Ahhh look!

I hadn't realised but the new cover for Magic Under Glass has been revealed!

I know I'm stuck with this anyway,

which is alright, but the US cover has much more meaning now. I wish I could just have it in my hands now and read it. Knowing that it exists only because lots and lots of bloggers showed their outraged to the publisher. It's not just more accurate and fair, it's also a lot prettier than the old one, I think.

Bloomsbury Cover Fail

I first heard about Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore and its problematic cover yesterday, thanks to Ranay's post. I went on to read more posts and more comments about this, and now I'll try to gather my own thoughts on the subject.
It has happened once again, that a publisher, Bloomsbury in this case, has chosen the picture of a white girl to represent the main character in the book, who is actually dark-skinned.
It's a fantasy book, so the main character doesn't have a real ethnicity, but to quote the author's own words:

Nimira is from a fictional land which is not meant to be a parallel to a specific country in our world. Her culture has elements, such as costume and music, that might be drawn from Eastern European, Asian and Roma cultures, and I love that readers are interpreting her look in different ways.

Now, the issue is definitely NOT with the author. Quite the opposite. The problem here is the publisher and whoever is in charge of the marketing. I'm not going to talk about the book itself. It actually sounds like something I would really like, and I'm looking forward to reading it, especially after seeing the author's personal blog and discovering such an interesting person behind the book. I don't want to hurt her or her book in any possible way, especially since it's her first, and I can only imagine how over the moon she is feeling right now. I don't want to spoil this special moment.

But something needs to be said, and I believe the more people show concern and outrage about this issue, the more likely our collective voice is to be heard. This kind of exclusion towards non-white people from book covers is unacceptable. If you think the same, let the publisher know. I did. Their contact page is here.

But instead of pouring your anger onto this particular book by calling for a boycott, and thus hurting a young author's expectations, why not show our thirst for diversity in books by reading and reviewing more of them? Chasing Ray has an excellent and inspiring post about why diversity in kids and YA matters and how we should demand it more. READ IT!
I know I don't read enough of them these days. And since I'm a white person, living in a western country with mostly white friends, I sometimes forget how important this is. I forget because I can, not because I want to. This is not an excuse, though. That's why I'm going to actively try and include more ethnic diversity into my reading and search for books about non-white people (kids and adults) which are not about Afro-American slaves or about the holocaust.
And then I will spread the word about them!

Frustrations of a bookseller - a post about kids books and clueless customers

On my first week working in a bookstore an old lady came to me and said "I heard about that book on the radio today...do you have it?". I asked "what book?", and she just said "well, that book...I don't remember the title...you don't have it, no?".
I was lost for words, but it taught me something, which could be Rule n. 1 of bookselling: "Never be surprised by the level of vagueness or inaccuracy that a customer can achieve when desperately trying to remember the title of THAT book!". It's always on the tip of their tongue. They always wrote it down on a piece of paper and left it at home. Sometimes they're polite enough to apologise for not even being able to provide the subject of the book, let alone a title or author. Sometimes instead they throw fits if proved wrong. Example:

Angry customer:"No, I'm absolutely certain that this is the title, it can't be the one you just said".
Me: "But your title doesn't come up anywhere. It just doesn't exist. Could it be...".
Angry Customer:"Achh, I'll just go somewhere else!". And storms off.

This is not daily routine but it happens often enough to make you realise that customers are a dodgy breed.

But what frustrates me the most these days, what pushed me to write this ranting post in the first place, is the way adults see children's books. Or actually, how they don't see them. I understand that not all of us are kids books experts and therefore need an advice on what to buy. Fair enough. But it's how they ask for it which drives me mad. Their favourite question is "where do you keep books for _ year-olds?" (fill in the blanks with any age up to 16/17).
Now. Why do we bother to have
-a new books section.
- a chart.
-a non fiction section by subject.
- a character section.
- a picture books section.
- a fiction organised by reading level.
...when all they want is books by AGE? I'm usually very nice and ask "what kind of book were you thinking of?" or "do you know the child?" so that I can narrow the request down. But when they go "Could you not just point me in the direction, please?" I don't know what to do. I want to help them, I really do. Because I think of the children who will get a random book based on their age or on the idea that an adult have of children of that age, and feel sorry for them.
Would you go in a bookshop and ask "where are the books for 43 year olds?". No, I didn't think so. Then, why do you think that for children is different? Just give me more information! Are they fluent readers? What genre do they normally like? What are their interests?
I feel like a nosy intruder asking all those questions, and indeed sometimes they look annoyed cause I'm delaying their shopping time or being too particular!
I understand that for whatever reason it can happen that the person doesn't know the kids very well, and has no idea of what to get for them. Fine. But still I don't get why they think kids books should be categorised by age.
Age doesn't define them!
The only fine line I can accept is when it comes to "adult" content, which normally means that a book contains sex/drugs/drinking/swearing or all of the above. For that we have a clearly marked "Young Adult section", which is for teenagers.
For all the other books it really comes down to personal judgment.
Not all 6 year olds can read at the same level. We're not robots which can be programmed. I would have thought it to be a concept easy to grasp, as we've all been there, right? But perhaps, I'm beginning to think, I have an exceptional good memory of my childhood. I remember my first book, I remember what I used to read at 4,5,6,7,8,9,10 etc...I use this parameter when recommending books to avid readers. Now I wonder, why can't people do that? Just think of what kind of level of difficulty you were reading at a certain age, and then take it from there? It's sad to think that people don't remember these things. But it would explain a lot. Certainly it would explain the lost looks they have when they step in the kids section.
Then there's the matter of picture books or books for babies and toddlers. They are completely helpless when coming to choosing those. I am no expert either but I know enough to know that:
- They can't read. So, no, activity books with word searches and puzzles are NOT suitable.
- Small parts can be ingested by babies, yes, but babies should never be left alone. You'll have to be there with the baby to play with her/him. This part usually discourage grannies and aunts, I don't know why. They just want books to keep the children quiet, probably.
- Toddlers tend to tear up pretty much everything they have in sight, so probably a board book is the best option. But passed that stage, normally, they can follow a story and enjoy a good bedtime read. Any picture book. It doesn't matter if it's not perfectly suitable for them. Nothing ever is. No matter what the back of the cover say.
I stand by my position that every child is unique. I haven't studied child development, or child psychology or anything like that, really. It's just my perception.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that adults should try to think of children as individuals. With their own taste and preferences. Regardless of their age.
Age guidance at the back of books just encourages this laziness of thinking. They let the "age groups" decide for them, while they could take their time looking at the book, maybe read a page of two to understand the tone of it, and then decide.
Oh I've so much to rant about when it comes to these issues. I should just stop here or it will never end.
And don't get me started on the whole gender thing. The "tractors are for boys and flowers are for girls" crap. That's definitely a subject for the next ranting post.

For now, just take this lolcat's word.

Now I love Neil Gaiman even more...

...even if I knew he would have said something like this about J.K.Rowling and her copyright battle:

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2008/04/fair-use-and-other-things.html

"My main reaction is, having read as much as I can about it, given the copyright grey zone it seems to exist in, is a "Well, if it was me, I'd probably be flattered""

and

"My heart is on the side of the people doing the unauthorised books"

When I commented on Stephanie's post about the Harry Potter's rights, I wanted to add that somehow I didn't think that Neil Gaiman would have made such a fuss about it. But I didnt't cause I didn't want to just assume it. Now I have the proofs, and I admire him so much more now that he has said it out loud.

I will always love Harry Potter's books, and I admire J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful world, but I don't believe this whole thing is doing her any good.
I wish there were more people like Neil Gaiman in the world.

The Golden Compass controversy

Read this article!

It hasn't been released yet, but "The Golden Compass" and its author Philip Pullman have already been accused of atheistic propaganda, vicious hidden messages aimed at children before Christmas,of secretly campaigning to overthrow the power of the Christian Church...
I knew this was going to happen. It's a big American production and you can't do or say anything against the Church there without being eaten alive (metaphorically of course), especially if children are involved. But when I read this article I HAD to say something in my own little blog. BECAUSE THIS PEOPLE HAVEN'T EVEN READ THE BOOKS! It makes me so angry that they can stir such a commotion, promote a a boycott, tell so so many people not to judge with their own minds, when they don't even know what they're talking about. This subject really touches me, because since I read it, His Dark Materials trilogy became one of my absolutely favourites. So I know that (and don't read on if you don't want to spoil the plot...) it's untrue what they say about God being killed by a child. In The Amber Spyglass God is dying because of his own frailty. the children don't have anything to do with it. They notice an old man on a litter passing by and they even feel pity for him but they can't do anything. They have their own mission to accomplish.

There is a message in the book,of course there is. And it's a message of love, and tolerance, and friendship. For century the Church, in all its forms, have been the denial of all this. I'm speaking about the Church with a capital C, which involves power and repression. If the books are anti-religious is because religion is always been accompanied by this. But it's in no way immoral, or even anti-spiritual. Think about what Dust is: a self-aware flow of energy that keeps the universe together and speaks to us of only we know how to listen. I love this idea, it's always been my idea of how the universe works, with or without a God, and Pullman managed to use it so beautifully in the best form: storytelling.
Unfortunately, in our world, people don't want to be challenged. Who has power wants to hold on to that power. But it's sad that they feel that they can be threatened by a film, or a book.

I hope the Golden Compass will be a success despite of or thanks to all this (and I'm REALLY looking forward to its release this week!!!).
But it is disappointing that in order to reach Hollywood books still have to go through this kind of censoring sieve.