I need to admit at the onset, the hardest literature for me to judge, to get into, to teach has always been middle grade fiction. I think I have some sort of block – like, I had such a terrible time with middle school I can’t revisit it without experiencing dry heaves. So, when it comes to middle grade fiction, I have to take a step back and NOT trust my initial judgement. Instead, I have to read it, set it aside, and think about the book as it fits within the genre expectations, language and socio-emotional expectations of the readers, the context of school and curricular constraints. When I ..read more

I work with you. I watch you. I read what you say and I see what you do. I’ve seen how you are reacting and what you are teaching following the attempted coup of 2021.  I have some notes for you …. I need you to stop waiting to be ready. You are not ready. You will never be ready. But you need to act to interrupt Whiteness’s hold on education. I am using Whiteness in the spirit Dr. Debbie Reese used it in her 2019 Arbuthnot lecture as a stand-in for an oppressive and normed expectation that White, male, straight, cis, able, Christian, English speaking, and middle class are that which ever ..read more

I haven’t slept well or much in the last few months. I’m not ok. Not even close to it. This country isn’t ok either. This country hasn’t been ok for a large swath of people since the beginning. This country was build on stolen land, using stolen people, by White men and women who knew exactly what they were doing. These Europeans set this country in motion and here we are riding that same wave. We are experiencing a Schrödinger’s Cat-type situation with this election. Schrödinger’s Cat is a way of thinking about two opposing realities that exist as two wave forms collapsing into each other, t ..read more

I do not want to spend my Sunday writing about another problematic picture book or graphic novel. I want authors and illustrators to learn the very basics is Critical Race Theory and visual literacy and put those two things to work … together. But, this is 2020 and CLEARLY I am not going to get what I want. That is the overwhelming message of this year. Not getting what we want is also the theme of much of mainstream children’s publishing. So, here we are. Sunday night, 8:00 pm, middle of September and I am writing a response to the people – teachers, parents and past students – who have aske ..read more

I know 2020 is lasting way longer than seems humanly possible. It is somehow august when it should clearly be 2025 with flying cars, genetically modified cats that bark, and small batch sour dough on tap. But, no. We are still in 2020 with all the things that are going horrendously wrong every single day. But … Jerry Craft  won all the things for his graphic novel New Kid (https://jerrycraft.com/), including the 2020 Newbery Award. This is the first graphic novel to be awarded a Newbery, so now it the book can proudly wear a bright gold sticker declaring the book’s awesomeness. (I have mi ..read more

Is it still 2020? I only ask because this year is lasting eons. I am beginning to think 2020 in the USA is an epoch (defined by Merriam Webster as “a time marked by an event that begins a new period or development”). Change is hard, so … there we are.  I am working on a lot of things but I miss writing about books. Someone recently asked me “well, what WOULD you do if all the “racism” you claim just goes away? You’d be out of a job!” As if I wouldn’t have other things to do. It was one of the zingers from social media that the doesn’t land but makes you think. If I was not witness to the ..read more

#31DaysIBPOC I realize it is only May – the 5th month of the year but I am fairly confident when I say this decade is a dozy. January highlights included the presidential campaign – emphasis on PAIN – spillover from 2019. The American Dirt “novel” White-pendeja-fest (technically started in 2019) it really hit level 1000 in January 2020. Please read Myriam Gurba’s most excellent and historic literary criticism (here). February seemed fairly normal. Racism, homophobia, and sexism but nothing out of the ordinary. Near the end of the month started hearing about COVID19 cases. A colleague go ..read more

Hey all, I hope you are well, that you have chafed hands from constant washing, and that you are staying inside. Many the children’s and YA community is trying to support teachers by hosting read alouds. I’ve seen a bunch on Twitter and a few collaborative sites and collections. I’m going to keep to try and keep this post updated so parents can find great literature for the non-adults in their lives. Susan Tan has a YouTube channel she calls Authors Everywhere! that features many authors and illustrators reading their work, and also providing writing and illustrating lessons and advice. This ..read more

PRIDE month is over but that doesn’t mean we have to go back into any closet. In fact, and I hope Joel Christian Gill doesn’t mind me completely coopting his 28 Days Are Not Enough (See his excellent TEDxAM14 Talk) here, but he is super correct. I’m going to say PRIDE month isn’t enough. So, welcome to LGBTQIA-July, which will be closely followed by LGBTQIA-August. No, it does not roll off the tongue but what the heck. What LGBTQIA-Fill-in-The-Month lacks in suave it makes up for in accuracy. In my world it is always time for LGBTQIA themed children’s and YA literature. I received a review ..read more

June in Pride Month and I’m a long-time Latinx lesbian and we’ve got some history to cover. I’ve been out for the majority of my life. I’m out to friends, family, acquaintances, neighbors, colleagues, students, my sons’ friends and families, the checkout people at the grocery store, all the contractors I try and get to come back to the house to actually do the work that we’d like to pay them for, and our dog. I’m even out to the Subaru dealership guys – although that not a shock to anyone. In fact, I’m about as out as I can be and this is a focused, calculated act of defiance and activism. We ..read more