projects & clips

Books, short fiction, and book chapters:

Book-related writing and reviews:

Podcasts

  • Hey YA! from Book Riot

  • Read Harder from Book Riot, part of the InsidEARS premium program

Other writing:

Other projects:

  • March and November 2018: Presentation on diverse books and representation in the classroom and school library for Tucson Unified School District professional development.

  • September 2016: Carolina Cynovich, a journalist and children’s book author based in Uruguay, interviewed me about social justice in children’s literature and diversity activist movements. This article is in Spanish. Read it here..

  • May 2016: I convened a roundtable of authors to discuss foreign languages in writing. View it at the WNDB site.

  • June 2015: Kate Hart bestowed upon me the huge honor of being named a Badass Lady You Should Know!

  • June 2015: A collaborative blog project, Size Acceptance in YA, launched on this day. My cofounders are Kelly Jensen, Faythe Arredondo, and Angie Manfredi.

  • May 2015: I was part of a group chat for Disability in Kidlit’s month focusing on depictions of mental illness in YA.

  • May 2015: I was invited to make a presentation to the Bay Area Independent School Librarians on the importance of diverse books in libraries in the context of the viral hashtag (and subsequent organization) #WeNeedDiverseBooks. (NB: I was not a WNDB team member when I was asked to make this presentation but was one by the time I made it) Click to view the presentation.

  • April 2015, and November 2015: I teach a continuing education course at Simmons College called Diversity 102: Moving Beyond and Forward. It’s targeted at school and public librarians serving any age of patron who are interested in learning more about issues of diversity in literature and methods for discovering and analyzing them for quality, accuracy, and authenticity.

  • April 2015: We Need Diverse Books booktalking kit. I led the committee that selected these books and developed the content for the kit.

  • October 2014: I presented twice at KidLitCon. Once was with Faythe Arredondo, Kelly Jensen, and Summer Khaleq, and this pamphlet should tell you a bit about the tone of our panel. The other panel was with Edi Campbell and Jewell Parker Rhodes. My portion of the presentation talked about the three different types of book blogging I believed people did and how each type could maximize their skills to better promote diversity in literature and publishing.

  • August 2013-June 2015: I developed the boards, posted content, and wrote all blurbs for the entries in the Castilleja School Library Pinterest during my time there as Library Services Specialist.

  • Spring 2013, for CHL413 Realistic Fiction for Young Adults: Studied Judy Blume’s Forever… in the context of taking a “second look” at YA classic touchstone texts. Wrote and presented a serious paper, also made a serious-but-silly prezi about societal discomfort with sex, bodies, teenagers, and shaming. (PDF TK)

  • Summer 2012, for LIS481 Library and Media Collections for Children: 12-page pathfinder for teachers or youth group leaders on suggested methods for reading, studying, and responding to Morris Award-nominated novel Hush by Eishes Chayil, including suggested activities using AASL standards linked to the Common Core (view here). You may use this pathfinder with full attribution (my name and website) and absolutely no edits or modifications of any kind to the document itself.

  • Spring 2012, for LIS422 Literacy and Services to Underserved Populations: “Librarians and Behavioral Health Professionals: The Missing Link.” Conducted a literature review and interviews and wrote a paper arguing the benefits of youth services librarians working with behavioral health professionals to provide targeted and innovative services. (PDF TK)

  • Spring 2012, for CHL403 The Picturebook: “A Revolt Through Hair: Resistance to Kate Greenaway’s Idealized Style in Illustrations of African American Children.” A paper analyzing famed illustrator Kate Greenaway’s idealization of children and childhood, putting it in conversation with contemporary picturebooks depicting African American children. (PDF TK)

  • Alongside Malinda Lo, Cindy Pon, and some fantabulous fellow librarians, I did some research on diversity in the ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults lists from the past few years. Malinda did a writeup here.

  • Diversity in YA asked me to make a list of novels about biracial teens.

  • Fall 2011, for CHL401 Criticism of Children’s Literature: “Magic from Mom, Magic for Jamie.” Feminist analysis of Carolyn Coman’s What Jamie Saw, exploring mother-son expectations. (PDF TK)

  • Fall 2009, for ENGL486 Special Topics in American Literature: In an assignment to act as a book editor, prepared a modern edition of an early American text never before published for contemporary readers. Wrote an introduction and footnotes for a portion of Richard Johnson’s “The Blossoms of Morality,” a cautionary tale for children. (PDF TK)