On the Radar: MASC

From the Learn-Something-New-Every-Day Deptartment:

I just discovered an organization called MASC, or Multiracial Americans of Southern California (via the NAME listserve). The organization caters to the needs of multiracial people, people involved in interracial relationships, and transracial adoptees. Pretty cool, huh?

Things I learned today from looking at their website:

• This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court Decision, the court case that legalized interracial marriage in the United States. I can, on a very personal level, be grateful for that case!

• In 1997, the Office of Management and Budget mandated that by 2003, all Federal forms allow individuals to choose more than one race.

Charlesbridge Fall 2007 List

Multicultural
Global Babies (boardbook) from the Global Fund for Children
Dragon Drawing Book (ages 8-11) by Ralph Masiello

Latin American
Come Look With Me: Latin American Art (ages 5 and up) by Kimberly Lane

Middle Eastern
Camel Rider (ages 10-14) by Prue Mason

A Peek Behind the Scenes

Fall catalogs are coming in from the publishers, and I'm starting to go through them, seeing what might fit our catalog for the next season. Usually, I make a list of all the books I see that I think our customers would be interested in-- of course, books about Asia and Latin America. I also keep an eye out for books that have multicultural themes. And sometimes, something a little different will strike me as fitting somehow.

After I've made my list, I request review copies from the publishers. When they come, I read them and decide which books will make it into the catalog.

I thought it would be fun to show you my list as I go through each publisher's catalog because even though it may not make it into Shen's selection, it's still good to know that publishers are working on making our bookshelves more multicultural.

On my blog lists, I'll include all multicultural books, even if it's not from an area that we specialize in (like African or Native American). I'll also include YA even though we don't carry much YA. We'll make big lists-- it'll be fun!