Cindy Pon and Malinda Lo have paired up to form a new site—and multicultural book tour! And since it’s February, they’ve invited Doret (from The Happy Nappy Bookseller) to write a guest post for Black History Month. Here’s some of what Doret had to say:
I think it’s essential not only to read books with Black characters, but to seek out Black authors as well. Writing is a very powerful art and form of expression. To read novels written primarily by outsiders is to disregard the voices of a whole people. Yes, there are a lot of great YA novels written by outsiders, and I’ve reviewed many, though books written from an outsider’s perspective would never and should never replace authentic voices.
Doret’s got great recommendations for further reading, so check it out. Another list of books for Black History month was posted on the YALSA site—the point is to “shake things up” in February instead of falling back on the same old titles. You know I’m not keen on the various heritage months because these topics and titles have value ALL YEAR ROUND. So don’t feel like you have to cram twenty titles into one month—spread it out, take your time, savor these books, and spread the word…
The other day, I was just thinking about finally reading Johnson’s Incognegro.