This Program Originally Aired on December 23rd, 2020.
As the country’s young population is becoming more diverse, children’s and young adult literature books are struggling with representation. According to a 2019 report on diversity in books, roughly 42% of books feature a white main character. So, what is being done to disrupt this?
This hour on Disrupted, we delve into the world of young adult literature and why it is important to see representation and diversity in books. We’ll hear from Chandra Prasad about writing multi-racial characters and a young author about protesting. We’ll also hear from a local bookstore on what they are doing to bring more representation and inclusion to their community.
GUESTS:
- Chandra Prasad – Author of Damselfly and the forthcoming book Mercury Boys
- London Williams – 7th grade student from Waterbury and author of Our First Protest.
- Lauren Anderson – co-owner of People Get Ready bookstore in New Haven
Book Recommendations:
- “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie
- “Speak” by Lauren Halse Anderson
- “Kira-Kira” by Cynthia Kadohata
- “All American Boys” by Brendan Kiely
- “Front Desk” by Kelly Yand
- “Damselfly” by Chandra Prasad
- “King and the Dragonflies” by Kacen Callendar
- “This is My America” by Kim Johnson
- “From the Desk of Zoe Washington” by Janae Marks
- “This Book is Anti-Racist” by Tiffany Jewell
This week’s episode was originally produced by Daniela Luna and Catie Talarski. Our team also includes James Szkobel-Wolff and Zshekinah Collier.
