Mother Reader has announced the Ninth Annual 48-Hour Book Challenge!
The 48HBC is one of my very favorite times of year - a weekend devoted to putting everything aside and whittling down that To-Be-Read pile while connecting with other bloggers doing the same all over the world!
This year's event will be taking place the weekend of June 6-8, 2014 and there's an awesome twist.
You may have heard the outcry as thousands of readers took to social media to let the world know that #WeNeedDiverseBooks. This year's 48HBC is dedicated to "reading, sharing and reviewing books that show diversity in all ways." What a wonderful way to read and promote books that reflect our diverse world!
Sadly, I will be unable to participate since I am serving on the Newbery Committee and thus can't blog about eligible titles. That makes it more important for you to participate so I can live vicariously!!! I will definitely be cheering you on!
Need some suggestions to build that TBR pile of diverse titles? I've got a Pinterest Board for that!
This Pinterest Board, We Need Diverse Books, will point you to diverse books I've reviewed on my blog over the years. You can find more suggestions on Yapha's Pinterest Board and Jennie's post at Biblio File. Don't miss Diversity in YA. Check out Kelly's great list of contemporary teen fiction featuring diverse characters. Of course, you'll want to fill in any reading gaps you have in diverse book awards like:
- American Indian Youth Literature Awards
- Arab American Book Awards
- Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature
- Coretta Scott King Awards
- Pura Belpre Awards
- Schneider Family Book Awards
And I'm going to add another dimension to your challenge: as you're finding and reading great diverse books, please consider nominating them for your state book awards! Almost every (if not every) state has a children's book award. I'm sure each state committee runs theirs a little differently, but when I served on the Young Hoosier Book Award, we were limited to books that had been field nominated throughout the year. If no diverse books were nominated (which was not the case), our hands were tied! Seek out info about your state book award and make sure you're nominating great diverse books!
Stay tuned to MotherReader for more info about this year's 48-Hour Book Challenge and please share more links to lists or Pinterest boards of diverse books in the comments!
Stay tuned to MotherReader for more info about this year's 48-Hour Book Challenge and please share more links to lists or Pinterest boards of diverse books in the comments!
