I’m a big fan of our current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Gene Luen Yang.  I like his work, I like his speaking style (I got to hear him once when he was in Eau Claire), and I love his platform.  The Reading Without Walls Challenge encourages people to read books about a book or character that doesn’t look or live like you; a book about something you don’t know a lot about; and/or a book in a format you don’t usually read in.

He recently published a short comic in the New York Times Book Review about his own childhood, and wondering what would have happened if he and his classmate had had more access to books that provided a window into other people’s experiences.  In it, he refers to the classic essay by Rudine Simms Bishop called Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors.  For a quick and lovely introduction to the issue, or a nice reminder or tool for showing other people what you are talking about, take a look at this comic!