Posts Tagged history

WNDMG Wednesday – Banning Books Creates Selective History

By on January 12, 2022   /   Articles, WNDMG  
We Need Diverse MG Logo hands holding reading globe with stars and spirals floating around
We Need Diverse MG Logo

Illustration by: Aixa Perez-Prado

 

Thinking about Banned Books

I want to think out loud about a subject close to the hearts of most readers and writers: the recent uptick in banned books. and how banning books creates a selective history of our world. Those of you who read our blog often know that just a few months ago, contributor Patricia Bailey collected a wonderful list of  Mixed-Up Files contributors’ favorite banned books.  This post is also an excellent resource for websites to plug into when you want to take action–so you should go check it out!

I wanted to revisit the subject here on the We Need Diverse MG series because of the unfortunate truth that the majority of the books being challenged or banned in recent years are by and about underrepresented communities. It’s a clear attempt to remove diversity from our children’s bookshelves.

a stack of books chained together banning books creates selective history

Gatekeeping Diversity

The reason I hear most often in my own community from parents who want to remove books is variations of this reasoning: “My child isn’t ready for that kind of story.” Or, “This is inappropriate or traumatizing, and I don’t want to scare my child.”

As a mother, I do understand the gatekeeping instinct that leads us to stand between our children and content that could frighten or traumatize them. Learning can’t happen when children feel threatened.

But children can’t learn empathy or understanding if they never have to be challenged to see beyond their own lives. Why shouldn’t a child who is raised in a safe white space be exposed to a book detailing the risks–and the joys–faced by BIPOC, AAPI,  Native, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ communities? Why shouldn’t a Christian child learn what it’s like to be a Jew or a Muslim in America?

Banning Books Creates Selective History

Equally as important, and we all know this, children from underrepresented communities need to see themselves and their experience validated and normalized in books. When we scrub the shelves of diversity, we devalue the experience of a majority of the world’s population, and this is a tragedy for all. Moreover, banning books creates a selective history of who we are, and no one is served by an incomplete narrative.

Yes, adults do sometimes need to help children process what they read. But is that so bad? Don’t we want to support a more inclusive generation of children who are supposed to be the stewards of a smarter tomorrow?

((Want to see which books are currently in the hot spot? Check out this list from Banned Books Week of 2021))

The First Banned Book

I was curious about the history of banned books and how long the practice of controlling the narrative has been going on. I  learned that while the practice goes back as far as ancient China, when Confucian scholars were buried alive, the first non-murderous American banning happened in 1637. Immigrant Thomas Morton wrote an anti-Puritan treatise called NEW ENGLISH CANAAN. It was such a scandalous and insulting book (this terrific article by Matthew Taub talks about how Morton compared his former community to crustaceans), the angry Puritans immediately scrubbed it, as though they could put the genie back in the bottle.

Thumbnail photo of Thomas Morton's New English Canaan book banned books create selective history

What intrigued me though, was that in addition to his comparatively hedonistic approach to life (can someone say maypole dancing?), he was also the closest thing that passed as an ally in those days. He broke off from the Puritans to establish his own community, forming economic partnerships with the Native population and getting rid of his business partner who owned enslaved people. Morton’s more diverse, inclusive, and equitable approach to community didn’t conform with the lockstep attitudes of the time, therefore his book was of suspect political nature.

Sound familiar?

Imagine a world like the one Morton envisioned, where we can embrace and honor our differences and thrive in each other’s company. I hope we will continue to write and read the books that give us space for this to happen, and to fight the crustaceans who try to ban them.

 

 

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An interview with New York Times Editor Veronica Chambers on Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matters

By on December 9, 2021   /   Articles, Author Interviews, Common Core & NGSS, Curriculum Tie-in, Diversity, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, New Releases  

Today, on the Mixed Up Files, we welcome Veronica Chambers, who is the lead author of Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matters.

Chambers is the editor for Narrative Projects at the New York Times. As an author, she is best known for the New York Times-bestseller Finish the Fight!, which was named a best book of the year by the Washington Post and the New York Public Library. Her other works include the critically acclaimed memoir Mama’s Girl, Shirley Chisholm Is a Verb, and the anthologies The Meaning of Michelle—a collection of writers celebrating former first lady Michelle Obama—and Queen Bey: A Celebration of the Power and Creativity of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. Born in Panama and raised in Brooklyn, she writes often about her Afro-Latino heritage. You can find her online at veronicachambers.com or on Twitter and Instagram @vvchambers

Congratulations to you and your team at the New York Times on the release of Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matters.

I can’t wait to virtually sit down with you and ask you some questions about this essential history of the Black Lives Matter movement for young people. I’m especially excited since I share certain New York City experiences with you, having been a journalist there (features writer for New York Newsday) and living for awhile in Brooklyn. I love that you’re bridging a career as an editor/journalist with being an author.

In the book, readers are introduced to the concept that “the power of the people is greater than the people in power.” Can you elaborate a little bit about that?

 Sure. Experts believe that up to 26 million Americans participated in some sort of Black Lives Matters protest, which would make it one of the largest protests in the nation’s history.

Peaceful protest is the most effective form of protest in the world. A study conducted by researchers Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan compared the outcomes of hundreds of violent insurgencies with those of major nonviolent resistance campaigns from 1900 to 2006; they found that over 50 percent of the nonviolent movements succeeded, compared with about 25 percent of the violent insurgencies.

The text addresses some universal questions, such as how does a movement become a movement? You spend time looking at contemporary events and leaders as well as historical antecedents and galvanizing moments. Was it hard for you and your team to figure out how you wanted to balance all of these elements?

 There’s a famous phrase that “journalism is the first draft of history.” The Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 were still ongoing when we started working on the book. There was a real challenge in trying to figure out what to immortalize in a book when the story was changing and growing every day.

That’s why the decision to lean in on the incredible photography of the New York Times was so meaningful to us. This is what the great photojournalists who contribute to the daily report saw and while we wrote text that put the movement in a broad historical context, each of the photos tells a deep and powerful story of its own, without any need for us to editorialize or comment on the images.

You make a point that the protest is larger than the people gathering in the street (although is certainly part of it). Protest can mean “making art with a message” or “calling elected officials.” How would you define protest for children?

Protest is anything we do to say we want things to be different. I think a lot about the kid I was when I’m working on these books. When I was growing up, and reading about the modern civil rights movement, I thought those are stories about heroes whose bravery and wisdom I could never match. I’ll never make a difference in those ways.

I understood as I got older that we all have a role to play in shaping the world we live in. Coretta Scott King once said, “Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it in every generation.” I think that’s some of the truest words ever uttered.

The book makes a point to say that children are never too young to lead. In the text, you offer many examples of young leaders from teen environmentalist Greta Thunberg to eight-year-old Mari Copeny, who protested the water conditions in Flint Michigan. How might younger children participate in standing up for what they believe in?

One of the highlights of my year was this piece I did about Paola Velez and Bakers Against Racism. Bake sales associated with that group have raised more than two million dollars in a single year towards social justice causes.

Paola is not just an incredible culinary talent but also one of the most eloquent, thoughtful people I’ve ever interviewed. One of the things she said was this: “When we speak about issues that we care about, we do it with a pie in hand. And so sometimes it’s a little more graceful and a little more palatable because there’s something sweet at the end of this, like, very charged, very truth-forward statement that we have to make.”

The piece is here.

The founders of Black Lives Matters are three women: Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors. They were all in their late twenties or early thirties when they started BLM. However, I was intrigued to learn that Garza began her activism at the age of 12, focusing on reproductive rights. And it was in high school that Tometi became aware of the need to stand up for the rights of immigrants, particularly the undocumented. And Cullors learned first-hand about systemic racism as a kid when her family would go hungry. Veronica, did you have any powerful experiences as a child that also led you to career as an author, journalist and editor?

I think being a chronic outsider really helped me become a reader and then a writer. My family is from Panama, I’m Afro-Latina. I came to the country when I was 5, just becoming a reader and  one of the things I was looking at books to do was teach me how to be an American.  So many of the books published today remind me of the curiosity I felt at that moment – how do things work or don’t work here?

Black Lives Matter is the story of collaboration. It was Garza who wrote on Facebook in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin; it was Cullors who created the hashtag “blacklivesmatter,” and it was Tometti who created the initial Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts for the movement. In your career as an editor and writer, why is the collaborative experience so important?

Collaboration is one of my super powers. But when I was a kid, it was something I really railed against. I hated having to do projects or presentations as a team. I think it was because I was shy and I felt like I never got the credit for all my hard work.

But I’m also a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and in some ways, I think that oeuvre really mimics the creative journey.  Turns out you need more than one superhero to save the world. Similarly, you need lots of great minds to make extraordinary journalism.

You write that the book is “built upon the work of incredible photographers and photo editors.” How did you work with Photo Editor Anika Burgess to select the images? There must have been so many to choose from.

Anika Burgess, the photo editor on the project, as well as Jennifer Harlan, my co-author, had all worked on a history based project at the Times called Past Tense. We had a years long history of sifting through hundreds of photos and really sitting back together and discussing what moves us.  What’s incredible was that 90% of the time, the photos we loved the most, we all had the same reaction to. Viewing a powerful photo is like hearing a truly great pop song, it just grabs you. What was hard was winnowing it down. There are more than 100 photos in the book. I would love to have run 200 photos. Making those cuts was brutal.

In an interview with National Geographic in 2020, Garza said, “In the midst of the all the grief and rage and pain, there’s hopefulness.” Can you speak to that and elaborate on hopefulness?

I’m incredibly hopeful. As a first generation American, what I’ve always gotten from black history is that, despite all of the challenges, African-Americans are in the business of Hope. Every decade, every chapter of the history of black people in this country is infused with countless moments of hope, resilience and creativity. I think that at this particular moment in the nation, black history and its masterclass in hope and possibility, can be useful to Americans of all backgrounds.

 

Hillary Homzie is the author of the Ellie May chapter book series (Charlesbridge, 2018), Apple Pie Promises (Sky Pony/Swirl, 2018), Pumpkin Spice Secrets (Sky Pony/Swirl, 2017), Queen of Likes (Simon & Schuster MIX 2016), The Hot List (Simon & Schuster MIX 2011) and Things Are Gonna Get Ugly (Simon & Schuster, 2009) as well as the Alien Clones From Outer Space (Simon & Schuster Aladdin 2002) chapter book series. She’s also a contributor to the Kate the Chemist middle grade series (Philomel Books/Penguin Random House). Her forthcoming nonfiction picture book, If You Were a Princess: True Stories of Brave Leaders From Around the World is a look at historical and current princesses from many diverse lands who have made their mark (Simon & Schuster in August 2022). During the year, Hillary teaches at Sonoma State University and, in the summers, she teaches in the graduate program in children’s literature, writing and illustration at Hollins University. She also is an instructor for the Children’s Book Academy.

She can be found at hillaryhomzie.com and on her Facebook page as well as on Twitter.

 

 

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Editor Spotlight: Thalia Leaf from Calkins Creek

By on October 29, 2021   /   Articles, Editor / Agent Spotlight  

Today, we have a treat for readers who are especially interested in history and historical fiction for kids. Recently, I was delighted to interview Thalia Leaf, who is an associate editor at Calkins Creek. Thalia offered several insights into her publishing imprint and what she looks for in submissions. So let’s get started!

 

Dorian: How did you get involved in children’s publishing?

Thalia: I always wanted to work in children’s publishing, but I got here in a roundabout way. Before I worked in publishing, I taught English abroad. It was so fascinating to see the way kids responded (or didn’t respond) to certain books—it’s so important for kids to have books that are interesting and relevant to them. When I came back to the U.S., I interned at a literary agency where I worked on a pretty wide range of children’s books, which I loved. My first job in publishing was in adult books though—I worked on very serious history books for a handful of years. I was really delighted when an opportunity came up to work on U.S. history-focused fiction and nonfiction at Calkins Creek. It combined the work I’d been doing on history books for adults and my dream of working on children’s books.

 

Dorian: Can you tell us a little bit about Calkins Creek?

Thalia: Calkins Creek is an imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers. Our list includes fiction and nonfiction for kids and teens. We focus on publishing books about American history, which might sound sort of narrow, but within it there’s potential for books on a huge range of topics from science and art to racial justice and political activism. We love books that highlight an untold story about a person or an event that kids really ought to know about. Of course, it’s most important that our books are exciting, kid-friendly, and beautifully produced. Some of my favorite Calkins Creek books are Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968 by Alice Fay Duncan; Dorothea’s Eyes: Dorothea Lange Photographs the Truth by Barb Rosenstock; Without Separation: Prejudice, Segregation, and the Case of Roberto Alvarez by Larry Dane Brimner; Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner by Janice N. Harrington;  Race Against Time: The Untold Story of Scipio Jones and the Battle to Save Twelve Innocent Men by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace; and Blood and Germs: The Civil War Battle Against Wounds and Disease by Gail Jarrow.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dorian: They all sound fascinating. Have you always been interested in books about history and historical fiction, and what books sparked your interest in the genres?

Thalia: Yes, I have! What I love about historical fiction is that it has same escapist appeal of sci-fi and fantasy, but you also get to learn something! As a little kid, I was pretty obsessed with the 19th century thanks to the Little House books and Caddie Woodlawn, which my mother read to me starting in kindergarten. I was very into dressing up in 19th century clothes and was always asking my parents to take me to living history museums like Old Sturbridge Village. When I got a bit older, I read historical fiction on my own; in middle school my friend Ana and I read every book we could find on the Tudors. Some of my favorite middle grade and YA historical fiction books were The Witch of Blackbird Pond, The Sally Lockhart series, All of a Kind Family, and The Devil’s Arithmetic. I wish I’d had books like Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte and Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park when I was a kid.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dorian: With so much misinformation in various media, it must be challenging to edit books that deal with history. How do you meet that challenge?

Thalia: The prevalence of misinformation is exactly why I think publishing great children’s books on historical subjects is so important. Our understanding of history affects our understanding of the present. Much of American history is difficult and ugly and uncomfortable. But we don’t make things better by avoiding talking about them. Kids don’t need things sugarcoated for them—and they’re pretty good at detecting BS.

 

Dorian: What are some of your favorite middle-grade books you’ve worked on and why?

View from Pagoda Hill by Michaela MacColl is probably my favorite Calkins Creek middle-grade book. It’s based on the author’s family history. I’m relatively new to the imprint, so the books I’ve actually worked on have yet to come out.

 

Dorian: What middle-grade books do you have coming up that you’re excited about?

Thalia: They’re still in the early stages, so I can’t say too much. I’m especially excited about a book we have on a woman who worked as a spy during World War II and another about a young girl who solves the mystery of a Revolutionary War-era diary she finds.

 

Dorian: Very intriguing! What subjects or historical time periods are you particularly interested in seeing in your submissions box from agents?

Thalia: I want to find untold stories that urgently need to be told, and these come from all historical periods and are about all topics. At the moment, though, I’m especially interested in stories of immigrants, as well as books that deal with more recent history (1975-2008). I’d also love to see manuscripts on Jewish topics that break the mold a bit. Manuscripts that deal with LGBTQ+ themes would be especially welcome, as I think there’s a massive amount of untold history there. Graphic novel submissions would be especially welcome. I’m constantly updating my manuscript wishlist, which you can find here.

 

Dorian: What advice do you have for authors who’d like to write about historical events (nonfiction or fiction)?

Thalia: First, do your research! The best books come from discovering a person or an event that no one knows about but everyone ought to know about. Sometimes you’ll read a newspaper article or see something on social media that intrigues you and makes you want to dig deeper and find out if there’s a good story there. Second, make sure your story has a proper narrative arc, even if you’re writing nonfiction. When writing history, it’s hard not to make a book just a recitation of the facts, but it’s so important that you shape the story you’re telling. Even in nonfiction, your characters need to have “wants” or goals, encounter obstacles, and succeed or fail in a way that changes them or their world.

 

Dorian: Great advice! Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Thalia: Calkins Creek only accepts agented submissions and all submissions must include a bibliography.

This has been wonderful. Thanks so much for taking the time out to give our readers such great information about you and Calkins Creek.

Find Thalia’s wishlist and more about Calkins Creek by following her on twitter. 

 

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