This elegant young adult novel captures the immigrant experience for one Indian-American family with humor and heart. Told in alternating teen voices across three generations, You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture--for better or worse. From a grandmother worried that her children are losing their Indian identity to a daughter wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair to a granddaughter social-activist fighting to preserve Bengali tigers, award-winning author Mitali Perkins weaves together the threads of a family growing into an American identity. Here is a sweeping story of five women at once intimately relatable and yet entirely new.
Two Burmese boys, one a Karenni refugee and the other the son of an imprisoned Burmese doctor, meet in the jungle and in order to survive they must learn to trust each other.
With a focus on fostering democratic, equitable education for young people, Ginsberg and Glenn’s engaging text showcases a wide variety of innovative, critical classroom approaches that extend beyond traditional literary theories commonly used in K-12 and higher education classrooms and provides opportunities to explore young adult (YA) texts in new and essential ways. The chapters pair YA texts with critical practices and perspectives for culturally affirming and sustaining teaching and include resources, suggested titles, and classroom strategies. Following a consistent structure, each chapter provides foundational background on a key critical approach, applies the approach to a focal YA text, and connects the approach to classroom strategies designed to encourage students to think deeply and critically about texts, themselves, and the world. Offering a wealth of innovative pedagogical tools, this comprehensive volume offers opportunities for students and their teachers to explore key and emerging topics, including culture, (dis)ability, ethnicity, gender, immigration, race, sexual orientation, and social class.
This book offers 101 passive programming ideas that are extendable, adaptable, customizable, and above all, stealable-so your passive programming never runs dry. Passive programming is a cheap, quick, fun way to make all library customers feel like part of the community. It can support reading initiatives, foster family engagement, encourage visit frequency, and coax interaction out of library lurkers-while barely making a dent in your programming budget. Passive programming can be targeted at children, teens, adults, or seniors; used to augment existing programs; and executed in places where staff-led programming can't reach. It can be light-footed, spontaneous, and easily deployed to reflect and respond to current news, media, library events, and even the weather. But even passive programming pros run out of ideas sometimes, and when that happens, they want a fresh, funny source of inspiration.
The stories we read as children shape us for the rest of our lives. But it is never too late to discover that transformative spark of hope that children's classics can ignite within us. Award-winning children's author Mitali Perkins grew up steeped in stories--escaping into her books on the fire escape of a Flushing apartment building and, later, finding solace in them as she navigated between the cultures of her suburban California school and her Bengali heritage at home. Now Perkins invites us to explore the promise of seven timeless children's novels for adults living in uncertain times: stories that provide mirrors to our innermost selves and open windows to other worlds. Blending personal narrative, accessible literary criticism, and spiritual and moral formation, Perkins delves into novels by Louisa May Alcott, C. S. Lewis, L. M. Montgomery, Frances Hodgson Burnett, and other literary "uncles" and "aunts" that illuminate the virtuous, abundant life we still desire. These novels are not perfect, and Perkins honestly assesses their critical frailties and flaws related to race, culture, and power. Yet reading or rereading these books as adults can help us build virtue, unmask our vices, and restore our hope. Reconnecting with these stories from childhood isn't merely nostalgia. In an era of uncertainty and despair, they lighten our load and bring us much-needed hope.
Teen Genreflecting serves as a guide to contemporary teen fiction, encompassing every genre and format, including graphic novels, scrapbook-formatted books, verse novels, historical fiction, speculative fiction, contemporary realistic fiction, and more. Teen literature is one of the most popular and quickly growing segments of the publishing world. Not only are teens continuing to read for pleasure, but many adults have discovered the joys of teen literature. As part of the Genreflecting Advisory Series, Teen Genreflecting provides librarians with a road map to the vibrant and diverse body of literature focusing on recent fiction for teens, organizing and describing some 1,300 titles, most published within the past ten years, along with perennial classics. The authors indicate where each title fits in the genre scheme; its subject matter, format, and general reading level; and any pertinent awards. They also provide advice on readers' advisory services to teens, descriptions of genres and subgenres, and lists of favorites for each genre. As with previous editions, this guide will prove invaluable to librarians building their teen collections and will help them assist teens in finding the books they love, no matter what genre.
Growing up as an Indian American immigrant in white Southern culture, Prasanta Verma unpacks the exhausting effects of cultural isolation and marginalization as well as the longing to belong and the hope of finding safe friendships in community. Our places of exile can become places of belonging–to ourselves, to others, and to God.
Critically acclaimed, bestselling author and Newbery Honor-winner, Kirby Larson, and her daughter, debut author, Quinn Wyatt, pen this gorgeously moving and often funny story that explores what living with a chronic illness is like. Inspired by Quinn's own personal journey, Gut Reaction is full of heart and humor and highlights the importance of asking for help when it comes to mental and physical health alike. Tess Medina is still dealing with the loss of her father when she starts at a new school. One way she is still able to feel close to him is by doing what she does best: baking. He taught her everything she knows. But when tasting her creations causes a deep stabbing pain in her abdomen, she tries to power through and be strong in the same way she powers through her emotional pain. She doesn't mind too much--she's okay with sharing her baked goods at school in the hopes of making new friends. Lucky for Tess, her baking skills attract the right kind of attention, and she assembles a ragtag team to help her taste her new and classic creations in preparation for the Jubilee Flour Junior Baker West Coast competition. This is a chance to redeem herself and prove that she's a star baker. Above all, Tess is desperate to win first place and make her dad proud. But leading up to the competition, Tess's pain gets worse and worse, and, soon, she finds that she's avoiding so many foods that she's barely eating. When the physical pain becomes too great, Tess will be forced to confront everything she has been trying so desperately to hide. From Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson and her daughter, debut author Quinn Wyatt, comes a poignant, sometimes silly, and always moving story of coming to grips with grief and finding the sweet filling inside every treat. Praise for Gut Reaction by Kirby Larson and Quinn Wyatt: "Gut Reaction is a poignant, triumphant tale about living with chronic illness, overcoming loss, and reaffirming joy and self-love. Tess is funny, relatable, brave, and an awesome baker!" --Jewell Parker Rhodes, New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Boys. "A powerful story about living with a disease and not letting it define who you are."--Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Refugee and Two Degrees. "Kirby Larson and Quinn Wyatt have cooked up a rich, warm story about Crohn's Disease, courage, and cookies. The voice is heartfelt and authentic, leavened with humor and, oh my frog, delicious desserts. Gut Reaction is a wonderful book about important things, and I recommend it highly."--Karen Cushman, author of the Newbery Award-winning The Midwife's Apprentice. "A multi-layered, straight-from-the-heart story written with a light, deft touch,Gut Reaction will inspire readers to pursue their creative passions. I loved this touching, sweet, and engaging book!"--Barbara Dee, award-winning author of Unstuck. "Sweet and delicious! You will gobble up this book in one bite!"--Jennifer L. Holm, New York Times bestselling author of The Fourteenth Goldfish. "Gut Reaction is a much-needed and important book for everyone: those suffering with Crohn's disease, their family and friends who want to help them, and for all the rest who need to understand. Written with the voice of authenticity by a mother/daughter team who know firsthand the effects of this painful and often embarrassing disease. Toss in a handful of lovable and diverse characters and an edge-of-your-seat cooking competition and Gut Reaction is a recipe for success."--Barbara O'Connor, author of How To Steal A Dog and WISH. "I would have finished Gut Reaction in one swoop--but I didn't want it to end. I especially loved the baking connection, but the story's honesty, the humor and the friendships added so many layers. If the topic seems serious--and it is, the way Tess struggles to accept her illness will resonate with readers. Tess Medina is an inspiration. Her story will be one you'll remember long after that last page is turned."--Augusta Scattergood, author of Glory Be and The Way To Stay In Destiny. "Great British Baking Show meets Guts by Raina Telgemeier. Entertaining and informative. Really put me inside the mind of a level-headed fourteen-year-old forced to deal with one awkward and humiliating situation after another."--Gennifer Choldenko, Newbery Honor author of Al Capone Does My Shirts, and coauthor of Dogtown with Katherine Applegate.
If you're a writer or an illustrator for young readers and your goal is to get published, Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market 2020 is the resource you need.
