Karen Sandler

Category: Books

  • #WeNeedDiverseBooks: A World of Change in Just One Year

    WNDB_Button TMJust wanted to share this history of We Need Diverse Books that I wrote for the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. It was fun to look back and see how far we’ve come. From a hashtag to a movement to a non-profit working hard for inclusiveness in children’s literature.

    http://www.clcd.com/blog/?p=432#more-432

  • Just Another Day in Paradise

    Maxx Trail2Yesterday we had the kind of weather California is famous for. Gorgeous. So what could be lovelier than a trail ride soaking up all that wonderful sun?

    Yeah, I know, those of you still shivering in the clutches of winter are probably scowling at me. And some of you might be saying, “What? She has a horse? Some people have all the luck.”

    Yes, I’m majorly lucky. That little guy I’m riding is Maxx (two X’s since he’s extra special), my new Morgan gelding. Adorable to the…max. And super-fab as a trail horse.

    Fiona HeadThat round, beige thing at the bottom of the picture, by the way, is Fiona’s butt. Fiona is a Haflinger. She belongs to the friend who went with me on the trail ride. Here’s Fiona’s other end.

    Yes, I feel blessed. By the beautiful day, by the cute little Morgan I’m riding, by the chance to ride out on the trail with a friend.

    I hope you’ve got some blessings to count too.

  • Taxes, Books Read, & Diversity

    3 CoversI’m having a grand old time getting my taxes organized…perhaps not. But in the course of said organization, I made a tally of books read in 2014. The bulk of what I’ve read were ebooks purchased from our Beloved Overlord, er, Amazon, and since they send an email for each book purchased, it’s easy to count them up.

    Print books I purchased at either my local Barnes & Noble (the only big-box bookstore still in my area), my local IBS* (we have a few very nice ones) and my local UBS* (again, a couple great ones) are harder to track. I’d have to (a) remember that I read it or (b) stumble across it on one of my myriad bookcases. Much trickier. Also, there are a not insignificant number of picture books I bought for my granddaughter. I include a couple below, but can’t recall all of them.

    So I won’t claim this is a complete list of the books I read. I have eliminated those I bought and started, but did not like well enough to finish. First the Amazon list:

    12 Years a Slave
    Sand Omnibus
    The Rosie Project
    Odyssey
    Hercule Poirot & the Greenshore Folly
    Pines
    Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
    Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities
    Typhoid Mary
    The First Phone Call from Heaven
    A Monster Calls
    Prophecy
    Fake ID
    Blue Boy
    The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf
    Openly Straight
    The Living
    Boy Meets Boy
    The School for Good & Evil
    The Great Greene Heist
    The Summer Prince
    Magic Under Glass
    The Miseducation of Cameron Post
    The Chaos
    The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Things
    The Only Thing to Fear
    Charm & Strange
    Underneath
    Hollow City
    Ship of Souls
    Cryoburn

    And the print books purchased from brick and mortar stores or other venues:

    Fat Angie
    Ball Don’t Lie
    Yacqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass
    The Beast
    Brown Girl Dreaming
    Each Kindness
    The Other Side
    Dragonwings
    The Star Fisher
    Prodigy
    Shadow Hero (addition)
    El Deafo (addition)

    I’m pleased to note that of the 41 43 I could account for, 31 33 were books either by diverse authors and/or featured diverse main characters. Apologies for not including author names–I have a new resolution to make my blog posts quicker and simpler. If you can’t figure out the author, ask me in the comments.

    So for those who might be thinking diverse books are hard to find, do the math here. A full 75% of my reading material this year (possibly more since there might be a few I haven’t accounted for) is diverse. And there are many more I’m eagerly looking forward to reading, both new, and classics.

    Happy reading to all in 2015.

    *IBS – Independent Book Store, such as my local fave, Face in a Book.

    *USB – Used Book Store, such as my local faves, The Almost Perfect Bookstore and The Bookery.

  • #LA14SCBWI: Schmooze, Learn, Get Inspired

    DSC01353
    The view from my room at the Century Plaza #LA12SCBWI.

    I’m really looking forward to my upcoming trip to SCBWI-LA, the annual summer conference of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. My flight down to LA is at a much less ungodly time than my usual trips–it leaves at a very civilized 10:15am.

    Besides all the fun and inspiration of attending panels and keynotes and seeing author friends I only see at conferences, I’ll be seeing a couple of l*o*n*g time non-writer friends. We’re talking one friend I went to kindergarten with and another friend I met in college (which believe me, was a long time ago). I think my college friend and I haven’t seen each other for close to 30 years. I’m also going to be meeting up with a brand-shiny-new friend I met by chance at Burbank airport.

    diverse-logo-sI’m also thrilled to be participating in a We Need Diverse Books™ poolside chat on Saturday (more info here). This will be my first time taking part in an “official” WNDB event, so it’s pretty cool.

    Anyone else going to LA? Or any other conferences you’re looking forward to this year? There are so many great ones. Which are your favorites?

     

  • Adventures at the ALA #alaac14

    Me and StacyThis was my first trip to the American Library Association’s annual conference and it was a whirlwind tour for me. I arrived in Las Vegas around lunchtime on Friday, then headed back to the airport around dinnertime on Saturday.

    In between I packed an inhumanly large number of activities. After communing with a couple slot machines, I scoped out the convention floor, then had dinner with my editor, Stacy Whitman (@stacylwhitman), publisher of Lee and Low’s Tu Books. Librarian Nina Lindsay and fellow author Valynne Maetani (@valynnemaetani) joined us.

    On the way to the restaurant, I noticed an odd thing about Las Vegas (okay, there are a lot of odd things about Las Vegas)–all the faux architecture around town. Like the imitation Arc de Triomphe outside the Paris hotel and the fake Eiffel Tower. It’s like Disneyland for adults. A never-ending costume party as well with some very interesting apparel choices.

    Saturday morning, I met with representatives from two of ALA’s ethnic caucuses–Heather Devine from AILA and Eugenia Beh (@ebeh) from APALA. We discussed ways they could get involved in the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign, and how WNDB can utilize the ALA caucuses as a resource. Sadly, we didn’t think to take a selfie of the three of us. 🙁

    Me and Don TateAfter a cruise of the convention floor, I returned to the Lee and Low booth to meet fellow Lee and Low author and new WNDB team member, Don Tate (@Devas_T), who was signing at the Lee and Low booth. Seems I can’t quite keep my eyes open when I get my picture taken. I got a copy of Don’s book IT JES’ HAPPENED which will probably end up with my older granddaughter once I’ve read it a few times and had a chance to enjoy its beautiful illustrations.

    Me and Meg Medina

     

    After visiting with Don, I stopped at Meg Medina’s signing (@Meg_Medina) to buy her book YAQUI DELGADO WANTS TO KICK YOUR ASS. I later crashed Matt de la Pena’s signing, stopping to introduce myself. He was very nice about my interruption. Also, Stacy introduced me to Jacqueline Woodson and between her and Matt, I was pretty starstruck.

    Eriq La Salle I timed my return from lunch perfectly. Not just because I had a 2pm signing of the Tankborn Trilogy at the Lee and Low booth, but because Eriq La Salle (@EriqLaSalle23), the actor who played the prickly surgeon, Peter Benton, in ER, was just starting his signing. He’s writing a thriller series, self-publishing through Ingrams program. I managed to get a quick shot of him in passing.

    My own signing was great, giving me a chance to meet fans and talk to librarians about the Tankborn Trilogy. After my autographing session, I headed over to the Special Events section where the Oakland Library (@oaklibrary) was participating in a poster session. They’d put together a bunch of the beautiful #WeNeedDiverseBooks photos that they’d taken during the campaign.

    Me and Oakland Library CrewAs inspiring as it was seeing those photos come through tweet by tweet, it was amazing seeing them all together in one display. I also got a chance to meet the librarians responsible, Sharon McKellar (@sharon), Nina Lindsay, and Helen Bloch. They had sheets handy with “We Need Diverse Books” across the top for people to write their own response. Sharon took their pictures and insta-tweeted them on the spot.

    I headed back to the airport shortly after the poster session. Great conference. I’m looking forward to ALA 2015 in San Francisco. 🙂