Blogging for LGBT Families Day

Today we’re blogging for a specific purpose; we’re participating in the Blogging for LGBT Families Day, hosted by Mombian on June 1, 2009. And so, We Love Children’s Books fades to background and our sister company, Two Lives Publishing, comes front and center. At Two Lives, it’s all about books for kids in LGBT-headed families, and in addition to publishing, we also distribute titles in our niche. We’re not the only ones publishing these books, as our distribution attests – there are successful self-published and small publisher works out there and some large, mainstream publishers have put out books with an impact, like And Tango Makes Three. But, oh, we wish there were MORE! Our first titles (123: a Family Counting Book and ABC: a Family Alphabet Book were published 10 years ago and today, there’s still just a handful, and those books only begin to tell our families’ many and varied stories.

Recently, Bobbie spoke about the “State of LGBTI Themed Picture Books Today”(NJLA Conference, April 2009) and took part in the Many Voices panel on diversity in publishing at the SCBWI New England Annual Conference. Lots of engaging discussion, lots of support from allies, but the bottom line is change is slow. The percentage of children’s books published that speak directly to non-whites and non-heterosexuals is still quite small and given the current economic climate we don’t think we’ll see publishers doing more of what sells less. So what can we do to ensure that our families are represented – and not as an “issue” but as part of the fabric of our country’s day-to-day? What can you do?

Our thanks to Mombian, and to the Family Equality Council for sponsoring this effort.

Running Running

My sister, Bonney, is running the Boston Marathon today for the third time. I've always been right there, watching her progress at different points along the route, but this year we're keeping track vitually, and our images of the day come from webcasts. I've completed all these work tasks -- writing, phone calls, emails -- I've also had lunch and walked the dog, and my sister is still running. Running as part of the American Liver Foundation's Run for Research Team, running to raise funds and awareness of ALF's research efforts and especially running for difference live donor transplants made in her life. It's a great thing she's doing and I'm riveted by every update.
I thought I'd mention some books about marathons for kids, but you know what? There aren't many. There's a nonfiction picture book, The First Marathon: The Legend of Pheidippides by Susan Reynolds, published by Albert Whitman. I remember a photo in Sue Macy's terrific Winning Ways that showed a man going after Katherine Switzer, the first woman to officially enter Boston's race in 1967 (though it wasn't until 1972 that women were "allowed" to enter.)There must be more. Judging from the excited reaction I see from kids watching the marathon I think it would make a good story.

more practice. . .

Here I'm trying to populate labels for posts -- some of the common ones we'll use often. Of course we'll talk about books here; what we love and why; and what we're reading. The We in We Love Children's Books are Laurina Cashin and Bobbie Combs, and we're both fortunate to work with many different people in the children's book industry -- publishers, booksellers, librarians, authors and illustrators, publicists, staff with wholesalers and associations. We like our broad perspective.

Our reading sometimes overlaps but generally I read picture books and young adult fiction, whiles Bobbie gravitates more to middle grade and younger ya. Bobbie steers clear of edgy and problem novels, I can't abide those chick-lit series and we're both cautious with novels in verse. We both read fantasy, though Bobbie is more widely read than I. I just finished an ARC of The Crow (Books of Pellinor) by Allison Croggon, Candlewick, which I will re-read it because I read it way too fast. These books -- Crow is the 3rd of four I believe -- are stellar, and while I read quickly to find out what happend, the story and writing deserve more time. Our nonfiction reading takes us all over the Dewey map. We hope to step up our audio listening when we begin our road adventure -- more on that in a later post. We love movies and happily attend movies made from children's books. We saw Stardust the other night and thought it was wonderful -- well-acted and a good adaptation. And we will be first in line for The Golden Compass.