Diverse Children's Books and Adult Books on Anti-Racism

 

I take learning and UNlearning seriously, so I wanted to share with you books I've read this year and last year. Most of these pictures were taken from my Instagram account.

DIVERSE CHILDREN'S BOOKS:

Graphic Novels:

This graphic novel is packed with history that many don't know, because we're not taught these things in school as we should be. I first learned about Japanese American internment camps when I read Silent Honour by Danielle Steel on my own when I was a teen.

Asian hate is not new. It has sadly been a reality for many for a very long time. This story spans decades and includes several presidents. I highly recommend this graphic novel to everyone who is interested in real American history.

P.S. the sewing machine in the picture is a nod to George’s mom. This sewing machine is, in fact, my mom’s.

Displacement - This is another graphic novel about Japanese American internment camps but with a current twist. The main character is from modern times and is "displaced" to the past. I also highly recommend this graphic novel. George Takei's graphic novel was more written in the eyes of a child who didn't quite understand what was going on, but in this one, the main character is sixteen and understands and sees things that happen. I stand firm that this time in American history needs to be taught in every school and every classroom, for most grade levels.

Who Knew You Could Do This With PowerPoint By Jacqui Murray / Guest Post / Laws of Nature Book Launch

 

Please help me to welcome Jacqui Murray back to Write with Fey. She has a fascinating post about what you can do with PowerPoint. She's also celebrating her newest release Laws of Nature.

Welcome back, Jacqui!

A boy blinded by fire. A woman raised by wolves. An avowed enemy offers help.

Title: Laws of Nature

Series: Book 2 in the Dawn of Humanity series

Genre: Prehistoric fiction

Editor: The extraordinary Anneli Purchase

Available (print or digital) at

Kindle US   Kindle UK   Kindle CA   Kindle AU  Kindle India

Ad Astra Interview / Olivia and Fiona Discuss Banned Books and Intersectional Feminism

 

I am so happy to welcome Olivia and Fiona of ad astra to Write with Fey. Ad Astara is an Instagram account I discovered this year, but they also have a website and a newsletter. I love their posts about social justice and the topics and current events that they bring awareness to. For that reason, I wanted to spotlight them here to help share these important subjects with more readers and writers.

Welcome, Olivia and Fiona!

1. Hi, Olivia and Fiona! I am thrilled to be able to chat with the both of you and to share what you do on Instagram and your website with the readers of my blog. First, can you tell us about your journey as bookstagrammers?

We’ve known each other for a long time now—the two of us met through a singing program we participated in from elementary school through high school (picture: various iterations of black, sparkling dresses that never really fit either of us). Somewhere along the way, we realized we shared a passion for books.

Writing About Minor Characters Who Are People of Color / Vlog

Thank you for coming to a vlog edition of Write with Fey!

First, a few updates. If you don't use Blogger, you can skip this part.

BLOGGER USERS:  **I updated this update. TWICE. lol** If you clicked on this post’s title in your Reading List, you either (depending on what device you use, apparently) came to this post right away or had a redirect page that brought you to this post, which is normal, although the redirect URL looks odd now (just ignore that). 

But if you clicked on my blog's name instead (WritewithFey), you were taken on a bit of a journey to a Follow.it page for my blog. On that page, I added a special message just for Blogger users to prevent any confusion about what was happening. That was different, huh? But not so bad, right? Just one more click.

This is just something to keep in mind. Either way, you will still get here. :)

WHOOPS (also for Blogger users): Last week, you might’ve seen something odd happen with your Reading List on Blogger. All of my posts from this year suddenly popped back up to the front of Reading Lists. If you saw this, my apologies. I had no idea this was going to happen and couldn’t control it.

So why the changes to my blog? Well, like many bloggers, I had to change my email subscription service for blog posts to a different service provider. I followed all of their instructions, which involved importing my RSS users. Not every blogger takes this step. I wasn't sure if I should, but I decided to do what they suggested, which involved technical difficulties and confusion (i.e. everything I mentioned above).

********

Now to the real purpose of this post, to share my latest YouTube video for writers.

This is a PowerPoint presentation with audio that focuses on writing about minor (or passing) characters who are people of color, especially if you're not of the same race as that character. This is not an exhaustive list but rather a starting point of do’s and don’ts to help you along the way and to encourage you to go further in your research. I hope these tips will lead to you wanting to write more inclusive and safe stories. 

Indigenous History Month / Florida & Seminole History

This is my book stack of non-fiction books for Indigenous History Month, which is recognized in Canada, but regardless of where you live you can learn about the history of the land and the Indigenous peoples who call that land home and were there first, before European colonization. 

I read about Florida’s history and the Seminoles. I'll share what I learned below, but first, to find out which Indigenous nations/tribes first lived on the land you call home, use Native-Land.ca. You can also search the location of where your paternal and maternal families called home for generations, which is equally important.

Causes and Donations - Books, Animals, and People

 

Hey Everyone,

I want to share with you some very good causes that you can support.

LITTLE FREE LIBRARIES:

Do you have books lying around at home or on bookshelves that you've had for years but really aren't going to read? Why not add them to local Little Free Libraries? While you're at it, you can donate your own published books to Little Free Libraries, too, as my mom and I had done recently.

Check out this map to find Little Free Libraries near you:

https://littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap/

Dear Publishers Interview / Jess Lee Talks About Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, and Antiracism in the Publishing Industry

Today I am welcoming Jess Lee, the founder of Dear Publishers, to Write with Fey.

I am thrilled to have Jess as a guest. I asked her if she would be interested in doing an interview here because I believe what she (and everyone at Dear Publishers) is doing is important, and I wanted to help Dear Publishers' mission to reach more people, like the lovely people who follow my blog. <3

Her answers about Dear Publishers, diversity, equity, inclusivity, and antiracism are amazing. When I read them, I became even more excited, and I hope they impact you as much as they've impacted me.