Motivation Monday

I’m getting myself back on the blogging train after a couple weeks of off-line activity (marathon, NESCBWI, life with a dog), so today feels like a great time to share this fantastic comic by Debbie Ridpath Ohi:

It’s really easy to focus on all the scary “what ifs” and “you can’ts” and so on, but for today, let’s focus on what we can do. And then do the same tomorrow.

(PS–Debbie regularly posts writing inspiration illustration, so make sure to check out the rest of her work.)

Where Are Your Mirrors? Diversity in Children’s Books 2015 Infographic

It’s one thing to read stats, and it’s another thing to see them. Based on information compiled by the the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC), David Huyck created the infographic below:

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image by David Huyck

How sad is it to see actual kids with less representation than animals and inanimate objects? Publishing as a whole needs to provide diverse young readers with way more mirrors.

The good news is that David has made his infographic available for general use, so you can share this around your own blog/social media networks. Because the more we see and talk about problems like this, the harder it is to ignore.

Links Galore

A few of good links for today:

Friday Fifteen

Happy Friday, everyone! I’m especially psyched that it’s Friday because Monday is Patriot’s Day, aka Marathon Monday, and the Boston Marathon is my very favorite sports-related event. (Okay, pretty much the only sports event I care about.) Let’s get the weekend started with a little look at what I’ve been reading and writing in fifteen words or fewer.

ReadingBoxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang
Beautifully constructed look at a dark moment in Chinese history. Honest but hopeful.

Writing: “Do you think you could fight a coyote?” “What do I look like, a roadrunner?”
Things happen on a road trip.

Links Galore

Some good links for the week:

Becoming an Artist

A touching video in which children’s book author/illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka talks about how he became an artist.

“He liked making this book” might be the best line in any author bio I’ve ever seen. I also love how he talks about the support he got from his grandparents and his teachers. Even though writing/illustrating requires a lot of work and you have to power through a lot of challenges, as Krosoczka details, but having a wonderful support system can make all the difference. And I love that Krosoczka set up a scholarship in his grandparents’ honor. What a beautiful way to keep the support going.

(via SCBWI: The Blog)