Leitich Smith News Today

If you’ve ever gawked in disbelief at a hunky white man in redface, this one’s for you

Our summer reading preview for kids includes new fiction and nonfiction, books in verse, picture books and novels for middle-graders and young adults.

From the May/June 2023 special issue of The Horn Book Magazine: Diverse Books: Past, Present, and Future.

By Nina Hamza (Quill Tree Books, $16.99, June 22.) When 12-year-old Ahmed and his family move from Hawaii to his father’s Minnesota hometown, he is immediately on guard, aware that he has to explain the color of his skin and an Indian American heritage he only knows secondhand. He isn’t swayed by his dad’s warm memories of growing up in Farthing and the yearly box of Pearson’s Nut Goodies, maple syrup and autumn leaves sent by a childhood friend. A welcome letter from his si...

‘Ahmed Aziz’s Epic Year’

Heartdrum, a new imprint from HarperCollins Childrens Books, is the first imprint at a major American publishing company dedicated to the work of Native American creators. Children’s author Cynthia Leitich Smith and veteran editor Rosemary Brosnan, Heartdrums co-founders, share its origin story and explain why its existence is breaking important new ground. Let’s start with the basics. What will readers be able to expect from a book with the Heartdrum logo on the spine? Cynthia Leitich Smit...

By Sharyn Vane Cynthia Leitich Smith thought they were just going to have breakfast. The Austin author was looking forward to connecting with her friend and colleague Ellen Oh. The two were anchors of the children’s literature community, both for their years as writers and their advocacy for inclusive books, and they ended up at the same literary convention. Oh started chatting about author-curated imprints, or publishing partnerships that focus on a particular theme or passion of the writer....