The CBC Diversity initiative was founded in 2012, as part of the Children’s Book Council’s commitment to promoting diverse voices in literature for young people. We believe that all children deserve to see their world reflected in the books they read. We recognize that diversity takes on many forms, including differences in race, religion, gender, geography, sexual orientation, class, and ability.
In addition to championing diverse authors and illustrators, CBC Diversity strives to open up the publishing industry to a wider range of employees. We’ve taken an active role in recruiting diverse candidates, participating in school career fairs and partnering with We Need Diverse Books on its summer internship program.
Every book has a conception story. Mine
begins with the shameless binge-watching of an MTV reality series called “Generation
Cryo.” Over the course of six episodes, the show follows 17-year-old Breeanna, daughter
of a lesbian couple who was conceived via sperm donation, on a search for her
genetic half-siblings. Thanks to the Donor Sibling Registry, Bree connects with
Jonah and Hilit and Jayme and Jesse and Paige and Molly and Will, and
ultimately brings everyone together to track down their biological father.
Prior to watching the show, I had only
a cursory understanding of sperm donation and its effects on families. I
understood the science, but I knew nothing of the emotional fallout—of how
angry and hurt and confused some donor-conceived children could grow up to be,
or how fraught the relationships with the non-biological parents who were
raising them could become. I was fascinated by the idea of a new “insta-family.”
Unlike children conceived via sperm donation prior to the 1990’s, today’s
generation of donor-conceived kids have access to Internet search engines,
registry websites, social media, and video chat technology, all of which allow
them to connect with their genetic half-siblings, and even with their sperm
donor, in a mind-blowingly short amount of time.
As a 21st century mom, psychology
major, and YA author, how could I not write a book about this?
The most important
thing I can do as an author of children’s books is offer stories that open
communication between child and parent. In my Kissing Hand series, it is Mrs.
Raccoon who helps Chester through his many issues and difficulties beginning
with separation anxiety. Other books in the series deal with new siblings,
moving, bullying, dying, fear of speaking in front of others and wanting to
return home during a sleep over. These are issues all children face, but with
the help of books and characters like Chester Raccoon, and the caretakers and
teachers who bring them to life, children can face issues armed with
understanding and a sense of self.
When writing, I
often think about the brilliant diversity of color and sound, shape and size,
and speed and agility that is present in the animal kingdom. Most people
embrace these amazing differences with open minds and without prejudice. It is
because we all too often close our minds to the beautiful diversity in people
that I stay within the animal kingdom when writing my children’s books.
“It’s simple, Susan. Just pick one. Which would you rather be?”
It was my first day of first grade at a
new school, and we were playing a getting-to-know-you game that doubled as a
class-demographics survey. We had divided ourselves into groups based on
favorite ice cream flavor, age, favorite animal, and zip code, laughing over
shared interests.
Then came a question on race. I thought
seriously for a moment as the other kids sorted themselves into groups. But I
quickly found my answer and carefully chose my spot—halfway between the group
of students who identified as white and the group who identified as Asian. I
was proud of my creativity, and excited to share my answer.
So I was shocked when my teacher
disciplined me in front of the class, first asking why I hadn’t chosen a group,
and then, when I explained that I had chosen a group—half one, and half
the other—chastising me for choosing two groups when her survey allowed her to
tick only one box.
Which is when she demanded that I choose
between the two.
Last summer, I traveled to Tanzania to take
photographs. In February, I followed my
camera to Toronto. This was my first visit to Canada. It was a wonderful
experience dotted with several visits to Tim Hortons.
When I traveled to Tanzania, I took photographs for stories
that had not been written. There was no way the authors I work with could know
what stories I would find. This time, I had stories that were already written,
so I had specific photos that I needed to take. One of the authors I work with
had spent two weeks last July at the Toronto Summer Institute. This international annual event focuses on
the inclusion of individuals with disabilities. While she was at the institute
she discovered two wonderful stories.
Alvina Ling is the Vice President, Editor-in-Chief at Hachette Book Group/Little Brown Books for Young Readers.
When and where did you start working in publishing, and what was your
entry-level position and title?
I started here at Little, Brown Books for
Young Readers (when we were based in Boston) in August 1999 as an Editorial
Assistant. I’ve been with this company ever since, now as Editor-in-Chief!