Diversity Roll Call: WHM Reference Titles

March is Women's History Month. To celebrate I am asking you to provide a short annotated bibliography of reference or history titles.

If you don't own or haven't read any reference titles, what memoirs, autobiographies or biographies do you recommend? What women's book impacted you in an indelible way? Do you have any favorite books by women about women?

Okay, I really want you to know the strengths of each title so I've cheated. I've relied heavily on book descriptions. I refer these sources often. With the exception of the first two titles, these references are geared towards young girls. Don't be fooled though. These are great sources to start with. What I like most about these print sources is that the material is organized in a single source and the organization of each of book makes them easy to use and quick access to jumping off points.

Please do ask questions. These are well used resources, and I only wish I could find new edition or new references like them geared towards high schoolers and adults with the same ease of use.

I Dream A World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America. Brian Lanker. Stewart Tabori & Chang .1999
"No matter what your race or gender, give this book to anyone who needs encouragement. I especially enjoy recommending this book to young women who can learn a lot from the women within its pages."~Rebecca Bergfield
I wrote about this previously here.

Jewels: 50 Phenomenal Black Women Over 50. Michael Cunningham and Connie Briscoe. Little, Brown and Company. 2007
Each striking black-and-white portrait accompanies a personal essay as the women often recall the people who came before them, inspiring them to achieve… The women also recall many firsts: the first black woman to achieve some status in the nation to the first black woman (or person) in her family to get a college degree…Among the jewels are Ruby Dee, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Marian Wright Edelman, S. Epatha Merkerson, and Briscoe herself.
Recently bought this and it is becoming a new favorite. Beautiful images and quotes and the essays are just the right length.

33 things every girl should know about women’s history: From Suffragettes to Skirt Lengths To the E.RA. Edited by Tonya Bolden. Crown Publishers. 2002
[I]impressive, chronologically organized... begins with Abigail Adams's 1776 letter to her husband, "Remember the Ladies," proceeds through Charlotte Perkins Gilman's groundbreaking "The Yellow Wallpaper" (excerpted) and includes thoughtful reflections on other leading women, such as Patricia McKissack's fictional essay narrated by Charlotte Woodward (the only woman in attendance at the Seneca Falls convention still alive to exercise her right to vote). Period photographs, quotes, timelines, bios and varied typography give the volume an attractive, accessible feel.
I had already bought and read the first 33 things edited by Tonya Bolden so when I saw this, it was no-brainer. Love the organization and diversity of type of content and the women covered.

Prominent Women of the 20th Century, Editor Peggy Saari. UXL, Gale Imprint. 1996
Profiles range in length from five to eight pages. Each gives date of birth and the reason for inclusion (e.g., Benazir Bhutto is "first woman prime minister of a Muslim country" ). Almost all include a photograph of the biographee. A brief quotation in the margin indicates the woman's philosophy; …The primary attraction of this set is that it brings together the biographies of a group of women who are enormously diverse and, in many cases, little known despite their achievements. Especially useful will be the biographies of women scientists for whom biographies simply do not exist at this reading level.
One of the perks of my former life in publishing. Every time works like these became available, I grabbed them. I love what's available to students online and in databases, but print is still my preferred first stop.

Women’s Voices: A Documentary of History of Women in America. Editor Lori Jenkins, Mcleroy, U*X*L, an Imprint of Gale. 1997
· 32 primary documents, including excerpts from letters, speeches, poems and interviews
· Biographical information about speakers
· Historical overviews
· Six subject chapters offering thematic coverage
· More than 100 black-and-white illustrations
· Topic and people boxes that highlight interesting information
· Glossary, index and timeline
When this series and the other similar ones released, there was a demand for these titles. Girls and boys don't know how fortunate they were to have accessible, fun reference resources like these.

Women’s Firsts: Milestone In Women’s History. Peggy, Tim and Susan Gall, Editors, U*X*L, an Imprint of Gale. 1998
ABrief paragraphs introduce women of achievement in 10 areas: activism, the arts, business, education, government, media, a miscellaneous mix of professions (architecture, law enforcement, law, medicine and health, and the military), religion, science and technology, and sports... and the entries are arranged chronologically within each category. Each "first" is summarized and a few biographical facts about the pioneer involved are provided. .. Because the focus is on firsts, this book looks at some interesting but somewhat obscure figures…
My only complaint is that there aren't updated editions.

Find more entries at Color Online. Drop us a link to your response.

CORA Diversity Roll Call: Celebrating Women's History

Color Online: Diversity Roll Call: Celebrating Women's History
March is Women's History Month. To celebrate I am asking you to provide a short annotated bibliography of reference or history titles. Call me a geek, but I enjoy reading them. I hoard reference books. Our girls and we, women, are bombarded with narrow, stifling images of ourselves. There is a lack of positive imaging. However, rather than simply complain, let us educate ourselves and take on the responsibility of promoting and supporting women. And there are those men who love and respect us who celebrate us as well so the question is, who and what should we be reading in honor of women?

Read more and post your links at Color Online.

CORA Diversity Roll Call

Ali asked us:

1) Take a look at the magazines or literary journals you read. If you don't read them, pick one up from the library just for the heck of it. Look at the ads, the photo spreads, the authors and subjects of the articles. Do people of color exist in the world this publication presents to its readers? How about gays, lesbians, or people with physical differences?

2) Do you know of a magazine or journal that does embrace diversity? Be it high brow or low brow, tell us about it. If you don't know of any, do a little digging. They've got to be out there.

Outside of committing the awful offense of reading the magazines off the racks in the grocery story, I don’t regularly read print magazines anymore. The grocery market magazines are usually flanked with celebrities or models and they’re usually white. I should add these people look nothing like average folk I know of any race. When I purposely look for a magazine, I am looking for publications that reflect my values and perspective. I read a few journals online like Huffington Post and the writers are a diverse group and articles cover different ethnicity, race and socioeconomic groups.

I also recently picked up a print copy of Latina. When you go to the site, it looks like a typical glam mag and it might be but the older issues I read at work had more than clothes and makeup. One issue had a very good article on Justice Sotoymayor and another ran a feature on racism among people of color. Being Latina encompasses many countries and cultures so I was impressed with the variety of experiences and the multi-hued models.

While I want to see more inclusion, I don’t expect any publication to try to be everything for everybody. I’m not justifying exclusion but I wouldn’t expect a magazine that focuses on a particular culture or religion for example to cover areas outside of their focus. I do want publications that are written for a broad audience to reflect differing perspectives and images that reflect all of their readership.

I don't remember when but I know it's been several years since I purchased or read mainstream publications. Over time the covers became a barely noticeable blip on the radar. All the models pretty looked alike and I stopped expecting to see anything different or find topics that interested me. I should add I'm not to fond of Essence or Ebony either. Just because their target audience is black doesn't mean they reflect my views and experiences.

What I realized is that outside of my reading while I shop, I don’t read publications that differ from my point of view, something, which I said, I was going to start doing. I need to be aware of what other people’s views are.

There are few literary journals I would read if I took the time but since I've been immersed in the book blogging world, I'm always reading a book and thinking about the next five.

Find more responses at Worducopia.

CORA Diversity Roll Call: Paradigm Shift

For this assignment, I want us to shift from the importance of representation and focus on how difference or a different perspective changed us in a meaningful way. Have you ever read a book and the character's perspective opened you to ideas, beliefs or realities that you had never considered? Tell us a about a work or an author whose body of work changed how you looked at the world, others or yourself. Have you ever read a book and had a paradigm shift because of it?

Recently I connected with professor and writer, Debbie Reese from American Indians in Children's Literature. Talk about kindred spirits, this advocate doesn't hold back. Do you believe in serendipity? Because after chatting with Debbie, I finally decided on a book I wanted to focus on for this meme.

I want to start by saying I was never a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series, book or television and Debbie can tell you better than I why the series is problematic, and as an aside author Bich Nguyen briefly talks about the racism in the books in Stealing Buddha's Dinner. As a person of color, even as a child, I was put off by stories told from the white person's perspective which often meant people of color were secondary figures either to be feared or saved or they were viewed as the exception of their kind, you know, the noble savage archetype. One of my problems with Brave New World was the reference to native people and the noble savage character. I was preoccupied with the portrayal.

It's not the first time but in talking with Debbie I was reminded that outside of classic children's literature, I rarely read any mention of Indigenous people and when I did, it was seldom a positive representation. In adult literature, I know and have read a little from Louise Erdrich. There's Joy Harjo the poet and then I thought of David Treuer. Two years ago for a group read, I read, Little. As I said my knowledge of First Nation writers is shamefully little. I rarely read men and since I began mentoring teen girls, I don't read much adult literature either.

Little was a challenge for me for all the reasons I outlined: limited knowledge, my reading preferences and my focus for the last few years. Here was an adult read, a literary read about a culture I knew nothing about and from a male perspective. It was hard getting into the read but it came highly recommended and I respected the opinion of my friend who suggested it. The opening is slow and detailed. I had to mentally adjust and I'm glad I did. The writing is deliberate, focused and distinctly different- dispassionate I think describes it.

Little was a shift; it was an education. Here was an intimate account of a family spanning three generations, details about a culture and life on a reservation and a part of American history I knew almost nothing about. It's been too long for me to write a review but that's not my focus here. What I want impress upon you is that reading Debbie's current challenges against the misrepresentation of American Indians, evoked my experience with reading Little. I remember being stirred, agitated by what I learned. I can tell you that taking time to hear another person's perspective is not only informative but uncomfortable. It challenges you to rethink what you thought you knew or to question your ignorance. It tests your humanity. Little introduced me to two cultures and histories: the Indigenous community and the Nordic settlers of Minnesota. When Treuer described the history of the area and its occupants, I asked myself why hadn't I looked at this gaping hole in my understanding of this part of American history and the region before. I don't have an answer except to say that the absence and misrepresentation in effect contributed to my ignorance. Obstacles are not legitimate excuses however.

I wish I could say more and in order to do that, I need to read more. Stay tuned.

Mr. Treuer’s accomplishment is a wonder. Out of the seasons and landscapes of a Minnesota reservation David Treuer has forged a strong intricate narrative complete with the intimate voices of fully realized characters.
—Toni Morrison

David Treuer is Ojibwe. He grew up at Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota, where he now lives. He is a graduate of Princeton University.

Find more CORA Diversity responses here.

CORA Diversity Roll Call: Celebrating the Holidays

December is a busy month. I try not to stress despite how hectic it can get. I love Christmas. I love the holidays and everything I associate with them. If there is a time when I cling to the nostalgic, it's this time of year. For CORA Diversity Roll Call, I asked participants to address one or more of the following:

1) Favorite children holiday books from your childhood
2) Favorite children holiday books your own children love
3) New holiday books you've discovered
4) Recommend holiday books that celebrate Hanukkah, Eid, Kwaanza,Winter Soltice, Tet, Festival of Lights, any holiday celebrated between late November through January.
5) Stuck, tell us what kind of book you’re looking for to give someone
6) Tell us what’s on your own wish list.

There's an ad, I can't remember what it was for, but it was about the strange, seemingly minor things kids remember from their childhoods like having a quirky dinner once or when a parent did something pretty whacky; the ad reminded me of what events are most vivid for me from my childhood. We didn't have a lot of traditions in my family, and we had few regular activities we did as a family. Of the few though, I remember how my parents made a big deal of Christmas. It was magic for us when we were kids. I mean pure magic.

As a parent, I had every intention of creating traditions, doing more family activities, but I am my parents' child. Sometimes I feel guilty that I don't do more but there's one new tradition I did create for my children and that was giving them books for Christmas. Every year among toys and clothes there were books.

There is one book I've shared with both my girls who are a decade apart, Elijah's Angel by Michael Rosen that's pretty special. I'm sure if you asked my daughters what books did their mother read to them, this would be one. It's a story about friendship and culture. It's about holidays and sharing. For me and my girls, it was also an introduction to folk art.

I suspect I might love this book more than my girls (I'm going to ask them) because like the kid in the ad, it ties me to a specific time and place with my daughters. It reminds me of something special I shared with them. It reminds me of a time when I felt at ease being mommy and getting something right. We still have the book even though one daughter is grown and another is busy being a teen.

What books are special for you and your family this time of year? If you write a post about it, please drop us a link at Color Online.

Elijah's Angels by Michael Rosen. Illustrator, Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson. Harcourt Children's Books. 1992

Michael and Elijah are friends, but when Elijah gives Michael one of his special carved angels, Michael doesn’t know what to do. How can he possibly take home a Christmas angel, a forbidden graven image--especially on Chanukah? “A strikingly illustrated story that tenderly bridges the boundaries of age, race, and religion.

CORA Diversity Roll Call: Early Readers

Twice a month, Ali at Worducopia and I host CORA Diversity Roll Call. Our aim is to introduce readers to books that celebrate diversity. We aren't limited to race though ethnicity and race are major for us. We're also interested in other ways we are different. Our current assignment was inspired by a note from Mary Ann:

I loved discovering Nikki & Deja last year, but I find it very hard to find either early readers or early chapter books with kids from different backgrounds. There are lots of picture books out there, but not many books that young kids can read for themselves.

So, you're assignment is one of the following:

1) Find a book for Mary Ann's library
2) Write the blurb for the book you'd like kids of that age to see on the shelves, or
3) Was this an issue for you when you were first reading books on your own? Tell us about it.

Doret raised a point about how African American picture books could easily be formatted as early readers. She asked if others noticed that AA pictures books are longer and written at a level that an early reader could read alone. Personally, I've wondered the same.

To build on what Doret asks, I wonder if more African American children would be reading earlier on their own if the books marketed to them were formatted as early readers instead of picture books. I have also wondered if other adults' have observed the high number of historical books aimed at African American children. So many of the books with African American titles for children sent to me for review are historical non-fiction or fictional stories based on historical figures. While I appreciated these books as a child, as an adult I've noticed a resistance or lack of enthusiasm for these books among young children. My nephew and niece don't always want a book about black heroes. They want light, fun books with main characters their age who enjoy the same kind things they do. They want contemporary stories.

I checked out a handful of books for the challenge. One was actually a picture book about adoption and the other struck me as rather long for an early reader. I'll focus on the two: Amy Hodgepodge: All Mixed Up by Kim Wayans and Keena Ford and the Second Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thompson.

The first volume in the Amy Hodgepodge series is about a young girl going to school for the first time in the fourth grade. She's been homeschooled and she lives with her parents and grand parents. Amy has to learn how to make friends, deal with bullies and figure out where she fits in a group. What I liked most about Amy Hodgepodge was the positive portrayal of her family, add the mix of ethnicity and race and it was well off to a good time. I liked how Amy grew and faced her challenges in spite of her doubts and fears. I liked that the school was chock full of diversity but for me, someone whose own circle of family and friends is a lovely mix, I thought the number of mixed race kids at Amy's school was a little much. Despite the mix being less than real for me, I liked the story's take on family, friendship and facing personal challenges. The series is something I'd share with early readers.

Keena Ford and the Second Grade Mix-Up is hilarious. Keena is as I'd like to say, a hot mess. Think Lucille Ball funny only she's much shorter, darker and in grade school. Keena and Eric are best friends, and they are excited about being in the same class (They are very disappointed when they learn the girls and boys are being placed in separate classrooms). Keena prefers Eric and building a homework hangout to sipping paper bag tea with another little girl.

I liked Keena from the start. And there are some choice, funny lines like when Keena says her dad asks her to try harder in school so teachers won't call him during the day using up his daytime minutes. I was close to falling to the floor laughing. Of course on the first day of school, Keena sets an episode into motion. She mistakenly writes her birthday wrong on the board and it only snowballs from there. Keena means well but like most of us at her age, we'd rather try to find a way out of mess instead of confessing. Keena and I share a birthday, too. What's not to love about a girl who shares your birthday, makes you laugh and reminds you of your younger self?

I highly recommend both titles.

Can you recommend any early readers with children of color? What did you read as a child? Was there diversity in the selections available to you?

Color Online: CORA Diversity Roll Call: Celebrating Bloggers

CORA Diversity Roll Call: Celebrating Bloggers
1)Write a post highlighting one or more bloggers who are extremely different from you in some way. For example, think about blogger(s) who:
a. Identify with another race and/or ethnicity, religion, cultural background, age, etc. from you
b. Live the farthest from you
c. Have entirely different tastes in books from you (but you love their blog anyway)

Color Online: CORA Diversity Roll Call: Science Fiction & Fantasy

CORA Diversity Roll Call: Science Fiction & Fantasy
Bi-weekly Ali at Worducopia and I, co-host a meme designed to encourage readers to broaden their reading habits. We want to add color and diversity in other ways to your reading choices. This week, I want to explore science fiction and fantasy, two genres where people of color are often absent or sidekicks, but rarely the main character...

CORA Diversity Roll Call #8: Got Poetry?

Color Online: CORA Diversity Roll Call #8: Got Poetry?

Your assignment is to post a poem in a form unique to a particular country, an example would be the sijo (Korea), haiku (Japan) or American Sentence (this is a single line of 17 syllables like a haiku. Created by Ginsberg). Another option: post a favorite poem by a poet of color. Tell us a little about the poet and the poem. Last option, post a poem that celebrates a particular country or culture. Tell us why you enjoy this poem. Please cite the collections for your entries. Let us know if you own the collection containing your feature.

C.O.R.A Diversity Roll Call: YA You Don't Know

This is week #6 and this week we'll focus on genre- YA fiction. Last week I shared at length my observations regarding cover art featuring black characters. Some responded that readers have been conditioned to make narrow assumptions about African American fiction. Another reader said librarians and teachers need to expose students to a greater variety of authors. Your assignment this week is to inform readers what they are missing. With your help, maybe we can begin dismantling misconceptions and introduce readers to a more diverse pool of writers.

I opted to answer question #1: provide a recommended list of lesser known works.

Recommended YA List

Life Is Funny by E.R. Frank – a novel of interconnected short stories. Multicultural. Realistic fiction.
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi- graphic novel. Coming-of-Age. Set in Iran.
When Kambia Elaine Flew In From Neptune by Lori A. Williams. Story of friendship and molestation.
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichia. Coming-of-Age. Abuse. Set in Nigeria.
If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson. Teen Romance. Race.
A Wish After Midnight by Zetta Elliott. Time Travel. Social Commentary.
Down To The Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole. LBGT teen fiction. Realistic fiction.
Parable of The Sower by Octavia E. Butler. Dystopia fiction. (technically, not YA)

Looking at my list I realize how heavily I lean towards realistic fiction and dark themes. I also realize my YA reading choices today are not much different from when I was young. The absence of fantasy and mystery today is consistent. As a teen I didn’t read funny stories or the zombie stuff either. Today, I would read more in romance, fantasy and mystery, but I don’t know any works written by writers of color or with characters of color and honestly, while I don’t need characters to look like me, I’m not motivated to read genres outside of what I prefer if there isn’t an additional draw. Moreover, I think I lean towards realistic fiction and the dark themes because I prefer YA that mirrors the same qualities I look for in adult literature: solid character development and quality writing. I don’t read chick lit or romance in adult fiction so I don’t look for it in YA either.

I want to address the gaps, mainly fantasy and mystery. While these genres are not likely to become regular reads, I am very interested in being aware. It's good to know what's available. Suggestions?

Diversity Roll Call: Week #5

Ali at Worducopia posted this assignment:
Have you seen Mitali Perkins' (author of The Secret Keeper, Monsoon Summer, and other books for young people) article in School Library Journal, called Straight Talk on Race: Challenging the Stereotypes in Kids' Books? The idea is to help teachers and librarians to guide kids in noticing how race is depicted in the books they read, but I think the issues are relevant for all of us, and all types of literature. As a fledgling writer, I have to admit it made my head spin a little bit. So, I've decided to borrow her idea for this week's roll call.Mitali suggests picking up a novel you like and exploring one or more of these five questions. She's done this with a few books in her article, including John Green's Paper Towns and Ursula Le Guin's Powers, so you can get a feel for it before you start. Click on the question to see Perkins' examples.

1. Are the nonwhite characters too good to be true? (or do they have depth that goes beyond their race, faults and all?)

I recently read Down To The Bone. In the novel, Laura's best friend, Soli is black. She's also Cuban. In this novel culture is the dominant marker. And I'd say, yes, she has depth that goes beyond race. One of the strengths of the novel is that Dole creates believable, fully developed characters. While Soli and her mom take Laura in, they are not the magic negroes who swoop in and rescue the white person. Soli and Laura have been best friends since grade school and their personalities play well off one another. Soli has a life beyond Laura.

Earlier this year I read Unwind and I remember being annoyed by the black sidekick. My first impression of Cyrus (CyFi) was he was a caricature but what Shusterman actually does through the character is flip a stereotype on its head. To paraphrase Cyrus, he tells Connor he's using the stereotype to his advantage, that he is proud of who he is and he not anyone else can define what it means to be black. Moreover, Cyrus has his own sub-plot going on and clearly does not exist solely to prop up Connor. When Cyrus resolves his own issues he's no longer part of the story.

2. How and why does the author define race? (Does it need to be defined? Is their race crucial to the plot?)

Back to Dole's book. You don't know Soli is black until race is relevant. I can't remember the first time Dole makes some reference that lets you know she is black and that's a good thing. What you eventually learn is that Soli was treated badly when she started grade school because she was black. As a teen though, Soli is tough, respected and holds her own. She's a great best friend and like Laura she comes with her own flaws. In this story, Stoli's experience is used to show you can overcome other people's ignorance.

3. Is the cover art true to the story? (Perkins cites as an example the cover of Cynthia Kadohata’s novel Weedflower, in which the Japanese American main character is wearing a kimono, even though she's never described as wearing one in the text).

The cover art for Down To The Bone has what I call that ambigous or multi ethnic looking model that is popular in the media these days. My guy and I joke the current trend is to have models who look ethnic but leave the audience guessing the ethnicity. Then again if you're Latin or know many Latinas you might identify the cover model as Latina.

One of the things I've observed on my blog is that whenever there is a black teen on the cover, very few readers comment on the book even when the storyline is similar to storylines of other teen books. Some will say they have never heard of the book but rarely will a teen say the book sounds interesting and they might check it out. These comments stick out even more when these same readers comment on the other books featured but with white characters. I get mixed responses from adult readers. I find it very revealing that same storyline is not enough for readers to consider reading the YA books I present with black faces on the cover.

Continued here.

Diversity Roll Call #5 continued

continued....

When I showcase books with other ethnic groups or no faces, interests is always higher. A quick search through my past In My Mailbox posts will support my observations. Recently I showcased Orange Mint and Honey by Carleen Brice. The novel is about a mother and daughter. They happen to be black but the cover art is a garden so race isn't an immediate marker. Their names might suggest they're black but a reader might not assume the race. Instead of the majority of readers commenting as usual,"I've never heard of that" some readers commented they might check the book out.

And to answer your original question, in Orange Mint and Honey, the main character has an impressive garden so the cover art makes sense. But I think the issue of being pigeon-holed was a factor in not using black models. I'm not certain, but I'm going to ask Carleen.

I don't overlook books based on the race of the characters or author or the cover art. I regularly read about books on blogs that I have never heard of yet I manage to genuienly say more than "I never heard of that" and I do express interest in many of the titles. Every time we have this discussion about race, white readers inevitably say race doesn't matter. If it doesn't matter why aren't they reading books by black writers and I mean more than the icons like Morrison and Angelou? It's like the joke about everybody having the same black friend.

I'm very interested in hearing why we don't see more books with people of color on the cover being showcased on teen blogs. I have had this discussion before with a teen reviewer and she said part of the reason is that most teen reviewers are focused on books they get for review and they have only been reading YA for a short time. I think this only partly explains the absence of color. What explains the lack of expressed interest in these titles when they are exposed to them? While I do focus on realistic fiction, I've also highlighted teen romance and non-fiction; neither generated any any more interest.

Now some will ask what about YA authors like Rita Williams Garcia and Coe Booth? I'd say well these are seasoned writers who've been featured on readergirlz. Ask a teen blogger to name another black author. Then ask if they've actually read the author. There is a difference when we talk about other ethnicities. Asian writers and Asian characters seem to get more attention, and I think this is for two reasons: 1) the genres- fantasy and teen chick lit and 2) Asian characters are perceived as more assimilated with the majority. The more the characters are similar to white characters the more they are embraced.

Do I need to pull out a fire hose at this point? I don't say any of this to be polemic or critical. I am using this exercise as an opportunity to talk about an elephant that sometimes I feel is not just in the room but standing on my chest. I'd like to know what will it take for white teens to read popular fiction with black faces on the cover. I've read books without my face on the cover my entire reading life.

Now if I didn't just completely blacklist myself, can we have a real and extended dialogue here?
I'm going to pass on answering the other questions. To read more contributors' thoughts go here.

C.O.R.A Diversity Roll Call: Week #4

This is week #4. Things are going well but we want to grow so do join us for this week's assignment. May is designated Asian Heritage Month. For this post I opted to answer:
5) Don't know much about Asian writers? Explore and then report on what you discovered.

Thanks to Aerin at In Search of Giants, I was introduced to Ellen Oh. Aerin posted a link to Ellen's current giveaway of Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon for Little Lov'n Monday. Because of Ellen's comments, I'm taking a serious look at Ms. Pon's book and I'm thrilled to learn about Ellen's book, Seven Kingdoms. See there really is a method to my madness.

Ellen Oh
Ello 2
The Enchanted Inkspot
Aspiring Writer, lawyer, mom to 3 gorgeous girls

Because I'm stoked about connecting with Ellen, leave a comment on this post and I'll do a drawing for any book from our Prize Bucket at Color Online. And by the way, you still have time to answer any unanswered quiz at Color Online. There are more than 50 books in the Bucket so check out the quiz.If you don't know about Ellen, get over there. Deadline for this special C.O.R.A drawing is May 4th.

6) If you are familiar with writers, please share a few recommendations. Please cite country/ethnicity. Asia is a lot of ground to cover.
Short list of writers I know and enjoy:
(Korean-American) An Na . Titles include: A Step From Heaven
(South Asian-American) Hina Haq. Title: Sadika's Way
(South Asian-American) Tanuja Desai Hidier Title: Born Confused
(Japanese-American) Cynthia Kadohata Title: Kira-Kira
Short list of reads in my tbr:
(Chinese-American) Ji-li Jiang Title: The Girl With The Red Scarf
(Japanese) Sakie Yokota Title: North Korea Kidnapped My Daughter

Join us, post your entry at C.O.R.A Diversity Roll Call

C.O.R.A Diversity Roll Call

Edwidge Danticat
Born January 19, 1969
Port-au-Prince, Haiti

I wanted to raise the voice of a lot of the people that I knew growing up, and this was, for the most part, poor people who had extraordinary dreams but also very amazing obstacles. ~Edwidge Danticat

My apologies to Ali for being so tardy with my post. I honestly had difficulty making up my mind about the country. Ultimately, I went with a favorite author and that is how I decided on the country. My feature writer is Edwidge Danticat. I recommend her work her regularly when asked about favorite authors. Ms. Danticat was born in Haiti and raised in New York. She has an impressive body of work. My favorite is The Farming of Bones, a novel about a Haitian servant in a Dominican Republic household. The writing is lyrical, at times surreal and compelling. Today, I picked up her YA novel, Behind the Mountains from the library. What little I know about Haiti I have learned through Ms. Danticat's work. Literature provides an intimate way to learn about a country's history, culture and people. Far more engaging to me than reading history.

For a while I went through a period of reading island writers and the one I continue to read is Ms. Danticat. If you're interested in storytelling traditions of different cultures, I highly recommend her celebrated work, Krik?Krak!

When you write, it's like braiding your hair. Taking a handful of coarse unruly strands and attempting to bring them to unity ... Some of the braids are long, others are short. Some are thick, others are thin. Some are heavy. Others are light.
- Krik? Krak! Learn more about Ms. Danticat here.

Geography: Haiti, in the West Indies, occupies the western third of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. About the size of Maryland, Haiti is two-thirds mountainous, with the rest of the country marked by great valleys, extensive plateaus, and small plains.

Find more Roll Call entries here.

worducopia: Roll Call: Around the World

Week #3
Ali at Worducopia is hosting this week's Roll Call. She writes: For this week's C.O.R.A. Diversity Roll Call, let's travel around the world together! Choose a country or region and tell us a little bit about it, including, of course, an author or two who hail from there.

Join us. Post a submission on your blog and leave a link with Mr. Linky at
Worducopia.

Color Online: C.O.R.A. Diversity Roll Call

This week's about poetry! Come on, roll with us.

Roll with us!

Think about all the books you've read--and I'm guessing that's a pretty high number so this may be tricky!

* Which is the character who's the most different from you? (And how? Use this as an excuse to tell us your own background and anything else about yourself that's important to your self-identity).
* Which is the author (this could be fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc.) who is (or was) the most different from you?


The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection. I wasn't a audiobook kinda a girl. Neil Gaiman is a guy and he's British. He writes fantasy for children and adults. He tells outrageous stories. I'm an African American woman who typically goes for reality based fiction. I didn't read fairy tales as a child. I'm a now a huge Gaiman fan and the author ain't bad on the eyes.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan There are so many differences here for me. For starters, I was new to graphic novels but this wasn't only a graphic novel but a wordless one. I majored in English, I like words. I read women ninety percent of the time and usually women of color. Shaun Tan is a guy who is an incredible artist and storyteller. I can't draw a stick man. Highly recommend this.

Luna by Julie Anne Peters A teen recommended this to me a year or so ago. I had asked for recommendation for good teen LBGT. This was a perfect choice. I'm a heterosexual, adult black woman and Liam is a white, transgender boy who dreams of being the girl she really is. It's easy to identify how we differ and equally easy to find our connection: everyone wants to be accepted for who they are. We all struggle to define ourselves and want others to respect that only we get to decide how we live our lives.

*all titles are linked to reviews.