Comments on MotherReader: Thoughts on Some Week

If it happened once, now twice in their case, then...

2010-01-27T15:22:05.055-05:00

If it happened once, now twice in their case, then you have to look at the root cause and decide who is making these choices and why. Maybe someone in their office needs to take a diversity class. :)

Thanks for the recap Pam. I sat back and stayed o...

2010-01-27T06:44:31.610-05:00

Thanks for the recap Pam. I sat back and stayed out of the fray. Issues like this are truly important but equally heated. I was glad to see that Bloomsbury has made the decision they have about the cover change. I imagine they are looking at all their covers at the moment so as to assure they don't have this issue on future publications.

My thought of the week-- books for boys. Why is it...

2010-01-25T10:47:19.716-05:00

My thought of the week-- books for boys. Why is it so hard to find them? And do bloggers read and blog about as many books for boys as we do about boys. We all need philosophy from time to time!

I'm not clear that they've delayed her release - I...

2010-01-24T21:58:58.048-05:00

I'm not clear that they've delayed her release - I bought the book with its original cover a few weeks ago, and it had been out for a couple of weeks before that. Still, it sounds very much like they're pulling it, in which case Jackie's book will get a second release - or so I shall hope, as a way of making all this up to her.

Pam, I agree everybody couldn't haven't possibly ...

2010-01-24T18:52:23.664-05:00

Pam,

I agree everybody couldn't haven't possibly known but this wasn't about a single book. Enough of us do know about whitewashing, we do know about lack of representation and the absence of color. We had this discussion the beginning of the year.

Like everyone else I want to focus on issues and not take disagreements personally because it's not about me. It's about us as a community. The issues are about our place in the larger society.

I don't know any family that doesn't disagree and even fight. That doesn't mean members don't love and care for each other and the friendships among bloggers are no different.

It was a rough week but there was plenty of constructive and positive dialogue in the spaces I chose to spend my time.

I wish some conversations hadn't spun out of control but I am convinced there was more good than bad.

I completely understand not wanting no harm to authors. I want the harm against readers to stop. I never argued a boycott was the only or right option for all. It was an option I was willing to make and I have no regrets about it.

I hope we continue to debate the issues, seek out solutions and commit to bringing about change.

I respect what you do here.

Paige, we have created Readers Against WhiteWashing to do exactly what you propose. We will cite and publicly criticize events as they happen in one centralize space where readers can voice their opinions and become informed.

I really value how many discussions we had; rather...

2010-01-24T18:25:57.718-05:00

I really value how many discussions we had; rather than arguments. And (as you can imagine!) there are many times I see both sides, or all three sides, etc.
I agree that there are many reasons bloggers may not say something. Didn't get book, didn't read book, not online that day or week, etc. but I also think its a valid question to step back from the issue of one book and one cover and ask, given the number of book bloggers, how many blog about books about POC? And FWIW, its equally important to look at other areas that may be underrepresented in the book blogosphere, like GLBT books.

Thank you for this post Pam. I haven't been bloggi...

2010-01-24T06:38:56.871-05:00

Thank you for this post Pam. I haven't been blogging much this week I am afraid, with grad school starting up and family life needing a lot of attention. I am grateful to you and others for highlighting this mess. Your insightful comments are right on and I appreciate your summing up with links. Keep the faith.

Concerning the effect this has on the author, mayb...

2010-01-23T14:51:26.737-05:00

Concerning the effect this has on the author, maybe some good will come out of it if all this press brings more attention to her book. It's possible that people who otherwise wouldn't have heard about it will read it.

Not that the whole thing isn't shocking.

Thank you for providing a round-up of posts and yo...

2010-01-23T13:27:17.319-05:00

Thank you for providing a round-up of posts and your thoughts, MR. I'm onboard with an organized effort, and plan to write to Bloomsbury. In reading the reviews for Magic Under Glass, I thought, "Wow, that is the sort of book I would have loved to write."
However, I am disappointed in the cover choice and angry with white-washing in general.

The key to stopping it is pointing it out every ti...

2010-01-23T09:59:04.225-05:00

The key to stopping it is pointing it out every time we recognize a cover that's inappropriate. All children should be able to find books with characters that look like they do - and the publishers that decide to put photographs of the main character the cover should represent that person appropriately.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! There was a tor...

2010-01-23T09:46:10.990-05:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you! There was a tornado inside me all week that churned faster with each day. I have felt cheated because I wanted us all to be celebrating award winners, I have felt angry, I have felt confused by "adult" behaviors and I have felt much more...you articulated the tornado. Again, thank you!

I think the Benedict Society books are still a pro...

2010-01-23T01:42:24.223-05:00

I think the Benedict Society books are still a problem. The people are smaller, but Sticky's pigment has fallen off. It's just crazy.

Thank you for writing this so eloquently. For me, ...

2010-01-23T00:01:23.070-05:00

Thank you for writing this so eloquently. For me, it's been about a lot more than the cover.

Thanks for the great wrap-up. I still can't believ...

2010-01-22T22:47:40.678-05:00

Thanks for the great wrap-up. I still can't believe this happened again with the same publisher.

I echo your thoughts Pam-thank you for writing thi...

2010-01-22T22:33:26.566-05:00

I echo your thoughts Pam-thank you for writing this. I haven't really known what to say, but you said exactly what I wanted.

I feel terrible for the author and how her debut is now surrounded by all this.

And you're right-why aren't we talking about books about people of color and promoting them on our blog? I put the CSK and Belpre awards on hold at my library and I'm looking forward to highlighting them on my blog.

I agree, I don't want this to ever happen again. A...

2010-01-22T17:42:10.542-05:00

I agree, I don't want this to ever happen again. And Bloomsbury apology was just ok, they didn't acknowledge the deeper issue at work which is hwy does this keep happening? Ugh.

I'm glad that even if you don't support my methods (I wasn't advocating for a boycott though, I wanted people to buy a book about a poc, write/email Bloomsbury and blog about it) you realize why this is so important.

Did this break out at an unfortunate time yes. But I still read lots of posts about awards and commented on them too.

Good post. I think we all learned something, I certainely did. That I'm more naive than I thought, thinking the publishing industry would not do this again (after Liar) and that they actually care. But I also learned that when bloggers unite and work together we can make a change =)

I leave Massachusetts for a week in California to ...

2010-01-22T17:09:41.101-05:00

I leave Massachusetts for a week in California to celebrate my parents 60th wedding anniversary and all "H" breaks loose! I stopped by to check in on the Comment Challenge and walked right into your, as usual, highly informative blog. I am heartsick and will now spend the next few days "catching up" with the news.

You know, Pam, one reason why I haven't done a Kid...

2010-01-22T16:03:30.668-05:00

You know, Pam, one reason why I haven't done a Kidlitosphere round-up post this week is that there have been so many posts about this cover issue that I didn't know where to start. Now I do. I'm just going to link to your post. Thanks!!

Well said. It happened in a flurry and I must say...

2010-01-22T14:58:57.201-05:00

Well said. It happened in a flurry and I must say, I was proud of book bloggers for making a fuss, but I knew all along that when the publisher's heard of it, they would change the cover. Writing the publishers seem like the obvious first step, but some went off on the boycotting rants and I was like, really? Isn't that what you do when the publisher writes back and tells you off? Seemed like some jumped the gun a bit.

But yeah, why does this even still come up? I mean c'mon publishers. Get a clue. Don't let this keep happening.

You put that so eloquently! It's just bizarre that...

2010-01-22T13:29:46.000-05:00

You put that so eloquently! It's just bizarre that we still need to have these conversations. Why is skin color still an issue?