The Sunday Salon - Diversify Your Reading Challenge

Coretta Scott King 2011
Cindy Pon and Malinda Lo have issued a challenge on their wonderful site, Diversity in YA.  They challenge readers/librarians/bloggers to diversify their reading by incorporating more books by and/or about people of color or books by and/or about LGBT into their reading lives. 

I spend a lot of time reading about other cultures (looking through the window of literature) and want to spend more time reading young adult and middle grade literature that feature my own culture (looking in the mirror).


John Steptoe 2011There are many awards for literature out there but the major players for books intended for youths come from the American Library Association (ALA). The two I'm most familiar with are the Newbery Award given to outstanding American literature intended for children ages birth - 14 and the Printz Award given to outstanding literature intended for young adults aged 12 - 18.

These two awards have many "Mock" blogs  and Goodreads groups where people try to discern the next winner before the committees make their announcements. I've participated in both Mock Printz and Mock Newbery clubs over the past years.

What does this have to do with Diversity in YA you say?

Did you know that the ALA also administers two major book awards for African-American literature for youth? The Coretta Scott King (CSK) Award is given for outstanding depiction of the 'black experience' by African-American authors and illustrators while The John Steptoe (JS) Award for New Talent, sponsored by the CSK committee, is given for outstanding first works by African-American authors and illustrators

I have found only two blogs that focus on the "Mock" Coretta Scott King Award:
Allen County Public Library Mock Coretta Scott King Award - does both Author and Illustrator awards
Black Threads in Kid's Lit - does more than the Mock CSK author and illustrator

I've decided that I will start blogging the Mock Coretta Scott King author award and the Mock John Steptoe Award for New Talent author award. This will be my official focus starting in January 2012.

In the meantime, I will read and review the past 5 years, 2007 -2011, of author and honor books for both awards.  Then I will write about my thoughts for the Diversify Your Reading Challenge. I will also include a page at the top for the books I will be reading for both this challenge and, eventually, the Mock CSK and JS.

Tweet