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Diversity in MG Lit #25 March 2021 Early Chapter Books

By on March 24, 2021   /   Articles, Book Lists, Diversity, Fiction  
Early chapter books are an often overlooked section of the middle grade book world. Yet they are a vital link in getting children from sounding out words and sentences to reading with real fluency. Early chapter books are read by kids as young as four and readers–particularly English language learners as old as ten or eleven–though the sweet spot is six to nine years old. Some kids breeze through early chapter books in a few months. Others spend years building the reading muscle.  Below are a handful of new chapter book series with diverse characters.
cover zoey & sassafras'sZoey & Sassafras: dragons and marshmallows by Asia Citro pictures by Marion Lindsay (first of an 8 book series available now) Zoey and her precocious cat Sassafras have the ability to see magical creatures just like her mother who is a scientist. She uses her ability to help sick or endangered magical creatures who come to her barn for help. Each book features Zoey using the scientific method to figure out how to help the magical creature. Though Zoey & her parents are depicted as an African American family, there is little to mark that identity beyond the pictures. Because Zoey’s interactions are all within her own family, it doesn’t feel unnatural as it might if she were at school or in the neighborhood. The Zoey and Sassafras  website has dozens of handy printable resources for teachers. The series is from a small publisher in Seattle, WA, Innovation Press. It’s geared toward the younger end of early readers.
cover ways to grow loveWays to Grow Love by Reneé Watson pictures by Nina Mata (second in a 2 book series so far, on sale April 2021) I admit I am especially fond of this series because it is set in Portland OR, my hometown. It features favorite places from my own childhood including the Saturday Market, Oaks Park, and my beloved county libraries. I also liked how the faith of Ryan Hart’s family is depicted in the moral lessons they impart and the summer bible camp they attend. Ryan spends a summer preparing for the birth of her baby sister and adjusting to all the changes that entails from doing more chores to choosing a name. This series is longer and more complex than the others making it best for 6 to 10 year olds. A good companion for readers of Clementine, and Ramona.
And now a personal aside. The majority of children of all races in this country are religiously observant. The entire culture of worship, vacation bible school and summer camp, church based sports teams and scout troops, social justice activities, youth groups, rites of passage, and sacraments, all of it, gets left out of children’s books. There’s absolutely no justification for it. Even in conversations specifically about diversity we seldom include religion. That’s a blind spot that could use some attention.
Wind Riders: Rescue on Turtle Beach by Jen Marlin pictures by Izzy Burton (first in a series of unknown length to be on sale July 2021)
This new series is very much an heir to the Magic Treehouse books. In this series Max and Sophia find a magic sailboat and are transported to Hawaii. They solve a light pollution problem in order to save hatchling sea turtles. The series proposes to feature a new animal and ecosystem with each book and the heroes solve an environmental problem each time. In the illustrations Max is portrayed as a white boy and Sophie is dark-skinned though neither is identified by ethnicity, race or religion. Like Zoey & Sassafrass, this zippy text glazes over racial differences without remark. This one is also geared for the 4 to 8 year old end of the chapter book audience. There is back matter with more information about sea turtles and a helpful diagram showing the parts of a sailing ship.
Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey, words & pictures by Erin Entrada Kelly
I have seldom read a chapter book as emotionally true as Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey. Our hero is the delightfully cautious and introspective Marisol, a Philippine -American girl living in Louisiana. The two things I appreciated most about this book was the main characters disarming honesty about her many fears, and her steadfast best friend Jada. So many chapter books address the problem of the mean, snarky, bullying girl.  It’s easy to forget that children–even girls–are as capable of kindness as they are of cruelty. I loved Jada’s unquestioning acceptance of Marisol’s many quirks. I loved their imaginative play and the hilarious names they gave to household appliances. And I loved the girls unwavering faith in their friendship.  I also appreciated the leisurely pace, which meandered from one summer activity to the next while Marisol thoughtfully addressed her fear of climbing the magnolia tree in her back yard. This is a perfect choice for a tender-hearted reader.
JoJo MacCoons by Dawn Quigley (first book in a series of unknown length)
JoJo MacCoons is Ojibway living on her reservation. There’s much all kids will find familiar about this cat loving, overly literal, and wonderfully earnest first grader navigating the friendship challenges of school for the first time. There’s a sprinkling of Ojibway words and elements of her culture in the text making it a gentle introduction to one of the principle tribes of the upper midwest.  Plentiful illustrations capture Jojo’s spunky personality perfectly.
There is a Glaring Problem with the books I’ve reviewed above. None of them have POC boys for main characters. It’s not just a problem among diverse chapter books. There are very few white boy main characters in early readers. Jack from The Magic Treehouse and the Waylon series from Sara Pennypacker are the only two that spring to mind.  Unless you count series that have been around since the 70s like Nate the Great and Encyclopedia Brown. Boys in this age group have to settle for animal proxies in The Bad Guys, Dogman, The Dragon Masters. We can do better and if we hope to get boys of all races and ethnicities hooked on reading. It would help to have a few characters as well developed as Ryan Hart and Marisol Rainey to usher them into the world of books and show them it’s a place they belong. If I’ve missed a solid chapter book series with a boy protagonist, please drop a comment.
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Announcing DiverseVoices, Inc.

By on March 23, 2021   /   Oh MG News  

#DVPit and #DVCon creator Beth Phelan has launched a new, non-profit organization: DiverseVoices, Inc.  Phelan’s mission: “empowering and advocating for book creators from marginalized communities in getting traditionally published within an industry dominated by white, cis-hetero, non-disabled voice” (From the announcement news release)

Phelan, who is DiverseVoices President and, separately, a literary agent with Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency, says she envisions mentorships, grants, a book club, and more–all with the aim toward helping more diverse creators get traditionally published.  “We still have a long way to go in this industry with regard to equitable and inclusive publishing, so we’re currently working on expanding our team so that we can develop more programs to further our mission.”

Among the new programs on the horizon: DVMentor and DVDebut.

The DiverseVoices, Inc. team includes:

  • Vice President: Kat Cho
  • Treasurer: LeKesha Lewis
  •  Secretary: Norma Perez-Hernandez
  • Claribel Ortega
  • Pete Knapp

 

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STEM Tuesday — Natural Disasters — Author Interview with Amy Cherrix

By on March 23, 2021   /   Natural Disasters, STEM Tuesday  

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview & Book Giveaway, a repeating feature for the fourth Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math!

Today we’re interviewing Amy Cherrix, author of EYE OF THE STORM: NASA, Drones, and the Race to Crack the Hurricane Code.

Mary Kay Carson: Tell us a bit about Eye of the Storm and how you came to write it.

Download a Discussion & Activity Guide for the book.

Amy Cherrix: Eye of the Storm is the story of an elite group of NASA meteorologists and the Hurricane Severe Storm Sentinel mission (HS3). These scientists and engineers re-purposed military drones to conduct high-altitude hurricane research. This Global Hawk drone was built for use in dry climates. Global Hawk is so delicate, it cannot take off during so much as a light rain shower, yet it can fly safely high above hurricanes–the most violent storms in nature’s arsenal. How’s that for irony? The drone is loaded with remote control science instruments that measure humidity, air pressure, temperature, and more. The Global Hawk’s pilot flies the aircraft using a computer mouse and keyboard from a control room on the ground that is hundreds, or thousands, of miles away from the aircraft.

I stumbled onto this incredible story while engaging in my favorite Saturday morning activity. I love to pour a big cup of coffee and surf the NASA.gov website (an activity I highly recommend to science enthusiasts and story writers). When I read about the HS3 mission, I knew I had a great book idea on my hands. I sent emails to the mission’s principal investigators and within an hour, replies from NASA were pouring into my inbox. NASA is a public agency and its scientists love to share their work. I accepted a generous invitation from the mission’s principal investigator, Dr. Scott Braun, and visited NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the coast of Virginia to observe the mission. I interviewed drone pilots, engineers, meteorologists, and mechanics. Every single person was deeply invested in the mission’s success. It was inspiring.

MKC: Anything you’d like to share about the time you spent with researchers while writing this book?

Amy: The scariest part of writing this book was not knowing if the team would have a hurricane to study while I was visiting Wallops Flight Facility. What would I write about if nothing happened while I was there? But sometimes, things just work out for the best.  Hurricane Edouard formed soon after my arrival and was the best storm the HS3 team had studied to date! It was an ideal sample, staying far out to sea, not threatening land, and it spun for days. They were thrilled and it was an unexpected honor to be present at such a high-point of the mission.

MKC: Why do you choose to write STEM books?

Amy: I write STEM stories because I have always been insatiably curious about science and the natural world. When human beings try to overcome the forces of nature—whether it’s gravity, or the weather—challenges abound. Scientists confront these impossible challenges everyday. That’s their job. I’m fascinated by that kind of determination, patience, and persistence.

Amy Cherrix is the acclaimed author of In the Shadow of the Moon: America, Russia, and the Hidden History of the Space Race, as well as two middle-grade nonfiction books in the award-winning Scientists in the Field series: Backyard Bears: Conservation, Habitat Changes, and the Rise of Urban Wildlife and Eye of the Storm. Her newest STEM picture book is Animal Architects (9/7/21), from Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster. www.amycherrix.com

MKC: For readers who loved The Eye of the Storm, what other middle-grade books would you suggest?

Amy: I highly recommend every book in Houghton Mifflin’s Scientists in the Field series, of which Eye of the Storm, is a part. There’s something for everyone; thrilling stories about science in the fields of geology, biology, seismology, meteorology, genetics; just about any branch of science you can imagine. These books show young readers that science is much more than a white coat and a laboratory. Science is adventure!

MKC: Could you share where you are right now on a current project and how you’re approaching it?

Amy: I’m working on a new STEM picture book series for Beach Lane Books called Amazing Animals. I just finished the first book in the series that publishes on September 7, 2021 called Animal Architects, illustrated by Chris Sasaki. Many animals, both on land and in the sea, build amazing structures to help them trap food, attract mates, or hide from predators. From undersea cities of coral, to a mother penguin’s palace of pebbles, the natural world is a construction zone. I spent months reading books, watching nature videos, taking notes, and studying photographs to collect their stories. The second book, Animal Superpowers, publishes in fall 2022. I approached Animal Architects with a spirit of wonder. I wanted to inspire readers’ curiosity. To do that, I created a list of the various structures animals and insects build. Then I imagined what questions young readers might ask of nature’s builders. The answers I found surprised me at every turn. For example, before writing this book, I’d never given termites a second thought. But I learned that some species of termites build giant, naturally air-conditioned towers. How cool is that? These tiny insects work together as a colony to build a home that helps them survive as a group. We can learn a lot from nature. I hope this new series inspires young readers to ask their own questions about the natural world, and consider what actions they can take to protect our planet and its creatures.

Win a FREE copy of EYE OF THE STORM!

Enter the giveaway by leaving a comment below. The randomly-chosen winner will be contacted via email and asked to provide a mailing address (within the U.S. only) to receive the book.

Good luck!

Your host is Mary Kay Carson, author of Wildlife Ranger Action Guide, The Tornado Scientist, Alexander Graham Bell for Kids, Mission to Pluto, and other nonfiction books for kids. @marykaycarson

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