Hosted by Sandy Fussel, from the Australian blog Stories are Light, this month’s children’s lit carnival offers a wealth of book reviews, interviews, writing tips, and more. Take a look and I’m sure you’ll find plenty of must-read-before-Summer/Winter-is-over books and articles.

After basking in the light of the carnival’s links, make sure to check the blog’s sidebar for a list of Top 50 Australian Writing Blogs. Enjoy!

Esme Raji Codell, Monica Edinger and Pete Cowdin talk about summer reading for kids on NPR’s On Point show. You can see their book recommendations and listen to the broadcast here.

An Indian-American candidate running for South Carolina’s governor seat in the United States, was recently attacked with racial slur by a state lawmaker who called her a “raghead”. The daughter of Sikh Punjabi immigrants, she was the target of a type of verbal abuse that, sadly, is still commonly directed against ethnic groups that wear turbans or headdresses. The Sikh turban, or dastaar, an article of faith and spiritual significance, has become known all over the world as the most distinct identity of Sikhs, but most people don’t know what wearing it and what being a Sikh really means.

Explain the meaning of his turban is exactly what the young boy in the picture book A Lion’s Mane sets out—and succeeds—to do. Winner of a 2010 Skipping Stones Honor Award in the “Multicultural and International Awareness” category, A Lion’s Mane is the first title by Canadian Saffron Press, a new independent publisher whose goal is to promote awareness of our global world by publishing books that foster positive self-identity in children. Written by Navjot Kaur and illustrated by Jaspreet Sandhu, the book takes children on a journey around the world and toward better understanding by using the boy’s flowing red dastaar as the thread that connects him to others. The story begins with “I have a lion’s mane and I’m different, just like you. Do you know who I am?”, a question that is repeated throughout the book, and proceeds to reveal to readers the strength the boy derives from “having a lion’s mane” and “being a Khalsa Knight.” The journey takes us to various times and places— the Middle Ages, Ancient Iran, India, China, and more—all the while pointing to similarities between those cultures and values and the boy’s own. (To see a trailer of the book, click here.)

Educating our youth about the real meaning of the Sikh turban can help pave the way to ending haressment that stems, for the most part, from preconceived ideas and stereotypes. Kudos to Saffron Press for providing our children with this authentic and important story, and for reminding us that we all share a common, precious humanity.

The book’s press release packet lists the following websites where children can learn more about Sikhism:

www.khalsakids.org
www.sikhnextdoor.org

Nathalie Mvondo recently wrote about the book on her blog Multiculturalism Rocks!, where she said: “A Lion’s Mane will be part of something special on Multiculturalism Rocks! soon.” Hmm… I wonder what sort of special treat Nathalie has in store… I encourage you all to keep your eyes peeled!

Elizabeth Bluemle’s article The Elephant in the Room, posted this week on ShelfTalker, a Publisher’s Weekly blog, offers a spot-on and constructive criticism of the publishing world’s shortcomings when it comes to publishing and promoting books that truly reflect our diverse world, pointing to the need on their part “to cast aside outdated assumptions of what people will or won’t read, will or won’t edit or publish or sell.”

The article offers suggestions of what those in the publishing field can do to start reverting the situation and doing right by our children, plus a list of blogs and websites (we were honored to see PaperTigers mentioned!) that promote diversity in children’s and young adult books. The elephant illustrations, by thirteen children’s book artists, combined with the words, give us much to reflect on.

image credit: © Addie Boswell

Well, we’ve finally started this year’s Reading the World Challenge in our household!

As our together-read, we’re “doing” Europe at the moment. We’re about half way through Dickens’ Oliver Twist, which I’m really enjoying, since it’s a good few years since I read it, and the boys are revelling in. I suggested it because I was getting a bit fed up with continued allusions to Oliver via the musical Oliver! and felt (poor kids, purist that I am!) that they needed to get back to grass roots here… I did wonder if we were biting off a bit more than we could chew but in fact they are completely caught up by the narrative and Dickens would be happy with his effect on their social consiousness/consciences! It’s definitely proving to be one of those books that they wouldn’t read on their own but that, with frequent, unobtrusive asides to gloss the meanings of words, they are more than able to enjoy having read to them. It’s just very long and now that term-time is back in full swing, it’s hard getting the sustained reading time all together that we would like.

We have also read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne (David Fickling Books, 2006). This is an extraordinarily powerful book about a nine-year-old German boy, Bruno, who becomes an unwitting witness of the Holocaust when his father becomes the Commandant of “Outwith” concentration camp (as Bruno mistakenly calls it), and who makes friends with a Jewish boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the perimeter fence. If you have read this breath-taking, punch-in-the-stomach book, do take a look at the discussion that Janet got underway here on PaperTigers on the Tigers Bookshelf. Although it says on the back cover that despite being a book about nine-year-olds, “this is not a book for nine-year-olds”, and I therefore, again, had some reservations of reading it with the boys, I was glad we did. Because we were reading it together (and not at bedtime – this is definitely not a book to read just before you go to sleep), we couldn’t read it in one sitting as has been recommended – but we all mulled over it deeply and all brought our own ages to it. I know that Little Brother’s nine-year-old perspective was very different to mine (as, indeed was Older Brother’s), but it was still valid; and I hope they will both read it again independently when they are older.

Little Brother’s own read was also focused on Europe with Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei by Peter Sís – this is what he says about it:

I liked The Starry Messenger because you could always recognise Galileo in the pictures because there were always (more…)

Crisscrossing the Globe: a World of International Books for Young People is an article in the 2/1/2010 issue of School Library Journal describing USBBY’s 2010 Outstanding International Books list. Written by Elizabeth Poe, the article includes annotations for all the books recognized. The outstanding lineup of titles includes My Little Round House (selected for the Spirit of PaperTigers book set donation project), Sopa de Frijoles, Wanting Mor, Hannah’s Winter, Tales from Outer Suburbia, and more.

This annual list is one of the activities of USBBY, the US chapter of IBBY, the International Board on Books for Young Readers, whose aim is to promote international understanding and good will through books for children and young adults. A goal very much in line with PaperTigers’ own.

And speaking of USBBY, the organization is currently seeking applicants for the 2011 Bridge to Understanding Award. The award recognizes a program that promotes reading as a way to expand a child’s world. Any organization (such as schools, libraries, clubs, scout troops), within the United States, that has a program for children using books and reading as a way of promoting an understanding of cultures/countries outside the United States is eligible to apply. The selection committee will consider such criteria as the number of children reached by the program and the impact on the community as demonstrated by publicity coverage or anecdotal evidence. To be considered for the 2011 award, the program must occur during 2010. Download an application, or visit the website for more information.

This month’s focus for the Social Justice Challenge is Water, a precious, life-giving resource that many of us take for granted. It is only relatively recently that awareness is growing everywhere of water being a finite resource. Many of us just have to turn on the tap for a ready supply of clean water for drinking, washing, even playing – but it is shocking indeed to think that nearly half the people living in the developing world do not have access to clean water; and that, according to UNICEF:

“Inadequate access to safe water and sanitation services, coupled with poor hygiene practices, kills and sickens thousands of children every day, and leads to impoverishment and diminished opportunities for thousands more.”

Older Brother and Little Bother cite a statistic they believe comes from WaterAid that 3 people die every 10 minutes because of a lack of clean water. In an attempt to turn this remote, hopeless-sounding figure into something they can get their heads round, we are currently reading Ryan and Jimmy: And the Well in Africa that Brought Them Together by Herb Shoveller (Kids Can Press, 2006). This is the wonderful and inspiring story of how the determination of one small boy in Canada, Ryan Hreljac, captured people’s imagination so that he was able to raise the $2,000 needed to buy a well for a community in Uganda – and then go on raising money to fund drills for more wells – so that now, the Ryan’s Well Foundation, with the now eighteen-year-old Ryan at its head, is working to bring safe drinking water and increase sanitation and hygiene awareness in 16 countries around the world.

Another engaging book and superb resource for raising young people’s awareness about water is (more…)

Today, in honor of Black History Month, the Spirit of PaperTigers (whose news has been spreading far) make way for the spirit of Coretta Scott King.

In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards (established in honor of Coretta Scott King’s legacy to increase the presence and appreciation of African-American writers and illustrators in the book community), last year TeachingBooks.net launched the Coretta Scott King Book Award Curriculum Resource Center, “a free, multimedia, online database for educators and families, featuring more than 250 original recordings with the award-winning authors and illustrators, and hundreds of lesson plans” (including material on Jerry Pinkney’s work—he’s the only artist to date to win the award five times).

We encourage you to explore these resources and seek out the fantastic books they highlight. Doing so would make for a wonderful way of honoring Black History Month. And since we are talking about going deeper, beyond the “festivals & heroes” surface of the occasion, here’s a little piece of trivia for you: Did you know that Coretta Scott King initially didn’t like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? She thought he was too short. But, luckily, she knew better than to let first impressions get in the way of better judgement. Amen to that!

Bookshelf #14:

Older Brother  and Little Brother
11 years old and nearly 9 years old
Kirkbymoorside, United Kingdom

These shelves are in Little Brother’s bedroom but both boys dip into them – as do I!  There are lots of favorites there – many of which we’ve got to know through PaperTigers.  Sometimes we just grab a random handful and pile into bed for a “book session” – though as they get older, it seems to be getting harder and harder to get readaloud time together apart from bedtime.

Submitted by: Marjorie

For details on how to submit a photo of your child’s bookshelf, click here.

Hooray for Nathalie Mvondo, who writes today that her blog Multiculturalism Rocks! is now a month old – and what a month! She’s featured an interview with Stacy Whitman, founding editor of TU Publishing; the re-emerging bookcover scandal; and a sensitive and informative post about the Haiti earthquake.

If you haven’t paid Nathalie a visit yet, head on over and discover Multiculturalism Rocks! for yourself – and don’t miss out her delightful About Me page, where she talks about her first book and the trouble it got her into!