Thursday, April 02, 2009

Let's Talk About Race....

The ever-eloquent Mitali Perkins has written Straight Talk on Race: Challenging the Stereotypes in Kids' Books (it's also in the print edition of this month's School Library Journal).

It's a great article, for writers, for readers, and for those who are the gate-keepers to books for children. One of the things that I like about Mitali's writing (both in this article and in her blog) is that she is both critical and constructive. Mitali does not just raise the question of race in books; she does so by giving us five specific questions to ask when reading (or writing) a book.

In addition to the comments to the article itself, more conversation takes place at Mitali's blog, here and here and here.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

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