​When I was a graduate student, I was in a classroom where a white male professor asked us how many of us were environmentalists. Everyone raised their hands – except for two of us: me (the only BIPOC female in my incoming graduate class) and the only other BIPOC student in the room. I should note that we (who kept our hands pinned to our sides) were also the only two in the class who were directly working on the impact of environmental pollutants. 

In that moment, I realized that although BIPOC communities are more likely to be endangered by climate change and pollution, we are less likely to call ourselves environmentalists, for a whole range of reasons. One of them, I think, is that we saw environmentalists as white people who care for everything non-human in the environment; and both of us were raised to value human life as much as we value other living creatures. And to me community is a word that includes humans as well as non-human and even non-living entities. 

In the years since then, I have broadened my definition of the term environmentalist to include myself although the word came centuries after environmental thinking was a way of life to my people. I call myself an environmentalist because I hope to change the thinking around that word, so it will embrace our Earth and all its creatures, including human beings. To care for animals or plants is not to exclude people. I am proud that in my ancient Indian tradition, human beings are considered to be part of nature, not different from it. I grew up hearing the phrase “Vasudaiva kuttumbakam” – meaning that all living beings are part of one family. If that’s not an “environmentalist” sort of idea, I’m not sure what is. My brand of “environmentalism” includes sciences but embraces more than just science – it is rooted in my heritage. And I have finally written a novel (SAFE HARBOR) that begins to get at this definition of the word. 

SAFE HARBOR fills an important need in the universe of books for young people – it is a book in which the theme of environmental protection plays a major role; and it is also a book that centers BIPOC characters and the BIPOC experience. One of my hopes for SAFE HARBOR is that it will inspire readers to take action, both at the individual level, by changing the way they live, as well as by thinking of larger actions that we need to take as a community. 

In addition to inspiring practical and vital environmental activism, I also hope SAFE HARBOR will encourage readers to interpret the word “environmentalist” through diverse paradigms and multicultural lenses. Because unfortunately, the vast majority of books that deal with conservation-related issues tend to feature white protagonists. That said, SAFE HARBOR is not, by far, the first book of its kind. There are others who have created stories in which nature and the environment play a major role, and in which the main character is BIPOC. Here are four recommendations of books by authors that immediately come to mind in this regard.

ISLAND CREATURES (YA) by Margarita Engle
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Margarita Engle says on her website that in her childhood, she “developed a lifelong passion for tropical nature, which led [her] to study agronomy and botany, along with creative writing.” Her prolific list includes award-winning titles in which her love for nature is evident, such as: Wild Dreamers, Wings in the Wild, Singing with Elephants, Forest World and Your Heart, My Sky. This summer, Simon and Schuster is set to release yet another novel by Engle which features two young people whose passion for wildlife conservation unites them: ISLAND CREATURES. Yet another novel, I will add, that is sure to win hearts as well as  accolades to add to Engle’s long and incredibly impressive list which includes a Newbery Honor, Walter Honor, National Book Award nomination, Pura Belpré Award, Green Earth Book Award and many, many more.

I had the honor to receive an ARC of ISLAND CREATURES, which will hit the shelves this July. Engle’s love for the Earth and all its creatures is evident even in the dedication, which is in part to “endangered animals and the rare people who stay with them during hurricanes.”  In the first lines of the first poem, Engle’s remarkable aptitude for imagery is also amply evident: “the children roamed rough trails on green peaks/ where wild rivers were born above waterfalls/ that plunged down to deep blue pools/ filled with reflections/ of wishful/ legends”. We meet Vida, a girl who makes music for wounded creatures at a wildlife rescue center in Florida, who pines for the lost beauty of her childhood in Cuba, where she had a dear friend who also rescued animals, just as she did. She is unaware that Adán, her childhood friend, is no longer in Cuba. He too has moved to Florida – and the two of them meet again when Adán rescues a wounded fox that has been “chained to a gate by a sadistic human” and brings this into the wildlife rescue center where he meets Vida. The teenagers fall in love and volunteer to work at a zoo that rescues rare animals – but their romance is threatened when painful memories and old family grudges surface. In the midst of this emotional storm, an actual hurricane arrives and the two of them decide to brave the weather and help the animals at the zoo. And – as this is a recommendation to read this beautiful novel in verse (rather than a review) – I won’t tell you what happens next or whether the two young people discover enduring love; I’ll leave you to find out for yourself when you enjoy the pleasure of Engle’s latest book. 

BAYOU MAGIC (MG) by Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes 
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I was honored to be on a panel along with Jewell Parker Rhodes, New York Times bestselling author of GHOST BOYS and BLACK BROTHER, BLACK BROTHER, during the NCTE conference in November last year. It was an absolute joy to meet her in person. I’ve long been a fan of her work, and I’d read PARADISE ON FIRE, which has a strong environmental theme. But I hadn’t read BAYOU MAGIC before the panel. Of course, I had to read it, right after the panel. And wow – I was blown away. I didn’t think of the bayou as a magical location before I read the book.  I confess I’ve taken sediment cores in swamps often enough that I associated the word “bayou” with sweat, mosquitoes, marsh stench and disease-ridden ticks.  By the time I finished the book, the Bayou had become a marvelous landscape: I could see the glimmer of fireflies in the air and the swishing tails of mermaids beneath the waters. Rhodes weaves traditional folklore and fairy telling into this middle grade novel about a young Black girl who falls in love with the Bayou and, after the Gulf Oil Spill, battles to save it.  Equal parts fantasy and harsh reality, Bayou Magic is a mesmerizing tale about finding heroism in oneself. I loved this book, and I bet you will, too.  

GRACIE UNDER THE WAVES (MG) by Linda Sue Park

Gracie, the protagonist of this novel, loves being under the waves and snorkeling - and on a recent panel, together with two authors I have long loved and admired: Linda Sue Park and Pam Muñoz Ryan, I had the joy of hearing Linda Sue speaks with passion about the underwater world, which she loves as much as Gracie does!

When Gracie manages to get her parents to travel to the Honduras, where they can snorkel together, it seems like everything is set up for the best holiday ever - despite Gracie’s pesky little brother. Gracie even makes a new friend… but then she hurts her leg and her plans come undone. Worse, she realizes that the coral reef, which she loves so much, is threatened with extinction. 

Gracie wants to help - but she can’t do it alone. And like Geetha, in my novel Safe Harbor, Gracie reaches out and taps into the power of community, to do her bit to save our world. 
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Linda Sue pointed out on the panel that this is something she wants and hopes to see more of in the books we write in the future - not just the empowerment of individuals but also the importance of community. Because, as she points out, we can’t rescue our planet alone; we need to work together as a community. Gracie’s story will surely inspire young people to do whatever they can to rescue our watery world. 

EL NINO (MG) by Pam Muñoz Ryan

On the plane, on my way home after a panel with two authors I have long loved:  Linda Sue and Pam, I asked the latter for a ARC of her latest work. I read it on the plane and needless to say, my flight home went by in the wink of an eye as I dove into this enthralling tale, which weaves reality and fantasy together with the mastery of both that is evident in Pam’s other works, such as ECHO. 
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The protagonist of this novel is Kai Sosa, a passionate swimmer who wants to regain his place on an elite swim team. But he’s struggling - in part because he’s haunted by loss. His sister Cali disappeared two years ago, and he hasn’t been able to fulfill her last request: To find her missing golf cuff. Then Kai comes across a library book that Cali loved, about a mysterious underwater realm and motifs from that realm start showing up in his life - including Cali’s jewelry. And Kai is swept away by stormy emotions as myth and reality come together and the weather phenomenon known as El Niño unleashes its fury. 

​As an oceanographer, I’ve long been aware of the weather phenomenon known as El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO). It was very special and marvelously interesting to see this fantastic interpretation of an actual phenomenon. As for the real El Niño, I want to say we scientists are worried that it may become more disastrous as climate change escalates. 

​But as worried as I am about the future, as a writer, I cannot give up hope that we will somehow resolve the issues that confront us. And as a reader, it has been wonderful to delve into these books and see different ways in which these brilliant authors have made hope come alive on the page. 

GJLNS FYYFHP FY IFBS

Are you having trouble making sense of these words? Unless reading ciphers is one of your hobbies, these letters probably seem like a chain of nonsense. Ciphers are secret codes where one letter represents another. In this example, if you shift the letters five slots forward in the alphabet, G becomes B, J becomes E, L becomes G–get the picture? If you crack the code and keep on going, the new message reads like this:

BEGIN ATTACK AT DAWN 

Yikes. 

​Ciphers (including this one), secret codes, riddles, and puzzles play an integral role in The Bletchley Riddle (2025), the World War II historical adventure by two of YA literature's most celebrated writers, Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin. In addition to an intriguing plot, quizzical characters, and fascinating history, readers quickly find themselves puzzling through the mystery alongside the hero and heroine. 

Although these codes are a part of the novel’s charm, they make significant demands of the reader, which led the two of us to consider the way dialogue and intertextual experiences might support and engage adolescents. In the fourth volume of the Handbook of Reading Research, Wilkinson and Son (2014) identify intertextuality—or making sense of texts through reading and experiences with other texts—as an essential component to comprehension. Making meaning of texts through other texts of course means texts that students read, but it also includes oral texts shared by classmates, media, hands-on explorations, and references to events students experience or hear about (p. 374-375). These “texts” also provide information and experiences readers can draw on as they try to make sense of words and ideas and as they dialogue about their reading. 

​In our own experience as teachers and readers, intertextuality in the form of hands-on explorations and shared experiences supports student comprehension, increases student engagement, and generates meaningful dialogue. Our colleagues who teach science and social studies have known this for a long time, as evidenced by the experiments, simulations, and artifacts integrated into their teaching to help students master concepts (McCann et al., 2015; Pahl & Roswell, 2010) and through utilizing practices that intentionally foster intertextual experiences, such as Concept-­Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) (Guthrie et al., 2004) and Reading Apprenticeship (Schoenbach et al., 2003). But we also see potential to facilitate genuine inquiry and deep reading—especially with YA literature—using intertextual experiences. 

Consider the possibilities for this novel alone. The novel follows two British teens living on the eve of the Battle of Britain: 17-year-old Jakob and his 14-year-old spunky sister Lizzie. Jakob has been recruited to help decrypt secret German codes at Bletchley Park, the secret compound of linguists, mathematicians, chess champions, cryptanalysts, and others working on this part of the war effort. Lizzie has run away to escape being sent to live with her grandma in the United States and then finds herself recruited as well, tasked with delivering confidential notes around the park–as well as embarking on more personal adventures in search of their missing mother who was last seen in Poland. Set against the backdrop of World War II England, this text presents an important part of this part of history that is not commonly talked (or read) about.  

A myriad of dialogical strategies can help students explore the action, intrigue, historical context, and plot of this novel. A few intertextual experiences that would help students make predictions about the plot, map concepts, explore and practice vocabulary, and engage in problem-solving include the following:

Prop Box (Dulaney, 2012). In a prop box, objects and artifacts serve as representations of important symbols, plot points, or ideas in the reading. As students remove objects from the box, they make predictions about the significance of each object in the story and graphically represent these predictions on a concept map. With this novel in particular, these items could provide historical context about life in the UK just before the Battle of Britain. For example, props might include rationed foods, such as sugar, meat, milk, and cheese; a lightbulb, signifying the blackouts at night to prevent nighttime bombings; replica British recruitment posters encouraging young men to support the war effort; or photos of central figures such as Winston Churchill, Joseph Kennedy Sr., and Adolf Hitler. The final item might even be a class Google search of the phrase “Bletchley Park,” which turns up a cipher that eventually decodes itself. 

Simulations (Troyka & Nudelman, 1975; McCann et al., 2015). Simulations immerses students in the conflicts, emotions, and situations similar to those experienced by characters in the novel, ultimately helping students understand and connect to the events and characters. A central element for understanding The Bletchley Riddle includes the complex workings of Enigma, the German machine used to create ciphers. There are several websites that provide an online simulation of Enigma, where students can encrypt or decrypt ciphers. This online simulation could be used during the moments in the text where the characters describe the machine and attempt to use it. Students may not become experts at ciphers, but, like us, they may appreciate more fully how stressful and frustrating it would have been to be in Jakob’s position trying to crack the codes. To simulate the sense of the real-life pressure felt by these codebreakers, consider using a timer to replicate a sense of urgency and a reward of extra credit or early dismissal (it’s harder than you think). 

Spy Hunters (Coombs, 2025): Throughout The Bletchley Riddle, the characters struggle to fully trust one another because of the potential danger of German spies working among them. Sepetys and Sheinkin give the reader bits and pieces about several characters, making it difficult for the reader to fully know who can and can’t be trusted. To tap into this suspense, students can participate in a game called Spy Hunters, where students are placed into four or five groups and given a dossier of information about several characters–complete with photos, background information, and a list of why they may or may not be a German spy. Students talk with each other about the information given and rank each character’s likelihood of being a spy on a scale of one to five, then read with the purpose of collecting additional clues and solving the mystery. 

These intertextual approaches specifically apply to The Bletchley Riddle, but the strategies themselves can be applied to virtually any YA novel or nonfiction text. Teachers we know have used the spy hunter simulation with Sepety’s I Must Betray You (2022), Steve Sheinkin’s Bomb: The Race to Build–and Steal–the World’s Most Powerful Weapon (2012) or his graphic novel adaptation Bomb (2023), illustrated by Nick Bertozzi. Prop boxes provide an engaging way to track symbols, themes and ideas in The Serpent King (2016), All My Rage (2022), or The 57 Bus (2017). And simulations about social norms and otherness connect to themes in The Outsiders, American Born Chinese (2006), Everything Sad is Untrue (2020), or The Poet X (2018). 

These applications represent just a few of the many ways to provide intertextual experiences that put students in dialogue with the YA books we read in our libraries and classrooms. Neuroscientist and English major Maryanne Wolf (2018) explained that :

Deep reading is always about connection: connecting what we know to what we read, what we read to what we feel, what we feel to what we think, and how we think to how we live out our lives in a connected world.

Utilizing engaging YAL and intertextual experiences into our teaching can help students dialogue about their reading, their lives, and the world, connecting their emotions, questions, and experiences into their reading and learning. 

Before the pandemic, on a school visit, I had a revealing experience. A teacher confessed that she almost all the poetry she taught was by white poets. As we chatted some more, she also shared that she couldn’t think of a single poem about hope, other than the one by Emily Dickinson. (If you aren’t going to read this post all the way through, then at least check out my diverse verse post featuring poems on hope written by BIPOC poets:
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https://www.diverseverse.com/blog/poems-for-hope-2024) 

The educator’s comment, along with other things, such as an invitation to speak at an event organized by Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell, which reminded me of how deeply Tamil literature and Tamil poetry have influenced me, got me thinking. A seed of an idea was born in my mind. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had a website - a resource celebrating BIPOC poets and diverse poetic voices? 
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I started reaching out, seeing how others felt about it. I received enthusiastic responses from many poets. An encouraging and supportive email from Jackie Woodson that moved me to tears. Blessings from Nikki Grimes who warned “that’s quite an undertaking.”

Kari Anne Holt sent me a link to news article about how, “In Burma, they have come for the poets,” saying it felt pertinent to our discussion. Now, several years after our Diverse Verse initative began, the article still feels pertinent – almost frighteningly so. 

In the years since we began, our efforts have grown and changed. We have accumulated several excellent teaching resources and writing prompts. And during poetry month each year, we host a call for poetry from young poets. Young poets work on their poems in April and send them to us. Every participant receives a certificate of appreciation for their hard work, and judges choose a few poems to be featured on our website. 

If you’re a teacher or parent or librarian, here’s a heads up. This year, we’ll be inviting young poets (elementary school through high school) to submit “POEMS FOR ACTION” i.e. poems that inspire readers to take action on any topic or issue the poet feels passionately about. In March, we’ll put up a post with exemplars of “POEMS FOR ACTION” written by BIPOC poets – and we encourage young poets to read these before sending in their submissions.

And here’s an annotated list highlighting a few of the many useful resources that can be found on our site: 

Playing with Line Breaks: https://www.diverseverse.com/blog/learning-line-breaks-rene-saldana-jr

A craft and poetry activity: https://www.diverseverse.com/blog/pocketful-of-poetry-a-mini-chapbook

Tips on close reading a poem: https://www.diverseverse.com/blog/how-to-read-a-poem
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Writing a Thirteen Ways poem: https://www.diverseverse.com/blog/thirteen-ways-of-surprising-yourself-and-your-reader

Writing A Poem in Four Easy Steps: https://www.diverseverse.com/blog/how-to-build-a-poem-in-four-easy-steps

On Silence and Inaction: https://www.diverseverse.com/blog/different-kinds-of-silence

Thoughts on Rhyme: https://www.diverseverse.com/blog/tameka-fryer-brown-on-poetry-and-picture-books

Poetry as a vehicle for showing history: https://www.diverseverse.com/blog/https/wwwdiverseversecom/interview-with-marilyn-nelson

Templates as  tools to create specific poetry forms: https://www.diverseverse.com/blog/https/wwwdiverseversecom/poetry-templates-training-wheels-for-all-learners

I hope very much that you’ll join our mailing list and stay in touch with us at:
  
www.diverseverse.org (or www.diverseverse.com – both should lead you to the same location).

​If you have a poetry-related activity that you’d like to share – or if you can’t see the pop-up to sign on to our mailing list (to receive our bi-annual newsletter) please feel free to reach out to me directly (www.padmavenkatraman.com). 

̈You cannot read this book without just being drenched in love. There is so much beauty in being authentic
wherever you are. ̈– Alice Walker

Their Eyes Were Watching God (TEWWG) is the highlight of my school year. This book. This story. This protagonist... In a beautiful narrative, we hear the voice of a black woman as she searches for love and ends up finding identity and strength. Her story can be told to all levels of students. I teach seniors and they appreciate this woman and her struggle for identity. I had the pleasure of presenting how I teach this book at NCTE in 2024 and wanted to share with you the ways that this story will change lives and some instant lessons you can use.

This tale, set in the 1930s, gives voice to the voiceless. TEWWG begins with Janie returning to her hometown after being gone for several years, decades actually. As we flash back to Janie growing up, we learn about the horrors of slavery, sexual assault, and prejudice that her grandmother and her mother endure. Being raised by Granny, Janie just wants to experience love, a love that she learns from watching the bees pollinate the trees. After realizing she will never love her first husband, a man Granny pushes her to marry for stability, she leaves him. She finds what she thinks is love with a new man who wants to establish the first Black town in the South. He raises the money, opens up a general store, becomes mayor and puts Janie on the front porch for the world to look at, but never meet or hear from. Janie is miserable after decades of marriage. When Joe dies, a new man appears in her life and she finds love, joy, heartache, identity and even a natural disaster. When she returns home , Janie is transformed ; she is a more determined, more independent, stronger and happier woman than who left all those years before. TEWWG is undoubtedly a love story, but it is also about Janie’s quest to acquire agency and find her voice and the men who contributed to her journey in this discovery.

This story matters in 2025 for as many reasons as it mattered when Hurston published it. Before we start reading, I talk about Hurston's struggles of being recognized and what was happening during the Harlem Renaissance and why she was, pretty much, kicked out. This sets the tone for a story that is not primarily about racial injustice, but a story about real life, real consequences and accepting who we are in light of our choices. In 2025 there are many gray areas that English teachers have to tiptoe around so as to not offend someone, the community, the government, etc. Watching Janie grow from a teenager living with Granny to a beautiful, confident woman is a lesson for so many who are learning how to use their voice. And because the story celebrates African-Americans and recognizes their struggles with society, nature, and each other, it rarely gets dinged on a banned book list.

​Hurston´s storytelling ability allows for students to witness poetry in narrative. Her imagery is absolutely gorgeous. As a matter of fact, after reading the first two paragraphs, I have students draw the difference between men and women as Hurston describes them. The following conversation is brilliant, and a discussion that we can circle back to continuously while Janie builds relationships with men and women. As the story continues, there are a multitude of assignments/projects/discussions that are simple and students generally enjoy.

Looking at the attached pdf, here are a few favorite lessons. One is to have students choose a favorite sentence from each chapter. They can present these sentences as Snapchats, slide shows, or just a quick-write, explaining why that sentence stood out and how it fits in the context of the story. Once a week, you can choose certain students to share one or two of their sentences. Another favorite lesson is talking about figurative language. Because this story is so poetic, it is easy to point out or have students discover which-ever devices you choose to teach or that fit your state's standards. When it comes to characterization, there are so many rich characters to study. Her first husband is wealthy and offers stability, and arguably really loves Janie. Her second husband establishes the first Black town in Florida and seems like the perfect man, but falls short as the years move forward.

​Her final husband, Tea-Cake, is kind of a mess, but Janie genuinely loves him. Does the reader ever really come to trust him? And does that matter for the context of the narrative?  More great discussion points. The sitting on the front porch conversations are crucial scenes with minor characters that showcase the value of each interaction Hurston shares. Matt Bonner, a side character, owns a donkey and is forced to sell it for survival. The mule has its own chapter that potentially mirrors Janie's marriage to Joe.

The book alone is poetic, but there are other options when it comes to pairing poems to this story. Melissa Smith has created a website that has changed my teaching for the better. Teach Living Poets is a site that takes an extensive look at living poets, their works, their videos, and biographies. Assign students a particular poet and have him/her/they find a poem that explores a theme from TEWWG. Or you can find poems and share them with your students from this website. Melissa updates and adds new content regularly. I love this site and sharing with students that there are poets living in 2025 making a living from creative writing. There is another site called Their Eyes Were Watching God-Poem Pairings. Not only have they found beautiful poems to share with this book, they include detailed lesson plans. When thinking about short stories, what a great experience for you students when comparing Janie to the daughter in ¨Girl¨ by Kincaid. Alice Walker (the reason we even have Zora Neale Hurston) wrote a tale set in the 1960s, ¨Everyday Use.¨ This is another great story to pair with TEWWG. A mom reuniting with her two daughters thirty years after Janie finds her voice allows students to make connections between decades.

In a short clip posted by The Greene Space at WNYC & WQXR, Alice Walker discusses why this book is important and some of the controversy behind it when fi rst published. She summarizes best why TEWWG matters: ¨To have joy in your life is a great victory. True success is about being happy. And doing what you have to do to survive, but you have your good times. This is it. This is what is of value to a human life.” Share Janie´s story with your students, create your own lessons or use these, and have good times.

​1.  Draw the first two paragraphs. Talk boys and girls and dreams.

2.  Jane sits under a pear tree; tree metaphor throughout the story: Birds and the bees. (p. 11)

3. That made her feel the apron tied around her waist. She untied it and flung it on a low bush beside the road... (p. 32). How many levels can we did into this line.

4.  "And when Ah touch de match tuh dat lampwick let de light penetrate inside of yuh, and let it shine, let it shine, let it shine" p. 45).  Allusions. How is Jody God?

5.  Let's just have a field day with Matt Bonner's mule. So much with this chapter. (Chapter 6).

6. I tell students who borrow books to annotate them. When Janie claps back on Jody's manhood (79), the annotations says "Go off, Quenn." Let's talk about the shift in her behavior over the course of their marriage. Is she too harsh by the time he dies?

7. "Before she slept that night she burnt up every oneof her head rags..." (p. 89). This is the new Janie. compare to the apron metaphor.

8.  Tea Cake: Do we trust him? Why? Why not? Just when he is courting Janie when he is courting Janie prior to them leaving town.

9. Chapter 13: Tea Cake, 200 dollars, and the picnic. Do we trust him now?

10. The Everglades, Mrs. Turner, colorism. AND What is acceptable and what isnot in terms of abuse (This sounds disgusting, but hear me out. Chapters 16 and 17).

11. Title is found on page 160. How does it relate to the title and to the story? Talk to me, Goose (a classroom is saying).

12. A hurrican, rabies, and racism. (and Indians). Hurston is SO BUSY!

13. What is the book about, if it is not a love story? Explain.

14. i was going to do the leg work, but then I found this site: Their Eyes Were Watching God - Poetry Pairings. she did the work for me.

15. Have students go back and choose their favorite limes. Then explain why there lines struck them. Group share? Group share again? Class share? You pick.

16.  If you have not spent time on Teaching Living Poets, start the day you go back to class. Have students choose a poet and find a poem that connects to theme from TEWWG.

17. Kincaid's "Girl" would be an easy short story pairing.

18. The Collectors: Stories. I love A. S. King and ALL THINGS YA Lit. This book. Wow. King emailed her favorite authors asking them to write a short story (creatively --her word) about a collection. How great to have some short stories when thinking about collections and TEWWG: the stuff Jody collects for the front porch, hair rags, keepsakes, etc.

19. Alice Walker (The GOAT) talking about the importance of Hurston and this narrative: Alice Walker talks about self perception and love in Zora Neale Hurston's work.

20. Hurston and her biography. So POWERFUL! Learn about her and why she writes the books she wrote and all of her controversy. SO GOOD! AND so much discussion.

I was sitting at my teacher table when one of my 7th grade students approached me with a mischievous smile on her face and a book in her hands.
 
“Hey Laynie (pseudonym)” I said, wary but smiling. “Whatcha got there?”
 
“I think you should read this book.” she said with confidence, handing it to me.
 
At first, I was excited. Then I looked at the book, realized it was a graphic novel, and my face must’ve been loud, because Laynie began defending the book. I considered it for a minute or so, and then said, “You know what… I make y’all read stuff you don’t want to read all the time. Why should I be any different?” as I took the book from her.
 
Hi. My name is Chea, and I am not a graphic novel reader. 

And it’s not because I have some elitist ideas about how much easier they are than other types of reading. It’s quite the opposite, actually. Reading graphic novels takes more effort and active reading/analysis than I usually want to put in, which is why I’m in awe of my students who read them voraciously. For me, print text alone is so much easier. But I was willing to do it for a student. As I read, I contemplated the ways graphic novels can evoke ideas and characteristics of place and took to my shelves to pull down and re-acquaint myself with the rural graphic novels I have in my collection.
 
So much of culture and identity is built on place and space which also shape art, and because of the way graphic novels use illustrations, they present readers with a unique opportunity to consider how place shapes everything from cultural practices to tone.

Northranger by Rey Terciero and Bre Indigo is a Whippoorwill Honor winning graphic novel about rural ranch work inspired by Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. Horror-movie-loving Cade Muñoz is a closeted queer teen growing up in Texas. So, to him, real life is scarier than his favorite slasher flicks. When his family is on hard times, Cade and his stepdad Dale, go to work on a ranch owned and operated by one of Dale’s old commanding officers. Initially, Cade hates everything about the ranch—the early mornings, all the horse poop, the heat, but when unexpected feelings develop between Cade and the rancher’s son, Henry, things take a dark and mysterious turn. Not only is the story diverse in its rural representation and completing engaging on account of the gothic mystery, readers are able to see the difficulty and amount of labor it takes to run a ranch and care for animals in a way that isn’t possible in print alone, especially if the reader has never experienced that kind of work before. The images also contribute to the gothic tone of portions of the novel and literally help to color the readers understanding of the feelings connected to the action of the story. 

Brooms by Jasmine Walls and Teo Duvall is a graphic novel set in 1930’s Mississippi about historical injustices, magic, and broom-racing. In the story, best friend duo, Billie Mae and Loretta are determined to make enough money to move out west to a state that allows Black folks to legally use magic and participate in races; Chen Kwan juggles being a good “son” to her parents and being true to herself during races; Mattie and Emma, descended from lines of strong Black and Choctaw folks, try to dodge government officials who want to send them to residential magic schools/academies; and Luella (who’s in love with Billie Mae) fights to keep the government from taking power from her cousins the way hers was. In this graphic rural historical novel, magic becomes a stand-in for the power and rights of rural folks of color and brings alive the fight to preserve them. On every page, the magic comes alive through the images. There’s also something really powerful about seeing the illustrations of the rural housing, open spaces full of fireflies, and diversity of skin tone. These aspects in illustration provide unique and powerful opportunities for readers to see themselves and the history/legacy of their ancestors before them in the text. 

A middle grade option, Candle Point by Mike and Nancy Deas follows Kay during a winter storm on the coast in the Pacific Northwest. The power is knocked out across all of Sueño Bay. Being shut-in with her big family leaves Kay feeling a bit claustrophobic, so she sets out to stay with her Aunt Gayle. Along her journey, Kay stumbles upon an injured moon creature and discovers an entire colony of them living in a network of caves and tunnels. After tricking her friends into coming to the lighthouse to help the moon creature, noting goes according to plan, and Kay ends up putting them all in danger. Can Kay regain their trust enough to save them all? The illustrations make more tangible the coastal craggy rocks, the magic of moon crystals, and the wildness of the winter storm. The trucks and tall pines, the fluffy snow, and caves are all key to the lived experiences of the characters as well as readers from rural areas like it. Kay’s plucky spirt and Aunt Gayle’s surly disposition are also more evident and nuanced in the way they have been illustrated.

I’m not an avid reader of graphic novels, nor am I a graphic novel scholar (Jason DeHart is), but I do recognize the unique power they have to show rather than tell. To let readers see themselves, their experiences, their communities in the text. Reading graphic novels that take place in rural places is an important opportunity for rural readers to see their own experiences reflected back to them and for nonrural readers to have windows that offer a super clear view into an experience that isn’t their own.
 
This post is my reminder (and maybe yours too?) to bring more of these texts into my own rural 7th and 8th grade classrooms. Happy reading!

​In today’s post, I just want to share with you my latest read. It was brought to my attention by one of my undergraduate students in our Young Adult literature course after we read Deborah Ellis’s My Name of Parvana (2012), the fourth book in the internationally bestselling series that includes The Breadwinner, Parvana's Journey, and Mud City.

I was drawn to Love from A to Z because of its commitment to diverse representation. As someone who values stories that highlight different perspectives, I found Ali’s novel a refreshing and necessary addition to the YA literary landscape. The themes of love, self-discovery, and resilience also resonated with me, making this book a deeply rewarding read.

Ali’s portrayal of Muslim teens feels refreshingly real. The novel highlights the diversity of the Muslim experience, avoiding clichés and instead presenting multi-dimensional characters who struggle, grow, and find joy in ways that feel deeply human.

The novel doesn’t shy away from tough topics—chronic illness, prejudice, and the complexities of faith and identity—but it does so with warmth that makes it impossible to put down. The dual perspective format allows readers to step into the hearts and minds of both Adam and Zayneb, making their journeys even more compelling.

​Ali weaves the narrative through journal entries, capturing the inner thoughts of both protagonists in a way that feels deeply personal. This nonlinear approach adds an intimate layer to the story, making readers feel like they are discovering Adam and Zayneb’s worlds firsthand.

Readers who enjoyed I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman will find similar themes of unexpected connections and self-discovery in Love from A to Z. Likewise, those who appreciated All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely will recognize the novel’s commitment to tackling social justice issues and identity with authenticity. Ali’s use of nonlinear storytelling and journal-style narration adds to literary sophistication, complex nature, and uniqueness, making it stand out in the YA genre.

Beyond its skillfully written prose and engaging narrative, Love from A to Z is a book that fosters empathy. To apply Bishop’s metaphor, it offers a mirror for Muslim teens who rarely see themselves represented in mainstream literature, a window for others to understand different experiences, and a sliding door for readers to transport them into the story and help them empathize with characters.  

With overwhelmingly positive reviews from readers and critics, this book is more than just a love story—it’s a timely and necessary read that will stay with you long after you finish. If you’re looking for a novel that blends romance, identity, and social issues in an unforgettable way, Love from A to Z is a book for you. 

Have you read Love from A to Z? Have you read any other books by S.K. Ali? Let’s talk in the comments!

The first time I went to a writing conference was like stumbling upon a hidden universe. Not only did I discover the existence of other people who loved writing as much as I did, but here they were, gathered together talking about the craft of writing! Until then, I had been sitting alone in bookstores and coffee shops, trying to find my way through my own stories with very little guidance. Attending that first conference changed everything for me. I had found my affinity group and, with their support and encouragement, I have gone on to become a published Y/A author.

However, the most important thing that came from attending my first writing conference wasn’t that eventual publishing contract. Don’t get me wrong, that was pretty great. More importantly though, attending a writing conference stirred in me the deep belief that writers should not have to wait until they are adults to participate in growth-oriented conversations about the craft of writing with other writers. When I was a teen, there were no opportunities for high school writers to meet the writers they idolized, or even to meet other kids who like to write. Young Author Conferences began to spring up in the 1990s, but nearly all young author conferences focus on students in grades k-5. Writing opportunities tend to fall away once students reach high school. There are so many opportunities for teens who enjoy music, theater, art, or sports, why not offer something similar for teen writers?

​To fill that gap, I decided to create a teen writing conference. The dream was to create a place where creative teens would be surrounded and supported by published authors and other teen writers. Teens would be recognized before they walked in the door as strong writers and provided with choices about which aspect of writing they would like to work on.

So, if you know a teen who writes–even if they don’t turn in a single school writing assignment, but you’ve caught a glimpse of their song lyrics, epic graphic novel sketches, or D&D campaign–send them to the Get Inked Teen Writing Conference. More information is below.

Space is limited!

*Need-based scholarships available

Saturday, February 22nd In-Person Conference
​
Held on the campus of Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN

• SEVEN Y/A authors, including NYT Bestselling Author Trang Thanh Tran, Tracy Bilen, Heather Meloche, Christine Webb, Kim Bartosch, Tracy Korn, and Kat Higgs-Coulthard (Hey, that’s me!)
• SEVEN additional experienced presenters/writers, including NY Editor Kortney Nash, Lisa Renfro, Cindy Williams Schrauben, Tammy Layman-Hall, Kate Spina, Megan Twietmeyer, and Gail Flynn.
• Attendees receive copies of two signed books
• Get Inked Notebook
• Lunch experience in the college dining hall (Did I mention latte and ice cream machines?)

Saturday, March 1st Virtual Conference
​
Held virtually on Zoom

• EIGHT Y/A authors, including NYT Bestselling Author Trang Thanh Tran, Jean Alicia Elster, Barb Shoup, Mary Ann Moore, Christine Webb, Kim Bartosch, Heather Shumaker, and Kat Higgs-Coulthard (Hey, that’s me!)
• SEVEN additional experienced presenters/writers, including Professional Writing Coach, Erin Brown, Kate Spina, Alex Higgs-Coulthard, Cindy Williams Schrauben, Tammy Layman-Hall, Gail Flynn, and Storyteller Extraordinaire, Kevin Cordi.
• Attendees receive copies of two signed books
• Get Inked Notebook
• Shipping for books and materials is included

For more information:

Visit saintmarys.edu/events

Or
​
Contact Kat Higgs-Coulthard, author of Junkyard Dogs and Associate Professor of Education at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN [email protected]

In early January 2025, the Syrian capital city of Damascus started to feel like it might once again become a city where residents could live freely. Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the world has watched the horrors enacted by then President Bashar al-Assad against his own people. Utilizing corruption, secret police, unlawful detentions, chemical weapons, torture, murder, and disappearances, al-Assad cultivated a culture of terror amongst Syrians, many of whom fled their country in subsequent years. Syrians sought refuge in Jordan and Lebanon. They fled to Iraq, Egypt, and Germany. They crossed the border to Turkey, which still hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees, more than 3 million.

Jasmine Warga’s verse novel Other Words for Home was celebrated as a Newberry Honor book in 2020. This gorgeous book is lush with sensory language that places the reader directly in Jude’s life. Jude’s narration tells of her brother’s disappearance during the revolution, of fleeing her home in Syria, and seeking asylum and refuge in the United States with her pregnant mother. Warga’s choice to tell Jude’s story in verse facilitates embodied reading. We hear the songs Jude sings with her best friend Fatima before the civil war. We smell the Syrian coffee in the Middle Eastern restaurant she discovers near her new home in the U.S. We feel the softness of the bed as she lays next to her mother. Just as poetry directly connects readers to embodiment through figurative language and rhetorical devices, so too, does Warga’s verse novel reconfigure storytelling to forward the sensory as conduit for the story. ​

​Most importantly, this anthology focuses on teens and the real struggles they face–struggles that most adults want to pretend don’t exist. Donovan says in her introduction that this anthology is both youth-centered and inclusive and affirming. Including pieces focused on everything from suicide to the loss of parents to the pressure put on young people to the experience of immigrants, the authors of this text present readers with a raw and real view of the teenage experience. Readers of all backgrounds are sure to see themselves in one or more of these pieces and get a glimpse of the experiences of others as well.

​Celebrating books published in 2023, now finishing its fifth award cycle, the Whippoorwill Award continues to recognize quality rural literature for young people. Each year, the award committee selects books that portray and honor the complex experiences of rural culture and communities. The award serves to help highlight the diversity of rurality, so rural readers, teachers, librarians, and community members can find books that connect with their experiences of rurality.
 
As noted in Chea Parton’s YA Wednesday post in November, the structure of the award has shifted to include This shift included: (a) the selection of a long list; (b) the selection of a narrow list of honor books; and (c) the selection of one winner as the recipient of the Whippoorwill Book Award. In this blog post, we would like to highlight the intersections of indigeneity and rurality in this year’s honor-winning and long-listed books. 

In discussions of the books submitted for this award cycle, committee members deliberated on how and whether submitted and winning books complexify, deepen, and nuance our understanding of rural identity and the relationships between rural identity, indigeneity, stewardship, and rural experiences. We are reminded of Cadow’s (2023) words from Gather, this year’s Whippoorwill Award-winning book, 

​Indeed, in gathering the narratives and experiences captured in the recognized titles, the committee acknowledges the continued “increase in the number of submissions featuring multiple marginalized rural representations and identities” (Parton et al., 2023). Further, we appreciate how these books celebrate indigeneity, connectedness, and belonging as central themes. The stories gathered across this year’s celebrated books speak to these themes through intersectional rural identities and experiences, including a variety of Indigenous cultures, LGBTQIA2S+ identities, or familial/community relationships. Several of this year’s celebrated books feature a variety of Indigenous cultures, including stories about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), and explore the ways in- and out-migration impact perceptions of rural identity construction. 

​This year’s honor winners and long-listers highlight powerful intersections between Indigenous identities and rural identities. Of the winners, honorees, and long-listed books, five books have an Indigenous focus and protagonists. What is interesting about the perspectives of these stories is that each centers different perspectives on Indigenous identities and their intersections with rural identities. 

In Fire from the Sky, the characters are Sámi, the Indigenous culture of Sweden. Through this story, we learn about the impact of heritage and family ties through the lens of indigeneity. Community connections and supports, key aspects many in rural communities feel, intersect with Ante’s life steeped in Sámi tradition. With his deep connections to his family’s reindeer herding business and the traditions that tie him to the land, this novel highlights the intersectionality of international indigeneity and rurality. Rez Ball tells the story of Tre, who lives on the Red Lake Indian Reservation and plays basketball for the Rez team. Tre’s story of his life on the rez and attending a rez school highlights the intersection of reservation life, rurality, and indigeneity. Tre’s experience delicately explores the tension between deep ties to the community and a desire to experience life outside of that community. In The Storyteller, Ziggy and his sister Moon, who are members of the Cherokee tribe, lost their mother at a young age; however Ziggy believes his mother is still alive. Using Cherokee storytelling techniques, Ziggy and Moon go on an adventure to find their mother and have experiences connected to Indigenous mythos. Through these experiences, the intersections of storytelling, indigeneity, and the strength of family are highlighted. 

Extending our understanding of indigeneity and the rural experience, Ari Tison’s Saints of the Household provides the perspective of two Bribri (indigenous Costa Rican) brothers living in rural Minnesota. Jay and Max struggle with family, generational trauma, racial tensions, and learning about their Bribri heritage. Told through the point of view of both brothers, they learn that it is their Indigenous roots that will help them find a way forward into adulthood. Finally, in Those Pink Mountain Nights, Jen Ferguson blends the important conversations of MMIW, indigeneity, and the impact of large corporations and local institutions. Taking place in rural Canada in a First Nations community, Berlin fights to save her local pizza parlor from being taken over by a corporate chain and prevent her community from being negatively impacted. At the same time, her coworker and friend Cam is trying to find out what happened to his cousin Kiki. In this story, we learn about the power of local support in First Nations communities and the power of friendship in fighting for what you care about. 

As we celebrate the intersections of indigeneity and the rural experience from the 2024 Whippoorwill Award Year, we look to how these stories and identities can reach readers who will welcome them and those for whom these intersections invite them into new worlds.