Last Sunday, I moderated a panel at the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Fall Tradeshow. Titled “What’s Next: Children’s/YA Books to Celebrate Diversity and Empathy,” it included Fall and Spring Season previews of new releases that had me longing to drop my microphone and sprint to Powell’s Books.
I wanted to share with you some of the titles I’m most excited about, which were brought to my attention by lovely booksellers Madeline Shier from Powell’s and Sarah Hutton, who co-owns Village Books and Paper Dreams in Washington.
First, I’m delighted to learn about The Proudest Blue, a picture book about a girl who watches her older sister attend school in a beautiful blue hijab. It’s co-written by fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first woman to wear a hijab in Olympic competition. This book’s going to go a long way in helping to mitigate anti-Muslim sentiment, giving young readers insight into why a girl might choose to wear a hijab as a symbol of pride and celebration of spirituality.
I’m thrilled to know about Jamie Sumner’s new Roll with It, a middle-grade novel about a girl determined to become a professional baker–a girl who just happens to use a wheelchair. I love that the focus of this novel isn’t on the wheelchair–it’s on the protagonist’s dreams of becoming a professional chef. What a gift to young readers who use wheelchairs, and to their friends and classmates and peers.
My daughter, in seventh grade, has numerous trans friends where we live in Oregon, and so I’m particularly thrilled to get my hands on Lisa Bunker’s Zenobia July. The protagonist is a trans girl who uses her abilities in coding and hacking to discover who’s been posting bigoted memes on her new school’s website. My co-panelists mentioned several other novels featuring trans and non-binary protagonists, as well. I can think of several tweens and teens in my hometown (and their friends and teachers and parents) who will be grateful.
Finally, a funny anecdote from the Q&A section. An attendee spoke about how his bookstore is in a community mostly made up of white people, and he has trouble selling diverse books to parents who say, “I don’t think my kid could relate to that protagonist.”
One of the attendees, another bookseller, countered by noting that when parents say this to her, she responds, “Oh. Is your kid a wizard?”
Meaning, of course, that kids relate to a good story–regardless of what the protagonist looks like (and what kind of broom they fly).
My co-panelists yesterday suggested dozens more titles, as well–books I hope will find their way into the hands of both kids and adults. If you’d like the entire list of fiction and nonfiction they recommended, please feel free to email me.
Want to give a shout-out to your own favorite new children’s and young adult releases? Feel free to comment below!
Writing with Hart 