| Padma Venkatraman is the author of The Bridge Home, Born Behind Bars, A Time to Dance, Island's End and Climbing the Stairs. Her books have sold over ¼ million copies, received over 20 starred reviews, and won numerous awards: Walter Dean Myers Award, South Asia Book Award, Golden Kite, ALA Notable etc. Her poetry has appeared in Poetry Magazine and been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Padma’s latest novel, Safe Harbor, which School Library Journal described in a starred review as an “must-read” is inspired by Padma’s doctorate in oceanography and it features a girl who rescues a stranded seal. When she’s not writing, Padma loves teaching and sharing her love for reading, writing and science. Visit Padma’s website to download free teacher and writer resources (www.padmavenkatraman.com) and arrange an event via her speaking agency, The Author Village (https://theauthorvillage.com/presenters/padma-venkatraman/). |  |
Great Environmentally Themed Books with BIPOC characters: A few recommendations from a BIPOC writer by Padma Venkatraman
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
RSS Feed