay strong all the time—not even the women we believe do so without trying.

As Andrews says, "Despite the fact that the most recognizable woman in the United States is black, popular culture still hasn't moved past the only adjective apparently meant to describe us— "strong." She is also flawed, tired, naive, greedy, gutsy, frightened, and kind: secret sides that come out in honest detail here.

32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter (ARC)

Davie—an ugly duckling growing up in small-town Mississippi—is positive her life couldn’t be any worse. She has the meanest mother in the South, possibly the world, and on top of that, she’s pretty sure she’s ugly. Just when she’s resigned herself to her fate, she sees a movie that will change her life—Sixteen Candles. But in her case, life doesn’t imitate art. Tormented endlessly in school with the nickname "Monkey Night," and hopelessly in unrequited love with a handsome football player, James Farrell, Davie finds that it is bittersweet to dream of Molly Ringwald endings. When a cruel school prank goes too far, Davie leaves the life she knows and reinvents herself in the glittery world of Hollywood—as a beautiful and successful lounge singer in a swanky nightclub.

Davie is finally a million miles from where she started—until she bumps into her former obsession, James Farrell. To Davie’s astonishment, James doesn’t recognize her, and she can’t bring herself to end the fantasy. She lets him fall as deeply in love with her as she once was with him. But is life ever that simple? Just as they’re about to ride off into the sunset, the past comes back with a vengeance, threatening to crush Davie’s dreams—and break her heart again.

With wholly original characters and a cinematic storyline, 32 Candles introduces Ernessa T. Carter, a new voice in fiction with smarts, attitude, and sassiness to spare.

Release Date: June 22, 2010

Summaries from Amazon.com

What new books did you get this week? Leave a link to your New Crayons post in the comments :)