Time Magazine's Almost All White 100 Best Children's Books of All Time
This morning, I posted a quick analysis of Time magazine's 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time. This is my quick analysis of the children's books they chose. Here's what Time says about how they...
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Merriam-Webster's CHILDREN'S DICTIONARY
Due out this year (2015) is a new edition of Dorling Kindersley's Merriam-Webster Children's Dictionary. I reviewed a copy, available via Edelweiss, focusing on its Native content. Here's some of my...
View ArticleMartin Luther King, Jr. on Genocide of American Indians
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Why We Can't Wait includes "The Summer of Our Discontent" in which he wrote about moderates who, opposed to segregation, were friends of the Civil Rights Movement. But, King...
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Comparing Reviews of MOSQUITOLAND at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
A lot of people use the reviews at Amazon to make decisions about books. I don't know how the specific content that is used at Amazon is selected, but it is worth noting that it is selectively used. No...
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David Arnold's MOSQUITOLAND
A few days ago, I wrote about the ways that Amazon is using a snippet of School Library Journal's review of David Arnold's Mosquitoland, due out this year. In contrast, Barnes and Noble uses the entire...
View Article"Injun" in Chris Kyle's AMERICAN SNIPER
When American Sniper opened in theaters last week, I started to see reviews that pointed out Kyle's use of the word savage to describe Iraqis. That word has been used to describe American Indians. I...
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FERAL PRIDE by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Feral Pride is the third book in Cynthia Leitich Smith's Feral series. She is Muscogee Creek. Books in the series consists of a series of chapters, each one told from the point of view of one of the...
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HOUSE OF PURPLE CEDAR selected by International Reading Association
Tim Tingle's exquisite House of Purple Cedar is among the books the Children's Literature/Reading group of the International Reading Association selected for inclusion in its list of Notable Books for...
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BOOKLIST lists American Indians in Children's Literature as a Resource
Booklist's February 2015 issue is titled "Spotlight on Multicultural Literature." The feature article is online. Written by Sarah Hunter, the article opens with:It’s no secret that children’s...
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Thumbs down to THE MAYFLOWER by Mark Greenwood
In July of 2014, Holiday House released The Mayflower written by Mark Greenwood. Illustrated by his wife, Frane Lessac, some people think it is a contender for the Caldecott. I sure hope not, but...
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Do something dramatic! AICL's recap of ALA's Day of Diversity
Last week (Friday, January 30, 2015), I was at the Day of Diversity at the American Library Association's 2015 Midwinter Conference. This is my recap of the highlights (for me) of the day. I am glad I...
View ArticlePaul Goble's CROW CHIEF
This is a how-Debbie-analyzes-a-book post.Earlier today, a librarian wrote to ask me about Paul Goble's Crow Chief. It was published in 1992 by Orchard Books. Here's the synopsis, from Amazon:Crow...
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Year 2014 at American Indians in Children's Literature
I launched American Indians in Children's Literature in 2006. This is the first time I'm doing a recap of any given year. I started it in 2014, thinking I could post it in time for the end of...
View ArticleDear Writers and Editors: Some Cautions about Selecting Beta Readers
Dear Writers and Editors,I know that one strategy that you use to check the accuracy or authenticity of a manuscript with characters who are "other" to the writer is to have someone of that "other"...
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THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY, by Adam Rex
In 2007, Disney Hyperion published The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex. Years ago, someone wrote to tell me it has Native content and wondered if I'd read it. I had not, but today I see that it is...
View ArticleStereotypes in Wilder's THE LONG WINTER
Earlier today, I saw a post on Facebook in which a person said, of Wilder's The Long Winter, "this is the only book that can put what's happening in Boston in perspective. It could be worse, wicked...
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Going to Hawaii Association of School Librarians Spring Conference!
Dear HASL Librarians,I am looking forward to spending time with you at your spring conference!I've been working on my remarks. If there is anything in particular you want to ask me ahead of time,...
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CCBC Statistics for 2014: Books by/about American Indians
Today (Feb 18, 2015), the Cooperative Children's Book Center at the School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison, released statistics for books they received in 2014. For AICL, I focus on data...
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Some context for "Are we doing it white" at Read Roger
I participated in the "Are we doing it white?" conversation at Read Roger (Roger Sutton's blog at Horn Book; Sutton is the executive editor at Horn Book; The Horn Book is highly regarded in children's...
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Pamela Penza's review of Tricia Stirling's WHEN MY HEART WAS WICKED
Last year, Pamela Penza wrote to me about Nick Lake's There Will Be Lies. Pam is a young adult librarian and blogs at Pamelibrarian. I read her review of There Will Be Lies at Goodreads and then got a...
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