Submissions for the 2012 contest are now being accepted.

Do you love to weave words together?
Were you and/or one or both of your birth parents born in another country?
Do you live in the United States or Canada now?
Are you 13-19 years old?

If you answered yes to ALL of the questions above, YOU qualify to enter the Fire Escape Writing Contests! Submit an original, unpublished poem or piece of prose (fiction or non-fiction) that reflects some of the joys and struggles of growing up between two cultures in America. Mitali’s Fire Escape will only consider one poem and one piece of short fiction per person, so send your best work.

For more information, click here.

The Tiger is now tweeting!!!

PaperTigers is excited to announce that we are now on Twitter. You can find us there under the name PaperTigersOrg (http://twitter.com/PaperTigersOrg). Or click the Twitter icon on the side of our blog to be taken directly there.

We look forward to exploring this type of social media and being able to connect with our readers in real-time, as well as follow the tweets of those involved in multicultural children’s and young adult literature around the world.  Special shout-outs to Mitali Perkins who became our first follower and to all those who tweeted that PaperTigers had arrived on the scene. We can see how information spreads quickly with Twitter and look forward to jumping in with a big roar!

2011 promises to be a year full of exciting events as regards children’s and young adult literature, and we are thrilled to announce that we will be attending the Asian Festival of Children’s Content in Singapore this coming May. Obviously being able to tweet while attending such events will be wonderful and we look forward to being able to share our experiences in real-time on Twitter.

So come on over, introduce yourself and join the Roaring Twittering Tiger!

The Red Umbrella follows a 14-year-old Cuban girl and her brother sent by their parents to live in the United States during the tumultuous period of 1960s Cuba. Christina says the story was ” loosely based on the experiences of my parents, mother-in-law and many of the other 14,000 children who participated in Operation Pedro Pan.”

Talking about why she wrote the book, Christina says:

“Obviously, this is a personal story and part of my family history. In fact, it’s an important part of American history and yet there wasn’t much written about it, especially from the point of view of the children who experienced it. The book showcases how the U.S. has always been a haven for those seeking refuge from injustice and oppression and how average Americans have stepped up to help those in need, even if they were foreigners in our country. I also wanted to show the pride immigrants (in this case Cubans) have for their homeland, but how, in the end, family is what matters most… home is not a physical place. It’s where you feel you belong, where you are surrounded by people who love and accept you.”

The Red Umbrella has been appearing on many YA book lists since being published in May 2010, including ALA/YALSA’s 2011 Best Fiction for Young Adults. You can read an interview with Christina here, and there is also an amazing book trailer made by Christina’s brother-in-law:

The Brown Bookshelf has launched 28 Days Later, a month-long showcase of the best in picture books, middle grade and young adult novels written and illustrated by African Americans.

Margo Tenenbaum’s blog The Fourth Musketeer specializes in historical fiction for children and teens, and throughout the month of February will focus on reviewing African American titles.

Reading Rockets.Org has just updated it’s Black History Month section where you’ll discover great online resources for the classroom and for family discussions. I’ve just spent the morning watching the video interviews with award-winning writers and illustrators.

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre has compiled a list of Canadian books that are recommended reads for Black History Month.

Check out School Library Journal‘s Places in the Heart: Celebrating Black History Month article in which top children’s authors were asked to choose their favorite children’s book about the black experience. Rick Margolis says “The title could be for kids of any age—from a picture book or graphic novel to a chapter book or collection of poems. We told them it could be new or old, fiction or nonfiction. The only requirement? It had to be a book that they truly loved—and, of course, it couldn’t be one of their own.”  Grace Lin, Mitali Perkins, Cynthia Kadohata,  Pam Muñoz Ryan, Pat Mora and others share their answers here,

If there is a website or blog that you’ve come across we would love to know about it. Please share it with us and our readers by leaving a comment.

Global Read of Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins

You are invited to join us for a discussion of the young adult novel, Bamboo People, by Mitali Perkins — a compelling coming-of-age story about child soldiers in modern Burma. The online discussion forum will begin tomorrow – Wednesday, January 12th. Then join the author for a live chat on January 19th.

Online discussion forum: January 12th-19th, 2011
Live chat session with the author: Wednesday, January 19, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST

Register online here (registration is free but participants are responsible for obtaining their own copy of the book). All are welcome – teachers, students, parents, and anyone interested in global issues!

I’m off to register now and hope that some of our PaperTigers readers will join me!

P.S. Don’t forget to take a look at our 1,000th post, with the chance of winning a Spirit of PaperTigers 2010 book set. The deadline for entries is midnight Pacific Standard Time, on Wednesday 19 January with the draw taking placing in San Francisco on Thursday 20 January.

If you are able to attend tomorrow(January 7th), don’t miss the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) Membership Meeting featuring award winning author Mitali Perkins!  The session begins at 8pm with members of the  Outstanding International Children’s Books Committee discussing their selections for the 2011 list. Following this, award winning author Mitali Perkins will be speaking on “Mirrors or Windows? Five Questions to Ask About Children’s Books.”

Using her own life as a case study, Mitali will talk about how great stories serve as windows and mirrors for children of every cultural background. She’ll pose five questions to ask of books to see how well they reflect children on the margins of power. Discussion and questions are encouraged in this funny, authentic, and heartfelt presentation.

Mitali’s latest novel, Bamboo People, will be available for sale and signing following the program. For information about Mitali Perkins, visit Mitali’s Fire Escape. You do not have to be a USBBY member to attend this program. Everyone with an interest in children’s and young adult literature is welcome and encouraged to attend. Details are here.

P.S. Don’t forget to take a look at our 1,000th post, with the chance of winning a Spirit of PaperTigers 2010 book set…

And just to remind you of the wealth of resources and sheer joyful reading out there, here’s a glimpse at some recent blog posts from that rich and varied Indian diaspora, as well as India itself:

Find reviews of Signature: Patterns in Gond Art, edited by Gita Wolf, Bhajju Shyam and Jonathan Yamakami (Tara Books, 2010) and The Yellow Bird by Lila Majumdar, illustrated by Ajanta Guhathakurta and translated by Kamala Chatterjee over at Saffron Tree. Both books sound and look wonderful…

Read this post from author Uma Krishnaswami, in which she muses on cultural perspectives, and on making unfamiliar words clear through their context in a story…

Mitali Perkins is (sort of) on her winter break from her blog (her back-posts are still worth perusing, though) BUT you can read a new interview with her over at Color on Line, conducted by Tarie of Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind…

A recent post on Pratham Books’ blog, Revamping Mythological and Traditional Indian Stories, will be of particular interest to graphic novel fans; and they also have lots of news and photos from the recent Bookaroo in the City festival in New Delhi…

(Click on event name for more information)

2011 PBBY-Salanga Prize Winner Announced~ Philippines

Dromkeen National Centre for Picture Book Art Exhibits~ Riddells Creek, Australia

December Kids Book Events~ Cairo, Egypt

Making Books Sing Presents a One-Woman Play Based on The Storyteller’s Candle/La velita de los cuentos by Lucía Gonzalez~ New York, NY, USA

Doha International Children’s Book Festival~ ongoing until Dec 2, Doha, Qatar

2010 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition~ ongoing until Dec 5, Nanao, Japan

Off the Page: Original Illustrations from NZ Picture Books~ ongoing until Dec 5, Ashburton, New Zealand

Guadalajara Book Fair~ ongoing until Dec 5, Guadalajara, Mexico

2011 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards~ submissions accepted until Dec 17, Canada

Scholastic Asian Book Award~ submissions accepted until Dec 31, Singapore

Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book Award 2011~ submissions accepted until Dec 31, Singapore

An Exquisite Vision: The Art of Lisbeth Zwerger~ ongoing until Jan 9, Hannover, Germany

Monsters and Miracles: A Journey through Jewish Picture Books~ ongoing until Jan 23, Amherst, MA, USA

Drawn in Brooklyn Exhibit of Original Picture Book Art by Brooklyn Illustrators~ ongoing until Jan 23, Brooklyn, NY, USA

National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature Presents From Houdini to Hugo: The Art of Brian Selznick~ ongoing until Jan 29, Abilene, TX, USA

Fins and Feathers: Original Children’s Book Illustrations from The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art~ ongoing until Jan 30, Raleigh, NC, USA

Summer Reading Club: Scare Up a Good Story~ ongoing until Jan 31, Australia

2011 Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award~ submissions accepted until Feb 25, United Kingdom

International Youth Library Exhibit: The Fabulous World of John Kilaka, Pictures and Drawings by a Tanzanian Artist~ ongoing until Feb 28, Munich, Germany

Mr Gumpy and Other Outings; Celebrating 50 years of John Burningham’s at Seven Stories~ ongoing until Mar, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Witness: The Art of Jerry Pinkney~ ongoing until May 30, Stockbridge, MA, USA

International Youth Library Exhibit: The World in Miniature. The Family in Historic Picture Books and Children’s Literature~ ongoing until Aug 31, Munich, Germany

Salon du livre et de la presse jeunesse~ Dec 1 – 6, Montreuil, France

IBBY France Conference: 2nd European Encounter on Children’s Literature~ Dec 3, Paris, France

SCBWI France International Conference for Writers and Illustrators~ Dec 3 – 4, Paris, France

Family Trees: A Celebration of Children’s Literature~ Dec 3 – Jan 2, Concord, MA, USA

Look! The Art of Australian Picture Books Today~ Dec 3 – May 29, Melbourne, Australia

The Children’s Literature Centre at Frostburg State University Presents Storybook Holiday~ Dec 4, Frostburg, MD, USA

Read Out Loud! Family Literacy & Book Festival~ Dec 4, New York, NY, USA

SCBWI Tokyo Illustrators Exhibition: Every Picture Tells a Story~ Dec 7 – 12, Tokyo, Japan

Exhibition of Finalists of the 3rd CJ Picture Book Award~ Dec 8 – 28, Seoul, Korea

Carle Museum Professional Development Workshop: Picturing Stories~ Dec 10, Amherst, MA, USA

BookFest@Singapore~ Dec 10 – 19, Singapore

The Best of the Best in 2010 with Susan Bloom~ Dec 11, Amherst, MA, USA

Chapter & Verse’s (A Book Club for Adults Discussing Children’s Lit) Mock Newbery and Caldecott Discussions~ Dec 11, USA

The Art Institute of Chicago Exhibit: Real and Imaginary: Three Latin American Artists – Raúl Colón, David Diaz and Yuyi Morales~ Dec 11 – May 29, Chicago, IL, USA

Talking About Words and Pictures with Tony DiTerlizzi~ Dec 12, Amherst, MA, USA

Partners in Wonder: Selections from the Collection of Jane Yolen~ Dec 14 – May 1, Amherst, MA, USA

Coming of Age Around the World Book Discussion Group: Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins~ Dec 16, Watertown, MA, USA

Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books Exhibit: Winter Fun!~ Dec 18 – Mar 5, Toronto, ON, Canada

Kuala Lumpur Children’s Book Fair~ Dec 22 – 26, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Sandhya’s blog, while not specifically about YA books, is chock-full of interesting and well-written content, such as this interview with Shenaaz Nanji about Child of Dandelions.

Here’s a little bit about the book, to peak your interest in Shenaaz, who grew up in Mombasa (during a time when Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika were one region called the East African Community), and the interview:

The story takes place in Uganda in 1972, when General Idi Amin, responding to the Indophobic social climate in the country and accusing the Indian minority of “milking” the Ugandan economy, gave all its 80,000 Indians 90 days to pack up and leave. Child of Dandelions is told from the point of view of fifteen-year-old Sabine, a Uganda-born Indian who must grow up quickly to try to make sense of the violence and upheaval around her. This wonderful and important book will help readers learn about the events that lead Ugandans of Indian heritage to flee their country. Now if only history could stop repeating itself…

A thousand thanks to Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Ma and to my publisher Charlesbridge for hosting my Bamboo People book launch party. I always get nervous, so I greatly appreciated everybody who came and sent notes of encouragement from near and far. I’ve posted a few videos below, and here are some recaps from others who attended:
Charlesbridge, Walk the Ridgepole, Not Just For Kids, Britt Leigh’s Brain on Books, and The Papa Post

Arrived to find this gorgeous bamboo plant sent from Portland, Maine by Curious City‘s Kirsten Cappy, Jamie Hogan (who illustrated my book Rickshaw Girl), Annie Sibley O’ Brien (After Gandhi), and King middle school librarian Kelley McDaniel. Thank you so much, ladies, for your love and support!

I loved watching people mingle and meet.

My buddy Deb Sloan is one of the best book cheerleaders on the planet.

Authors who write for adults don’t get love like this.

Porter Square bookseller Nathan exuded hospitality. Thank you! I’m holding the bamboo bookmark giveaways I picked up a couple of weeks ago at the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar.

Introducing the book

Reading an excerpt of BAMBOO PEOPLE