Visions: Dorina and Kristi at the APALA Award Banquet

By
Renee Ting
on July 8, 2010 3:45 PM | | Comments (0)
As part of the American Library Association's conference, the Asian/Pacific American Librarian's Association held their annual banquet and award dinner on June 27. This year, Dorina Lazo Gilmore and Kristi Valiant were honored for their book, Cora Cooks Pancit. Here they are, meeting for the first time at the dinner!

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What's Going On with Renee?

By
Renee Ting
on May 24, 2010 4:26 PM | | Comments (6)
Some of you might have noticed my absence from the blog and other social media since February. Especially the Multicultural Minutes-- I haven't been working on those in many months. I do apologize for dropping off the face of the internet. In the last week or two, I've been finding my way back. I'm a bit of a private person, so I apologize also for taking so long to write about what's going on with me.

What happened to me? I got pregnant!

Getting pregnant has been a wonderful and exciting milestone, but it was accompanied by more than three solid months of feeling absolutely terrible. Apparently, I'm one of the minority who get awful "morning" sickness not only all the time, but for an extended period after the first trimester. I was barely able to turn my computer on some days, not to mention recording and editing any sort of videos.

I am beginning to feel much better, thank goodness. Work-wise, I'm focusing on getting orders filled and making sure our spring book, Maneki Neko, is as perfect as possible and at the printers. I hope to resume the Multicultural Minute videos soon, but we'll have to see how my health goes. The next time you see me, I'll be sporting a big belly, which I might just have to hide below the camera frame!

Thanks for your patience and understanding. More multicultural goodness will be forthcoming soon!

A Glimpse Inside

By
Renee Ting
on May 19, 2010 2:16 PM | | Comments (1)
Proofs have been approved, and Maneki Neko is off to print. Want a peek at what's in store? Here are two interior spreads from the book. For those who have pre-ordered, I'm hoping you'll have your books by the end of the month. Fingers crossed.

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June 26, 2010: Susan Lendroth Signing at Sierra Madre Books

By
Renee Ting
on June 26, 2010 1:57 PM | | Comments (0)
It's the first signing for the release of Maneki Neko: The Tale of the Beckoning Cat! Author Susan Lendroth will be at Sierra Madre Books in Sierra Madre, CA (in the greater Los Angeles area) on June 26, 2010. She'll be there from 11:00am until 12:30pm. See you there!

Author Susan Lendroth Signing
Saturday, June 26, 2010
11 am - 12:30 pm
Sierra Madre Books
52 West Sierra Madre Boulevard
Sierra Madre, CA 91024-2434
(626) 836-3200

ForeWord Magazine 2009 Book of the Year Finalist

By
Renee Ting
on May 10, 2010 2:31 PM | | Comments (0)
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Congratulations to Chinese History Stories Volume 1: Stories from the Zhou Dynasty! It has been selected as a finalist for the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award in the juvenile non-fiction category. Here is the full list of finalists:

BOTYA 2009 Finalists in Juvenile Nonfiction Category


CCBC Choices 2010

By
Renee Ting
on May 10, 2010 2:24 PM | | Comments (0)
ccbc.jpgMore good news for Cora Cooks Pancit: The Cooperative Children's Book Center of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has chosen Cora for its list of top children's book picks for 2010!

The 2010 edition of CCBC Choices features annotated entries for 235 books for children and young adults published in 2009 and recommended by the CCBC staff. CCBC Choices 2010 includes author/title and subject indexes. CCBC Choices 2010 also includes an essay about the 2009 publishing year.

CCBC Choices is created annually by the librarians of the Cooperative Children's Book Center and published by the Friends of the CCBC, Inc.

To request a copy be sent by U.S.mail:

Wisconsin residents: send $3.00 (to cover postage and handling) OR a self-addressed manila envelope with $2.75 postage to:
CCBC Choices
600 N. Park Street, Room 4290
Madison, WI 53706

Outside Wisconsin: Send $10 to:
CCBC Choices
Friends of the CCBC, Inc.
P.O. Box 5189
Madison, WI 53705

2010 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature

By
Renee Ting
on May 10, 2010 2:10 PM | | Comments (0)
apala.jpgEvery year, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) gives awards to the best literature released the previous year. The awards "promote Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage, based on literary and artistic merit."

We are pleased to announce that Cora Cook Pancit, by Dorina Lazo Gilmore and illustrated by Kristi Valiant, has won the 2010 Award for Literature! Past winners in the picture book category have included Ed Young and Linda Sue Park, so we are very honored to be in such good company.

In addition, the honorable mention picture book this year was Tan to Tamarind, which was written by our very own Malathi Michelle Iyengar, author of Romina's Rangoli.

Author Authenticity and the Right to Write

By
Renee Ting
on February 12, 2010 10:47 AM | | Comments (2)
In this week's Multicultural Minute video, author Beverly Patt mentions that the authenticity of an author's voice was a "very controversial subject at the time [of writing her book]." At the time! That's funny, since it's one of the most controversial subjects of ALL time. And it's one of the issues that fascinates me most. Who should have the right to tell a story? Can people outside of a group write authentically about members of the group?

I asked these and similar questions to authors I met at the Kindling Words conference and noticed that a number of authors had decided, after struggling with this question, to write their book from a Caucasian character's point of view. Even if the story and theme were about the other group, they created a character who filtered the story through their own Caucasian experience.

There were a few reasons for this, but the biggest was that the authors were afraid of receiving criticism for co-opting a story from a group they did not belong to. And while it's true that some outspoken individuals believe that no one can represent a group they don't have firsthand knowledge of, they underestimate the power of imaginative empathy and the mighty strength of good research.

And they also seem to forget a most important point: no one is asking the author to represent an entire group of people. We are asking them to present one person's story. Almost because there is so little available about some people, we expect every story to be THE representative story and not just A story.

Unfortunately, this fear of criticism, coupled with a disproportionately large percentage of white published authors, results in a publishing landscape where too many people of color are relegated to secondary-character roles.

So. As you may know, I do not agree that any one group of people has more of a right to tell a story than another. I do not believe in looking at the author's name before judging the quality of a book (and even if I did, what would that tell me, in this day and age?). I urge authors to write on whatever subjects most move you, and from the point of view that most moves you. Don't be cowed by the small-minded and exclusionary among us. When they twitter and post diatribes on the blogs, don't worry. We of the broad mind and love of the good story will be here to cover your back.

The Multicultural Minute #22: Beverly Patt

By
Renee Ting
on February 11, 2010 2:10 PM | | Comments (1)
This week's special guest is author Beverly Patt. She has book coming out in April called Best Friends Forever: A World War II Scrapbook. I ask her how she handled being an "outsider" and writing about the Japanese experience.



For more information about Beverly Patt, visit her website.

Books by Beverly Patt:
Haven
Best Friends Forever: A World War II Scrapbook

The Multicultural Minute #21: Christine Taylor-Butler

By
Renee Ting
on February 4, 2010 11:26 AM | | Comments (2)
Last weekend, I attended the Kindling Words conference, which was an amazing weekend spent with distinguished children's book authors, illustrators, and editors. Not only did I learn a lot about the publishing trade, but I got to meet a whole slew of great people, and I got to talk to a bunch of them about multicultural books. Even better, the issue of multiculturalism in children's literature came up on the last day, and we had an insightful and productive discussion about how we can make the future of children's books more multicultural. This discussion was led by author Christine Taylor-Butler, who I caught afterward to ask the question: What is your one wish for the future of multicultural children's books?



More about Christine Taylor-Butler:
Christine's web site
Christine on Twitter

Christine Taylor-Butler is the author of more than 40 children's books, including:
Sacred Mountain Everest
No Boys Allowed
A Mom Like No Other
Thurgood Marshall
Booker T. Washington
A Home in the Rainforest
Earth
(see all of Christine's books here)
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Blog Contributors

Renee Ting is the President and Publisher of Shen's Books. She is the author of The Prince's Diary and the blog, Renee's Book of the Day.

Emily Jiang is a writer of children's and YA literature. She also blogs at TLeaf Readings.

Shen’s Books is a publisher of multicultural children’s literature that emphasizes cultural diversity and tolerance, with a focus on introducing children to the cultures of Asia.

Through books, we can share a world a stories, building greater understanding and tolerance within our increasingly diverse communities as well as throughout our continuously shrinking globe.

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