Authors & Illustrators
I’m fond of reminding people that Greek mythology isn’t a compendium of dead narratives about long-dead people and distant places, pulled from a dusty old book or scroll. What we now call Greek mythology is what remains of a past culture’s most sacred beliefs — a collection of living stories,...
In order to create compelling narratives without ever making anything up, authors of long-form narrative nonfiction employ such elements as setting, character, and plot development; specificity of detail; and dialogue, forming an intimate connection between research and craft. Book design is not generally in our purview (for a variety of...
"I like to say things with my voice, and with my jaranita." A screenshot from Morales's presentation of the Zena Sutherland Lecture. Image courtesy of Yuyi Morales. My voice, like the voice of most everybody, is made of many different ways of saying things. I like to say things with...
Is there a specific point in a person’s life when they go from mentee to mentor? At what stage does someone become the elder statesperson? It seems to follow that age-old adage that to become an overnight success, you just need to spend years and years working away at it....
From time to time, I do consider writing nonfiction for young readers. I think about the people, places, and events that highlight the Black experience in the United States. And I think of the skill, wisdom, and knowledge it takes to find the right stories, the necessary stories to construct...
"Book Friends Forever": Alvina and Grace as kids (left) and as roommates (right). Photos courtesy of Alvina Ling. In Grace Lin’s first novel, the semiautobiographical The Year of the Dog, Pacy first meets the new girl, Melody, in the school cafeteria after the lunch lady confuses them (they’re the only...
Chin family snapshots. At left, Michael (with headphones) and Jason; at right, the brothers with their father, Raymond. Photos: Mary Chin. When my brother was in high school, he had a plan. He would call up legendary illustrator and Caldecott Medal winner Trina Schart Hyman to see if she would...
This has been a notorious year of attempts to ban children’s books by authors of color. But 2022 is also the year that Donna Barba Higuera’s middle-grade novel The Last Cuentista won the Newbery Medal. Celebrating a novel that explores stories as a human imperative is the perfect counterpoint to...
When I thought about what I wanted to say on this auspicious occasion, I knew where I wanted to begin, and where I wanted to end. I open with lines from Psalm 16:5-6. I thought about using a contemporary translation, but I prefer the poetry of the original — no...
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