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A better title for this post might be “Readers’ Advisory on Twitter” but making up a word was more fun and less jargon-y.

Anywho, I have a break from school until classes start back up at the end of January which is very exciting. During that time I plan to – when I’m already on Twitter – search for people who have asked for book recommendations. I’ve been doing it sporadically for some time, sparked by the “Slam the Boards” assignment I had last spring (2013).

I enjoy it and there’s a chance that the folks I interact with will go to their library to pick up these books. Muahhhaaa, my hidden agenda uncovered!!

P.S. My first year anniversary of working as a library associate at AACPL was yesterday. Cheers! 🙂

By Libertad Araceli Thomas

“Do you know what your name means?”

This was a question that made me hate name tags since the second grade. “Libertad? You know it means ‘Freedom’ in Spanish, right?” Of course, I knew what my name meant. I knew what it meant when I was old enough to talk, I knew what it meant before I ever entered school, and I knew what it meant at 18 years old when I took my first job as a barista at a local coffee shop and was again subjected to wearing the name tags I so dreaded as a kid. At home, I was Libertad, but to the world I was a Black girl with a Spanish name.

From first glance, loads of people tell me I don’t “look” Latina. And what’s devastating is that for a while, I believed them. You see, a darker skinned girl…

By Sujei Lugo

The Latin@s in Kid Lit at the Library series focuses on interviews with children’s librarians, youth services librarians, and school librarians, where they share their experiences, knowledge, and challenges using Latino children’s literature in their libraries. In this second entry of this series, I interview Crystal Brunelle.

Crystal is a library media specialist from Wisconsin. In times when schools and their libraries are impacted by budget cuts, closings, and lack of institutional and government support, there are still school librarians and media specialists striving to support their students, teachers and community.

Crystal Brunelle
Library Media Specialist, Northern Hills Elementary School, Onalaska, Wisconsin
Blogger for richincolor.com (co-founder) and readingtl.blogspot.com (personal blog)

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your identity, and your library.
I am a white mid-westerner with German ancestors. My family moved many times, so my childhood years were spent in various cities in both Texas…

I’ve never had such a difficult time finding new books! Two. Two books this month by authors of color.

Fame of Thrones by Amir Abrams and Ni Ni Simone; k-Teen
Lights, Love and Lip Gloss by Amir Abrams and Ni Ni Simone; K-Teen

title: Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood

author: Varsha Bajaj

date: March 2014

main character: Abby Spencer

When Abby has a traumatic reaction to coconut, her mom realizes that it’s time to bring Abby’s dad into the picture. What else might Abby have inherited from him? Of course, Abby has always wanted to know her dad and she’s always daydreamed about him. Reality turns out to be larger than what she ever imagined because her dad is a huge Bollywood star. Her father is a person with an incredible career but he’s also quite human so, his first reaction is to invite his daughter to come to Mumbai to visit him and his mother so that Abby can get to know her family.

Bajaj takes a story that has a glamorous appeal and manages to be believable. Rather than giving us an exotic India, she exposes young readers to the Bollywood…

“I confess. I’m a glutton. This book had me at the cover. That image of a delicious marranito? I can imagine the moist cake-like center, the smell of molasses. I love this cover. I want to eat this cover. “~All Brown All Around Blog

Title: Pig Park

Author: Claudia Guadalupe Martinez

Date: Cinco Puntos; 2014

Main Character: Masi Burciaga

Masi is a 15 year old growing up in an area outside Chicago known as Pig Park. This once thriving working class neighborhood is falling apart after losing its main source of income, the lard company that helped give the community its name. Masi is an only child and her friends in the neighborhood are much like an extended family to her. She’s in and out of their homes as much as she is her own.

Colonel Franco, an outsider, comes to the neighborhood with an elaborate plan to attract visitors…

This is the week when we as bloggers pause to give thanks, starting with the fact that we have so many amazing readers–readers who care about Latin@ kid lit as much as we do! We appreciate each one of your clicks, comments, social-media shares, and other forms of participation. If you’ve been silent up to now, let us hear from you soon. We value your partnership.

Another thing we’re super grateful for this Thanksgiving is the emergence and explosive growth of the We Need Diverse Books campaign. Ceilings are cracking under the pressure of this push and all of us stand to benefit, so thank you to the bright minds that dreamed it up.

Another reason to feel grateful in 2014 is that Latin@ kid lit is in much better shape than it was in years past. As we reflect back on our own or our children’s bookshelves, we’re delighted that kids today have a…

I’m currently reading Bad Luck Girl by Sarah Zettel. “Half fairy. Half human.Half Black When Jazz ruled Chicago.” This is the third book in the American Fairy trilogy and easily stands alone. I should finish soon!

Endings. ALAN just ended as did Grand Jury deliberations in Ferguson.

I’m here in this resort setting in Maryland (no! this is not DC) with an evening to quietly relax with my books. ALAN was low key and quiet this year. I met people I’ve known and supported for years, heard new and different ideas and got a few (47!) new books. Walter Mays did a fabulous job of bringing in a very diverse crew of writers and incorporating authors of various ethnicities, genders, and abilities into panels relevant to every aspect of being a teen.

I think the message I heard most often was that writers must honor the story, not forcing causes…