Posts Tagged #WNDB

Pride Month in Middle Grade

By on June 5, 2023   /   Oh MG News  
Middle Grade Authors

June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate diversity and uplift LGBTQ+ voices. Fortunately, there are a growing number of ways that middle grade readers, authors, and illustrators can get involved.

pride reader

Artwork by Aixa Pérez-Prado

ALA’s Rainbow Book Month

The American Library Association’s Rainbow Book Month is an opportunity for book lovers and libraries to discover and share the very best in LGBTQ+ literature. Check out their Rainbow Book List. This resource showcases over 190 books for young readers from birth to age 18.

 

At a time when censorship threatens accessibility to books that support LGBTQ+ young people and their families, the ALA is dedicated to fighting censorship. “We know that there are individuals who will try to censor these books, but we offer this carefully curated list to the multitude of youth advocates working in our communities to connect young readers to the books that they so desperately need.”

 

Check out the full 2023 Rainbow Booklist!

Gray box, multi-colored books, text

The CBC Celebrates Pride 

The Children’s Book Council maintains an ongoing list of LGBTQ+ inclusive books appropriate for five different categories of young readers. Browse books for 8-11-year-olds here. For a more comprehensive assortment, check out the complete list of LGBTQ+ inclusive books for children and young people here.

 

Additionally, the CBC also offers home learning education packs for educators, parents, and caregivers. Through these learning packs, the CBC provides age-appropriate resources to support young learners in understanding that there are many different types of families.

 

For Young Adult readers, the CBC is focusing on graphic novels and comics. Their 2023 Celebrate Pride with Comics campaign highlights a list of new YA graphic novels. For comic book fans, they also showcase Marvel and DC comics that feature LGBTQ+ characters.

White box, rainbow stripe, CBC Diversity

LGBTQ Reads

 

Looking for a list of LGBTQ+ books for middle grade readers? Check out the LGBTQ Reads book list for middle grade readers. The site offers book lists sorted by age-level appropriateness, and the middle grade list is extensive!

 

The LGBTQ site is dedicated to promoting curated reading lists for all ages. They provide links to book details and purchasing platforms. According to their website, LGBTQ Reads works to update lists on a regular basis. They’re also open to feedback from authors who feel their books may need to be added or recategorized.

Multi-colored books with LGBTQ Reads text beneath

WNDB Walter Grant

The Walter Dean Myers Grant program provides grants of $2,000 each to promising diverse writers and illustrators who are currently unpublished. In addition to a grant for disabled writers, there are two Walter Grants being offered for trans writers and illustrators.

The submission window for Walter Grants opened on June 1 and will close on June 30. Find more information and links to the application by visiting the WNDB Walter Grant page.

badge logo for We Need Diverse Books - text with pink brush marks at top and botto
Within the world of middle grade books, there are so many opportunities to celebrate diversity and uplift LGBTQ+ voices!
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News From the CBC

By on April 16, 2023   /   Oh MG News  
Middle Grade Authors

The mission of the Children’s Book Council (CBC) is to support the children’s publishing industry by connecting publishing professionals and creators with young readers. And they find a lot of ways to fulfill that mission. Take a look at some of the things the CBC is doing in the world of children’s books.

The CBC Diversity Initiative

White box, rainbow stripe, CBC Diversity

Founded in 2012, the CBC Diversity Initiative advocates for an inclusive and representative children’s publishing industry. The initiative is rooted in the belief that ALL children should see themselves and their worlds reflected in books. 

As part of this initiative, the CBC champions diverse book creators and their books, and they create and maintain diverse reading resource lists that can be used by teachers, librarians, booksellers, and parents.

The #FReadom Movement

Letters to color in spelling #FReadom

The CBC actively supports #FReadom. This movement was launched by Texas librarians in 2021 as a way to combat book bannings. #FReadom resources are intended to highlight the positive impact of intellectual freedom, celebrate school libraries and librarians, and draw attention to the need to make diverse books available to young readers.

The CBC has made available six different coloring pages to support the #FReadom movement. Download the free coloring pages here. 

Children’s Book Week

Blue background, green and black book running gleefully, text "Read books. Spark change."

As part of their Every Child a Reader program, the CBC designates two separate weeks during the year to celebrate the joy of reading. Established in 1919, this is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. This year, Children’s Book Week will be celebrated May 1-7 and again November 6-12. 

This year’s theme for Children’s Book Week is Read Books. Spark change. You can download printable resources, including the free poster created by Rilla Alexander that speaks to the power of books and stories to inspire positive change.

Partnering with SLJGraphic illustrated, gray background, colorful characters, rainbow stream

In 2022, the CBC partnered with School Library Journal (SLJ) to create two posters celebrating the freedom to read. First, they worked with Penguin Random House and artist Rafael Lopex to create the “Open Books, Open Doors” poster to promote free expression and access to diverse books. You can download Lopez’s poster for free.

Next, they worked with artist Chan Chau to produce a poster themed “Imagining a world with you.”  The poster celebrates LGBTQIA+ children and teens, and it was showcased and made widely available by multiple organizations, including the CBC. You can download a copy of Chau’s poster for free.

Banned Books Week

Red book cover by yellow tape, text "Banned Books Week"

The CBC also partners with the American Library Association (ALA) to support and promote Banned Books Week. Launched in 1982, this annual observance has become more relevant now than ever. This year, Banned Books Week will be observed October 1-7. Mark your calendars!

Free downloads and information from last year’s Banned Books Week observance are still available on ALA’s website. While there, you can also find “Social Shareables” to show your support on multiple social media platforms.

Learn more about the Children’s Book Council and all their initiatives to promote free access to books and celebrate the power and wonder of books for young readers by visiting cbcbooks.org.

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WNDMG Wednesday – Celebrating Juneteenth

By on June 8, 2022   /   Articles, WNDMG  
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

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