Searching For Our Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin is a Taiwanese-American, Los Angeles born, Harvard educated, undrafted NBA point guard who rose to unexpected stardom on the New York Knicks (he’s now a member of the Houston Rockets). A little over a year ago, in February 2012, Lin had a moment in history that transcended sports and race and became a worldwide phenomenon affectionately referred to as “Linsanity.” This meteoric rise is best encapsulated in the CBS “60 Minutes” special that recently aired. In a nutshell: Lin went from bench-warming obscurity to international sensation as he led the New York Knicks on a winning streak that defied all odds. In his 12 starts before the All-Star break, Lin averaged 22.5 points and 8.7 assists, and New York had a 9–3 record. Jeremy Lin is one of the few Asian Americans in NBA history, and the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA. 

Diversity in the News

April 4th - April 11th, 2013

CBC DIVERSITY/COMMITTEE MEMBERS IN THE NEWS 

• Matt de la Peña mentioned the CBC Diversity blog during his keynote at SLJ's Think Tank last Friday. Listen to the entire speech here.
• Four Latina bloggers band together to promote Latino literary talent to Latino readers and mainstream book publishers , via Latina Lista – mentions working with CBC Diversity!

ON OUR RADAR

• List: "Classic" young adult books by authors of color at Diversity in YA
• What Are “Diverse” Children’s Books? at Mamiverse
• My transgender novel is too personal to be propaganda by Cris Beam, author of I Am J (via The Guardian) -- “But literature, at its best, doesn’t live in this world of agendas and witch hunts, as tools for any side’s political purpose. Literature and its readers are in an alternate realm, and they’ll continue to meet in this quieter place.”
• A Different Light: On Identity at YALSA’s The Hub – reflects on the recent articles 
• “What Makes a Good YA Coming-Out Novel” (The Horn Book)
• “A New Way for Gay Characters in YA” (Atlantic Wire)
• The Holocaust: Rescue and Resistance | Focus On at School Library Journal – includes list of recommended reading
• “Are there any girl bears?”: Gender and the 21st Century Picture Book by Betsy Bird at Fuse 8

Diversity 101: The Trappings of Difference

Writing About Emotional and Developmental Disabilities 

Contributed to CBC Diversity by Lyn Miller-Lachmann 

My Personal Connection
I am honored and grateful to be invited to contribute to the Diversity 101 blog, but as a person with Asperger’s syndrome (a mild form of autism) who can discuss at great length a topic of special interest, I find the blog’s word limit especially challenging. Hence, I will focus on what is one of my biggest issues among those who write about emotional and developmental disabilities such as Asperger’s—the exaggeration of difference at the expense of the feelings and desires we all have in common.

Stereotypes/Cliches/Tropes/Errors

In classic literature for young readers, physical and emotional disabilities often occurred side-by-side and were used to teach lessons on proper attitudes and behavior. For instance, in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, Mary Lennox’s self-centeredness is made visible through her sickly appearance, and the angry, depressed Colin Craven cannot rise from his wheelchair until he develops a positive attitude. Persons with disabilities appear in classic stories as fundamentally different, less capable of living a full life and contributing to society. It is no wonder that Colin is hidden away in a back bedroom of the hundred-room house; in those days, persons with disabilities were isolated and marginalized, hidden in the back rooms of their own houses or locked away in institutions.

Industry Q&A with author Matt de la Peña

Tell us about your most recent book and how you came to write it.

I just finished writing three new books (one YA, one middle grade and a picture book) that will come out in 2013.

The YA is called The Living. The two main characters (both half Mexican like me) are working on a luxury cruise ship for the summer. While they're at sea, the "big one" slams California. They have no idea if their border towns have survived. Or their families. And a more immediate concern is that the massive earthquake has unsettled the ocean, as well, endangering the ship. I grew up in southern California, constantly worried about earthquakes, and I'd always wanted to write about what might happen if one of my greatest fears was realized.

The middle grade novel I just finished is part of Scholastic's Infinity Ring series. It's called Curse of the Ancients. We were allowed to take our characters back to any part of history. I chose southern Mexico during the heyday of the Maya. It gave me a reason to research this amazing civilization.

The picture book is called Last Stop on Market Street (illustrated by Christian Robinson). It's about a boy and his grandma riding the bus from church to the soup kitchen where they volunteer on Sundays.