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'Where's the African-American Harry Potter or the Mexican Katniss?'By Ashley Strickland, CNNUpdated 7:04 PM ET, Wed July 2, 2014

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'Where's the African-American Harry Potter or the Mexican Katniss?'By Ashley Strickland, CNNUpdated 7:04 PM ET, Wed July 2, 2014

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http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/09/living/young-adult-books-diversity-identity/?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly&utm_campaign=51f99a67dc-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0bb2959cbb-51f99a67dc-304500089

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Matt de la Peña wasn't a reader, until the words finally spoke directly to him.

It wasn't until college that de la Peña read an entire novel, "The Color Purple."

At first, he didn't like it. But by the time he finished, he was on the verge of tears. That story, and others, became his gateway to literature, while spoken-word poetry was his gateway to writing.

"'Drown' by Junot Diaz was the first book that made me think I might be able to make writing my livelihood," de la Peña said. "And I thought, 'Wait, people publish the kind of stories I write?' That novel made me feel like publishing was a possibility. And then I started digging in on the hard work."

Finding himself on the page -- and characters he could relate to -- made him who he is today. He's now a creative writing teacher and award-winning author of "Ball Don't Lie," "Mexican White Boy" And "The Living." He writes his experiences, usually with stories starring Mexican-American characters.

"Where's the African-American Harry Potter or the Mexican Katniss?" de la Peña asked. "That would change the game."

According to the Cooperative Children's Book Center, fewer children's books were written by Latinos or African-Americans in 2013 than in previous years. Numbers increased slightly for American Indians and Asian-Americans.

There were also more books written about Latinos and American Indians, but fewer about African-Americans and Asian-Americans.

This concerns some in the industry, as American youth become more diverse. Young people from ages 10 to 18 represent 13.6% of the U.S. population, according to the 2012 Census. More than 16% are African-American, 12.2% are Asian-American and 17.7% are Hispanic.

Teens "are hungry for good literature and it hurts me because we're not offering them enough of what they need," said Sharon Draper, author of award-winning books like "November Blues" and "Copper Sun."

In 2014, the movement to publish more authors of color and write multicultural main characters remains slow and incremental.

This is not a new discussion: There has long been criticism about the lack of diversity in young adult literature, books written for readers ages 12 to 18. Experts and authors like Walter Dean Myers point back as early as 1965, when educator Nancy Larrick stirred the conversation with an article entitled " The All-White World of Children's Books."

Myers recently wrote about the topic in The New York Times:

"As I discovered who I was, a black teenager in a white-dominated world, I saw that these characters, these lives, were not mine," he wrote. "What I wanted, needed really, was to become an integral and valued part of the mosaic that I saw around me."

Even though young adult literature is enjoying a golden age and authors are working to diversify their stories, lead characters of color or characters who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender are still slow to appear in popular mainstream young adult fiction.

Without these characters, the landscape of young adult literature isn't reflective of our society, author Sherman Alexie said. He's one of many authors, teachers, librarians, publishers and editors have ideas of how to transform this persistent negative with positive changes.

Cindy Pon and Malinda Lo discovered each other when they published their Chinese young adult fantasy stories.

What began as a book tour grew into a website, Diversity in YA, where they emphasize that books featuring diverse characters are for everyone -- not just people who relate directly to the characters.

"Readers look at our books and if they aren't into Asian culture, they think it's not for them," author Cindy Pon said, "Our books are for everyone. It's not just about identity."

After realizing his other books spoke strongly to the Mexican-American identity angle, de la Peña decided to write a story with more mass appeal, "The Living." He's currently writing a sequel.

"There is an evolution within our own work," he said. "When you are writing with race as one of the elements of the story, early on, you write about race. As you do more work, the race becomes part of the story and not the story. I think that will be the biggest boost for multicultural literature.

"But on the flip side, I get worried about people who just make the character black on the outside, but not on the inside."

Sherman Alexie's book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" is a National Book Award winner that was hailed as one of the best reads for young people in 2007. It's also one of the books most often challenged or banned in schools and libraries.

With young adult fiction, "you can make real significant social change," Alexie said. "There is a political, social meaning and everything I believe about the way the world should be has been reflected in the way that my book has been treated, appealed to and offended people."

Currently, there are more than 500 federally recognized tribes of Native Americans in America, according to the National Congress of American Indians.

But in young adult fiction, they are often misrepresented as romanticized "mystical Indians" and they don't reflect the experience of Native kids growing up on the reservation, said Debbie Reese, founder of American Indians in Children's Literature.

Authors such as Alexie, Eric Gansworth, Cynthia Leitich Smith and Debby Dahl Edwardson are working to fight stereotypes that American Indians can only be present in "buckskin and beads" by writing the real experience the Native American teens have on the reservation.

"I'm not this tragic figure from the past," said Gansworth, author of "If I Ever Get Out of Here."

Sites such as Diversity in YA encourage all writers to diversify their book characters; after all, not every book including multicultural characters comes from an author of color. But for any writer deviating from his or her own experience, it requires extensive research and cultural immersion to avoid stereotypes or misconceptions.

Still, some authors feel that the publishing industry is reluctant to take risks by marketing books that don't mimic previous successes.

Cheryl Klein, executive editor of Arthur A. Levine Books, said publishers don't see "enormous numbers" of books from writers of color, and publishers turn down 97% of manuscripts they receive, regardless of the topic.

Klein, co-founder of the Children's Book Council Diversity Committee -- a group of editors passionate about publishing books that reach and reflect the demographics of their readers -- said there's room for improvement.

"We want to keep hearing more and more voices," she said. "It's important to have advocates at every stage, from editing to marketing, from librarians to authors, so it's an industry-wide effort."

Authors like Alexie and Walter Dean Myers see the growth of small press publishers of color as one way to expand multicultural representation in young adult fiction.

"We see it time and time again: Innovation comes from the small press world," Alexie said.

At the National Council of Teachers of English convention in late 2013, Myers spoke about his dream of subsidizing publishers. His vision? Teaming up with a university press to host a yearly contest for people of color who write young adult fiction.

The exposure to editors and publishers would benefit talented writers who otherwise have a difficult time being seen.

"Hypothetically, here are five finalists who would be exposed to all aspects of the publishing community whose voices might never be heard otherwise," Myers said.

It could be the beginning of real change in young adult fiction.

"Looking at these kids when I'm speaking, I think, 'This is the generation,' " de la Peña said. "They are going to write what they want and feature themselves."

What young adult books did you relate to as a teen? Share your thoughts in the comments, on Twitter @CNNLiving or on CNN Living's Facebook page!

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diversity in young adult literature: where's the 'mexican katniss'? - cnn

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Diversity in young adult literature: Where's the 'Mexican Katniss'? - CNN

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Matt de la Peña wasn't a reader, until the words finally spoke directly to him. It wasn't until college that de la Peña read an entire novel, "The Color Purple." At first, he didn't like it. But by the time he finished, he was on the verge of tears.

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‘Where ‘s the next African American Harry Potter or the Mexican Katniss

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https://www.perma-bound.com/static/TPR/000457675.Edu

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https://vimeo.com/10408078

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wQ8wiV3FVo&t=1s

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The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child's Bookshelf | Grace Lin | TEDxNatick

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http://walterdeanmyers.net

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https://timfederle.com

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http://somanchainani.net

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http://kwamealexander.com

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http://www.timtingle.com

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https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?aid=29917

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http://www.diversebooks.org/ourstory/

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After WNDB was formed in 2014, our team traveled across the country to conferences and book festivals where they heard a common theme - diverse books can be hard to find. That's why we created OurStory to help address this problem.

The OurStory app is a tool that highlights books with diverse content and by content creators from marginalized communities.

For more details about the OurStory app, contact Dhonielle Clayton:dhonielleclayton@wndb.local.

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After WNDB was formed in 2014, our team traveled across the country to conferences and book festivals where they heard a common theme - diverse books can be hard to find. That's why we created OurStory to help address this problem.

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http://mattdelapena.com

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Ideas for Two Column Responses

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http://kwamealexander.com

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A0v63UBxmchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A0v63UBxmc

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http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/books/detailListBooks.asp?idBookLists=253

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Below is a list of resources for educators and librarians to enrich their students' reading.

Please feel free to contact us at cbcdiversity@cbcbooks.org as you discover additional resources!
Book Lists and Bibliographies

We Publish Diverse Children's and YA Books, More than 40 Publishers Share Their 2016 Titles: A handout which details the diverse books presented by publishers during this ALA Annual session

African-American Culture Reading List: Discover titles by August House's African-American authors and illustrators.

Women's History Month Reading List: Books for and about strong women, written and illustrated by strong women - from August House.

101 Ways to Combat Prejudice (PDF): Barnes & Noble and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) first launched the Close the Book on Hate campaign in September 2000. They compiled this free informational pamphlet (PDF) to "break the cycle of hate through reading."

"Close the Book on Hate," Reading List (PDF): These works of fiction, non-fiction, photography, and poetry help to spark discussion surrounding diversity.

I'm Your Neighbor: A recommended reading list, sorted by country and culture of origin, of titles featuring recent refugees and immigrants.

Multicultural Books for Adults: A comprehensive list for educators about the how race, education, and multiculturalism come together. Compiled by the Bankstreet College of Education.

Multicultural Books for Younger Children: A list of picture books that promote diversity and multiculturalism compiled by the Bankstreet College of Education.

Multicultural Books for Older Children: A list of middle-grade books that promote diversity and multiculturalism compiled by the Bankstreet College of Education.

Top Black History Books for Youth: Every year the editors of Booklist highlight the top books of the year that "offer unique ways of presenting the African American experience, then and now."

Library Book List: An amazing array of titles for children and young adults, organized by such topics as Ethnicity & Race, Religion, Gender, Sexuality and Disability.

Multicultural Children's Literature: An annotated bibliography of children's multicultural books maintained by Dr. Robert F. Smith, Professor Emeritus, Towson University, Towson, MD.

Great Gay Teen Books: Young adult author Alex Sanchez has compiled a book list of LGBTQ books.

Lesson Plans and Discussion Guides Nonprofit Organizations with Book Resources

ALA's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT): Perhaps the number one resource for librarians seeking information about LGBT books and authors.

Asian American Writers Workshop: The preeminent literary arts organization dedicated to exceptional Asian American writing.

PacificRim Voices: PRV aims to encourage and promote greater understanding of and among the peoples and nations of the Pacific Rim and South Asia.

Paper Tigers: PaperTigers.org, part of Pacific Rim Voices, celebrates literary voices from and about the Pacific Rim and South Asia.

We Need Diverse Books: A grassroots organization created to address the lack of diverse, non-majority narratives in children's literature.

Lambda Literary Foundation: The Lambda Literary Foundation nurtures, celebrates, and preserves LGBT literature through programs that honor excellence, promote visibility and encourage development of emerging writers.

Great Articles about Multicultural Book Topics Publications and Blogs

AALBC: The African American Literature Book Club is the largest and most frequently visited web site dedicated to books and film by and about people of African descent.

American Indians in Children's Literature: Established in 2006, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical perspectives and analysis of indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books, the school curriculum, popular culture, and society.

Reading in Color: A book blog that reviews YA and middle-grade books about people of color.

The Brown Bookshelf: An online community devoted to promoting young adult fiction by African-American authors and illustrators.

Color Online Blog: Founded in 2005, the Color Online blog focuses on female writers of color.

Diversity in YA: Founded by YA authors Malinda Lo and Cindy Pon, this blog celebrates diverse stories.

The Happy Nappy Bookseller: The blog includes book reviews for middle grade, young adult, and picture books.

The Latina Book Club: Spearheaded by Maria Ferrer, The Latina Book Club's goal is to promote Latino authors and literacy by reading at least one Latino book a month. The blog features interviews, guest blogs, reviews, and other useful links.

Paper Tigers Blog: News and views on multicultural children's and YA books, and literacy issues from around the world.

La Bloga: A blog dedicated to Latino and Hispanic literature for both grown-ups and not so grown-ups.

I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read: Lee Wind's blog is a forum for teens to discuss their favorite LGBT YA titles.

Awards and Prizes

Américas Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature: Given in recognition of U.S. works of fiction, poetry, folklore, or selected non-fiction (from picture books to works for young adults) published in the previous year in English or Spanish that authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States. The award is sponsored by the national Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP).

American Indian Youth Literature Award: Established as a way to identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians. Books selected to receive the award will present American Indians in the fullness of their humanity in the present and past contexts. The award is sponsored by the American Indian Library Association.

Asian/Pacific American Literature Award (APALA): The goal of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature is to honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit.

Christopher Awards (Religious Affiliation): First presented in 1949, the Christopher Awards were established by Christopher founder Father James Keller to salute media that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit." Their goal is to encourage men, women and children to pursue excellence in creative arenas that have the potential to influence a mass audience positively.

Coretta Scott King Book Awards: Given to African American authors and illustrators for outstanding inspirational and educational contributions, the Coretta Scott King Book Award titles promote understanding and appreciation of the culture of all peoples and their contribution to the realization of the American dream of a pluralistic society.

ALA - EMIERT Multicultural Awards: EMIERT offers two awards to encourage and recognize multiculturalism in libraries and the library profession.

Lambda Literary Award: Given every year (since 1992) to the best Children's and Young Adult Literature. Previous winners include Jacqueline Woodson, Nancy Garden, and Kevin Jennings and David Levithan.

New Voices Award: Publisher Lee & Low Books sponsors this award for a children's picture book manuscript by a writer of color.

Pura Belpré Medal: Named after the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library, the Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, honors a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

Stonewall Book Awards: The first and most enduring award for GLBT books, sponsored by the American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table.

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Style Hatch - http://stylehatch.co | @stylehatch

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Below is a list of resources for educators and librarians to enrich their students' reading. Please feel free to contact us at cbcdiversity@cbcbooks.org as you discover additional resources!

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http://storyaday.org

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Writer's Magazine