Posts Tagged diverse creators

WNDMG Wednesday–Pride Month and Beyond: What Tik Tok Told Me

By on June 9, 2021   /   Articles, WNDMG  
We Need Diverse MG

 

We Need Diverse MG

Artwork by Aixa Perez-Prado

Pride Month

June is Pride Month and there is so much to talk about when it comes to middle-grade books and representation. I thought a great way to explore this topic would be by doing a deep dive into book talk on Tik Tok.  In case you’re not familiar, Tik Tok is the platform that so many people are using to talk about books.  I assumed it would be easy to find lots of MG recommendations and reviews for Pride Month, but it wasn’t.  Most of the #booktok I found did not pertain to books aimed at middle grade audiences, or books that feature LGBTQIA+ characters. Don’t get me wrong, there are some creators out there ‘book–toking’ about MG + LGBTQIA+, but I couldn’t find many whose platforms focus on those two areas. Still, there was a lot to discover, and some great accounts to follow.

Tik Tok

But first, for those who aren’t sure how TikTok works, a brief overview. This platform started with music and dance videos but has since morphed into just about everything videos. Remember the Vine app from back in the day? Tik Tok is kind of like that, but the videos are longer and the app more sophisticated with lots of fun effects.  If you’re interested in books, you can find plenty of people talking about them on this app. All you have to do is search for the right hashtags. These include; #booktok, #mg #ya #kidlit and other hashtags related to books and book lovers.

Once you start following the creators you like, you will find that they reference other creators to follow. That way you can start building up your list of bookish TikTok accounts. Be careful though, you can really go down a TikTok rabbit hole once you get started. Some of the content is intriguing, hilarious, and even addicting. The dark circles under my eyes are proof that once you get on TikTok, it can be hard to get off!

Acronyms

It’s good to know the commonly used acronyms that the bookish accounts often feature. Here are just a few of them that I’ve seen over and over.

  • TBR – to be read
  • DNF – did not finish
  • ARC – advanced reader copies
  • CR – current read
  • FRTC – full review to come

Accounts to Follow

There is a lot out there created by and for young people who love books. Most of what I’ve found is geared towards YA, often with an MG title or two mixed in. Some videos show lots of different book covers that the creator recommends without really talking about the books. I find those less helpful than the ones where the creator gives a run-down of what they like about the book and why. In addition to accounts run by book fans, there are also authors, agents, teachers, and editors to follow who give recommendations and information on diverse books, new releases, writing, book promoting, and breaking down stereotypes in kidlit. Below are just a few of the LGBTQIA+ and MG friendly accounts that I found and recommend following.

  • @jeremy.l.williams – middle school teacher features MG book recommendations, and has uploaded a number of videos centered on pride month with book recommendations
  • @averyqueerbookclub – loads of recommendations on books with queer representation, including marginalized groups within the queer community.
  • @mx.segal – middle school teacher with a great video that features lots of diverse MGs
  • @luna_with_love – lots of queer book recommendations, mostly YA, some MG
  • @endlessfairytales – features many recommendations for diverse books, mostly YA some MG
  • @samisbookshelf – many informative videos to help diversify you book selections, mostly YA, some MG
  • @caitsbooks – a wealth of videos on all kinds of books with heartfelt reviews and humor
  • @literaticat – agent giving great advice on writing, books, and lots of humor

MG Tik Tok Book Recommendations for Pride Month & Beyond

Hunting through the multitude of YA videos, I was able to find the MG books below that are a great addition to any bookshelf, and an especially appropriate group of reads for Pride Month. These books often feature not only LGBTQIA+ characters, but also characters who are diverse in different ways. Several of the creators in the list above included these books in their recommended readings.

George book cover

George by Alex Gin

A middle grade novel that features a queer younger MG protagonist. Melissa is a trans girl who isn’t sure about how to be her authentic self until the class play gives her an opportunity to be a girl on stage. But when she’s kept from auditioning because they think she’s a boy, Melissa has to decide what to do. This one is recommended in many Tik Tok videos by middle grade teachers.

 

moon within

The Moon Within by Aida Salazar

This novel-in-verse coming of age story includes a trans character who is the protagonist’s best friend. The main character experiences her first period, her first attraction to a boy, and her best friend coming out as genderfluid, then identifying as a boy. Black, Puerto Rican, Mexican, and LGBTQ characters offer diverse perspectives in this compelling middle grade novel.

 

stars feet

The stars beneath our feet by David Barclay Moore

This novel is a winner of the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award for new Talent and will soon be a major motion picture. The story focuses on a young boy whose brother has died as a result of gang violence. He has to navigate a new life along with his mother and her girlfriend using creativity and community to make his way.

 

hurricane child Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender

Caroline is a  twelve year old dealing with a lot of difficulties including bullying, a spirit only she can see, and the loss of her mother. When she finally befriends a new student and develops a crush on her, they end up working together to find Caroline’s mother.

 

 

drama book cover

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

 

Callie, a theater lover, is the set designer for the drama department, and she’s determined to create a Broadway worthy set despite her middle school budget. But she runs into trouble when ticket sales are down, the crew has trouble working together, the actors bring their drama off stage and a couple of cute brothers are in the picture.

 

((Enjoying this Pride Month book list? Check out this one too!))

Happy Pride Month!

Those are just a few of the many books you can find for middle grade that feature LGBTQIA+ characters. Tik Tok is only one place to look for these books, and it could use more accounts focused on middle grade kidlit. I just started my own TikTok account @aixasdoodlesandbooks.  I have posted just one video so far with Picture Book recommendations. By the time this blogpost comes out I’ll hopefully have my second video with MG recommendations for Pride Month. Meanwhile, I hope to find and follow more accounts posting on MG. Let me know if I should follow you!

pride reader

Artwork by Aixa Pérez-Prado

 

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We Need Diverse Middle Grade: What it Means to Write Diverse Books

By on October 21, 2020   /   Articles, WNDMG  
We Need Diverse MG
We Need Diverse MG

Artwork by Aixa Perez-Prado

I’ve been looking forward to this day with great excitement: today marks the debut post for our new series, We Need Diverse Middle Grade.

Our mission: We celebrate and promote diversity in middle-grade books, and we examine the issues preventing better equity and inclusion on the middle-grade bookshelf. We intend to amplify and honor all diverse voices.

We Need Diverse Middle Grade will post once a month, drawing on work from our own team of contributors as well as from guest authors, editors, agents, teachers, librarians, and booksellers. You can count on our presence here on Mixed-Up Files to shine a light on the stories, work, and truth of all those who are still underrepresented in this field. You’ll be able to recognize our monthly posts by seeing our WNDMG  logo: the diverse world we envision. Our artwork is by contributor Aixa Perez-Prado.

Guest Posts for We Need Diverse Middle Grade

If you’re interested in being considered for a guest post slot on WNDMG, please feel free to email: mufcommunications@gmail.com.  Please Note: We do not pay for guest blog posts.

And without further ado, I want to introduce our first WNDMG author, the talented Saadia Faruqi. Saadia is a former MUF contributor, and she is also the author of the YASMIN series, A PLACE AT THE TABLE (with author Laura Shovan) and A THOUSAND QUESTIONS.

 

WHAT IT MEANS TO WRITE DIVERSE BOOKS

By Saadia Faruqi

 

Every time I write a post on Instagram, I chose from a number of hashtags. One of these is #DiverseAuthors and I always chose it with an internal cringe. Why do I need to be called a diverse author? What’s so diverse about me?

I’m just a person writing books about my and my children’s experiences, and for all that to have a label – no matter how well meaning – is often a source of discomfort for me. At the same time, I realize that the work I do is important, and needed. My life experiences as an immigrant, as a mom of first-generation brown kids, inform everything I do, and every single word I write. I share our family’s journey in so many different ways. So many diverse ways.

A Series of Diverse Firsts

The good news is that books about marginalized communities and identities – diverse books – are becoming more popular. When I wrote the Yasmin series, it was the first traditionally published early reader series written by a Muslim American author. It was also the first series with a Muslim girl on the cover, wearing her traditional Pakistani dress and using Islamic words like “salaam”. Nobody knew what the reception of such a unicorn among books would be.

Meet Yasmin

But the success of Yasmin and so many other “diverse” books has shown that there is definitely a huge market for them. “Diverse kids” are hungry for books that center them and their experiences. “Diverse parents” are eager to buy books like mine for their children. Teachers and librarians, even if they aren’t “diverse” themselves, are realizing the value of introducing a different culture and identity in their spaces.

Branching Out

Over the years, I’ve grown more daring. From Yasmin I progressed to writing middle-grade novels. With co-author Laura Shovan, I wrote A Place at the Table, a multi-diverse book about not one but several marginalized identities. Muslim. Jewish. Pakistani. British. Immigrant. Mentally ill. The response has been heartwarming. We’ve spoken with teachers and parents and students themselves. Everyone loves this story, because they can all see something of themselves in this book.

A Place At the TableSaadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

((Read our interview with Saadia and Laura about A PLACE AT THE TABLE here.))

Universal Diversity

Does that mean we are all “diverse”? This is an interesting question. If “diverse” means different from the norm, then most of us are diverse in some way or the other. If diverse means unique, we are definitely all so.

My most recent book A Thousand Questions is perhaps the most unlike my other work, because it’s set in another country. This is the story of Mimi, a Pakistani American girl who spends her summer vacation in Pakistan with her grandparents. It is also the story of Sakina, the Pakistani servant girl who works at Mimi’s grandparents’ home. Both are foreign to the other. Both look at the other and see DIVERSE.

A THOUSAND QUESTIONS

I choose to set A Thousand Questions in Pakistan because I wanted to explore how we are all different, yet the same. How we tend to look for differences in others and forget the similarities. I wanted my readers to see how one can travel half-way across the world and still find people who are exactly like us in terms of their feelings and their dreams and their fears.

Diverse Books are Just Good Books

Although A Thousand Questions is a perfect example of a diverse book, it actually is the opposite in terms of what it hopes to achieve. It shows how we are similar, alike, comparable. It shows that maybe what we think of as “diverse books” are actually just good books. Amazing stories about amazingly diverse experiences that we can all learn from, whether we are adult or kid readers.

My stories are “diverse” only because they’re outwardly different. They may be set in a different country, or the characters may speak a different language, or eat foods you’ve never heard of. But under the skin, these stories are universal in nature. Similarly, I may have brown skin or wear a hijab or speak Urdu, but underneath all that I’m a human being just like you. I’m a writer just like any other.

I hope that my books – all diverse books – bring home this essential message to readers.

Author Saadia Faruqi

Saadia Faruqi is an interfaith activist and author. Visit her website at www.saadiafaruqi.com.

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