Posts Tagged #WNDB

WNDMG Wednesday – Celebrating Juneteenth

We Need Diverse MG
We Need Diverse MG Logo hands holding reading globe with stars and spirals floating around

Illustration by: Aixa Perez-Prado 

Celebrating Juneteenth

School is out for most students around the nation, which means that for many, learning about and celebrating Juneteenth won’t happen as organically as, say, Martin Luther King Day does.  But for families and educators committed to embracing the fulness of our history and the holidays that mark it, we’ve put together some resources for teaching and talking about Juneteenth.

image of the juneteenth flag- blue and red with star in the middle

About Juneteenth Independence Day

Juneteenth just became a national holiday in 2021, but Black Texans have been celebrating it since 1866. The holiday gets its name from the day enslaved Texans learned of their freedom – June 19, 1865 – more than two months after the April 9 end of the Civil War freed all enslaved people. At first, the holiday was confined mostly to Texas. But as families moved to other states, they took their traditions with them, highlighting the day with picnics, music festivals, and family gatherings.

Today it remains a celebration not just of emancipation but of Black culture and tradition. Juneteenth is the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Day was recognized in 1983.

crossed flags - US and Juneteenth

Reasons to Study Juneteenth

In addition to celebrating emancipation, Juneteenth is an opportunity for all Americans to learn about the twin legacies of slavery and segregation, as well as the construction of institutional racism. While the story of racism and bias in this country is painful, it is an intrinsic part of who we are as a country. We can empower future generations by teaching them the truth about where we started and urging them to do better than we did, to imagine a better future. We tell our children to make good choices when it comes to behavior, school, and morality, it seems reasonable that we could encourage them to make better choices to create a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable world.

Juneteenth Resources:

If you’re interested in guiding your middle-grade readers to learn what Juneteenth is all about and what the day symbolizes for our country, take a look at these booklists and lesson plans.

Booklists

The New York Public Library

Feminist Books for Kids (Blog)

Harper Collins Publishers

Teaching for Change (multiple booklists arranged by category)

From the Mixed-Up Files …of Middle-Grade Authors

Lesson Plans

The National Museum of African-American History and Culture

Brave Writer (Blog)

We Are Teachers

Care.com

 

text Juneteenth in red black and green with flying birds graphic underneath

Happy PRIDE Month

June is PRIDE month

June is PRIDE month, and we at Mixed-Up Files look forward to celebrating and amplifying voices from our friends and family in the LGBTQ + community. As always, books are a great way to create conversation and open up spaces for learning and community.

Pride Booklists

To start with, here’s an excellent book list.

Newer Titles from 2020-2021

THANKS A LOT, UNIVERSE (Abrans Books 2021), by Chad Lucas;

Thanks A Lot, Universe Book Cover

((Read Chad’s guest post on our series We Need Diverse MG here.))

KING AND THE DRAGONFLIES (Scholastic 2020), by Kacen Callender

Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly. When Khalid unexpectedly passed away, he shed what was his first skin for another to live down by the bayou in their small Louisiana town. Khalid still visits in dreams, and King must keep these secrets to himself as he watches grief transform his family.

It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. But just days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship, after overhearing a secret about Sandy – that he thinks he might be gay. “You don’t want anyone to think you’re gay too, do you?”

Pride Month

ANA ON THE EDGE (Little Brown 2020), by A. J. Sass

For fans of George and Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World, a heartfelt coming-of-age story about a nonbinary character navigating a binary world.

Twelve-year-old Ana-Marie Jin, the reigning US Juvenile figure-skating champion, is not a frilly dress kind of kid. So, when Ana learns that next season’s program will be princess-themed, doubt forms fast. Still, Ana tries to focus on training and putting together a stellar routine worthy of national success.

Pride Month

 

THE DEEPEST BREATH (Houghton Mifflin 2021), by Meg Grehan

An accessible and beautifully crafted middle-grade novel-in-verse by award-winning Irish author Meg Grehan about Stevie, a young girl reckoning with anxiety about the many things she has yet to understand – including her feelings about her friend Chloe. Perfect for fans of Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the WorldStar Crossed, and George.

 

THIS IS OUR RAINBOW (Knopf 2021) edited by Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby

The first LGBTQIA+ anthology for middle-graders featuring stories for every letter of the acronym, including realistic, fantasy, and sci-fi stories by authors like Justina Ireland, Marieke Nijkamp, Alex Gino, and more!

PRIDE Month

Want to Buy the Book?

You can find all of these titles conveniently through independent bookstores around the nation at our one-stop-shop Bookshop link:

 

 

 

 

 

Announcing DiverseVoices, Inc.

#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