There has been a lot of talk over the last year or so about the kinds of books students should and should not be reading in school, and what books kids should have access to in libraries. At the same time, there are more books being published that deal with issues of race, gender and sexual orientation. The Show has been talking to the authors of some of those books in a series called Lit Squad.
R. Eric Thomas writes for TV, the stage and has written two non-fiction books. But he’s now jumped into the young adult genre with a novel called "Kings of B’More." It tells the story of two Black, queer best friends, one of whom is moving away. Before that, though, they have a grand day out together.
The Show talked with Thomas about why he decided to write for young adults.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The story has been updated to correct R. Eric Thomas' name.
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A 13-year-old girl is preparing for her bat mitzvah, even though her family rarely goes to synagogue. At the same time, Zippy believes she’s a witch. That is the premise of the latest children’s novel from Laurel Snyder, called "The Witch of Woodland."
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Thousands of Japanese-Americans were held in internment camps in Arizona during World War II. MichiNishiura Weglyn was one of them — along with her family. Ken Mochizuki tells her story.
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Maria Ingrande Mora is a writer and content designer who lives in Florida. She talked about how she writes about something like anxiety — which some number of her readers likely also deal with — while keeping it authentic.
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The Show spoke with author Celia Pérez about her book "Tumble" and how the main character's story is someone many other children can relate to.
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Over the past year, The Show has heard from authors of books for middle-grade and young adult readers dealing with issues of race, gender, disability and socioeconomic differences, among other things. It’s a series called Lit Squad — and in this episode, The Show spoke with author Mónica Mancillas.