Beginning in 2005, the School of Education’s children’s lecture series has presented seven highly regarded authors. Each author represents a different worldview–from Chinese-American history and myth, to African-American porch stories, to novels about Chicano identity and emigration, to retellings of well-known fairy tales from around the world.

Ying Chang Compestine (2012)

Listen to an interview with the author on Capital Public Radio here.

Ying Chang Compestine’s book Revolution is Not a Dinner Party is up for a California Young Reader Medal, but to win the book needs votes. Download this pdf file about the award, fill out the nomination form on page 5, and send it in by March 24.

Award-winning author, dynamic public speaker and world traveler, Ying Chang Compestine is the author of numerous books, including picture books, young adult novels, and cookbooks for adults that promote healthy eating. Drawing from her childhood experience and described as “Anne Frank in the Cultural Revolution,” Revolution is not a Dinner Party  has received more than 30 awards, including the California Book Award, ALA Best Books and Notable Books and the San Francisco Chronicle Best Children’s Fiction Book. In A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts (YA), Ying uses tantalizing recipes as a common thread to cook up a unique offering of eight compelling ghost stories. All the Chinese ghosts in these stories have as strong a desire for revenge as for delicious food.

Ying was born and raised in Wuhan, China. She came to the U.S. for graduate school. After both her parents passed away, she began writing to cope with her grief and to reconnect with China. Ying earned a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Colorado. Prior to writing, she taught sociology at colleges and universities in both the U.S. and China. Check out her website.

Joyce Carol Thomas (2011)

African American poet, playwright and children’s author, Joyce Carole Thomas celebrates the folk traditions and history of African American women, children and families in America. She is celebrated for her young adult novels, poetry, and picture books, as well as fiction and plays for adults. She won the American Book Award for her first novel, Marked by Fire, and the Coretta Scott King Award for her second, Bright Shadow. For more information, visit her website.

Belle Yang (2010)

Belle Yang’s writing celebrates the immigration journey of her family from China to Japan and the United States. Her work is beautifully illustrated with her paintings, which have been compared to Gauguin’s. Her book Always Come Home to Me is the 2008 winner of the Best Children’s Book award by the Chinese American Librarians Association. In 2010, she released a graphic memoir, Forget Sorrow: An Ancestral Tale. To learn more about Belle Yang, visit her website.

Francisco X. Alarcón (2009)

On January 28, 2009, the series featured Francisco Alarcón, Chicano poet, children’s author and professor at UC Davis, and Maya Christina Gonzalez, a children’s book illustrator who has collaborated frequently with Alarcón.

Alarcón is the author of 10 volumes of poetry, including, From the Other Side of Night / Del otro lado de la noche: New and Selected Poems (University of Arizona Press 2002), Sonetos a la locura y otras penas/Sonnets to Madness and Other Misfortunes (Creative Arts Book Company 2001), No Golden Gate for Us (Pennywhistle Press 1993), Snake Poems: An Aztec Invocation (Chronicle Books 1992), De amor oscuro/Of Dark Love (Moving Parts Press 1991, and 2001), Body in Flames/Cuerpo en llamas (Chronicle Books l990). His most recent book of bilingual poetry for children, Animal Poems of the Iguazú/Animalario del Iguazú, was published by Children’s Book Press of San Francisco.

Robert D. San Souci (2008)

Robert San Souci’s books – many of them retellings of traditional folk tales – celebrate cultures from around the world. He has written over 80 books and has collaborated with his brother, Daniel, on nine of his books. Daniel is an illustrator. His most recent titles include The Reluctant Dragon, Little Pierre, and The Well at the End of the World. For more information about San Souci, visit his website. 

Patricia McKissack (2007)

Patricia McKissack delighted more than 1,000 children, teachers and community members with two lectures, focusing on storytelling and her personal journey as a children’s literature author. McKissack told her audience that she began her career as a writer to tell stories that hadn’t been written for children, from the ghost stories and tall tales of her youth to stories about the many contributions made by African Americans that have been previously overlooked.

“We learn how to make decisions from the books we read as children,” she told her audience. “If you don’t see yourself in those stories, you think you can’t participate. That’s a real tragedy.”

A prolific writer of stories about African Americans and historical fiction, McKissack frequently collaborates with her husband, Fredrick, who accompanied her on her trip to Davis. Together, they have written over one hundred books about the African-American experience, winning notable awards such as the 2003 Coretta Scott King Honor Book for Days of Jubilee. To learn more about Patricia McKissack, visit the Scholastic website.

Pam Muñoz Ryan (2006)

Pam Muñoz Ryan, has written over 30 books for young people in many genres, including the novel, Esperanza Rising, winner of the Pura Belpre Medal, the Jane Addams Peace Award, an ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults, the Americas Award Honor andother accolades. When Marian Sang is the recipient of the National Council of Teachers of English Orbis Pictus Award for excellence in non-fiction. Becoming Naomi Leon received the ALA Schneider Family Award, the Tomás Rivera Award, and an ALA Notable. She is twice the recipient of the Willa Cather Literary Award for Writing and a four-time nominee for the California Young Reader Medal, receiving the medal for Riding Freedom in 2000. To learn more about Ryan, visit her website.

Laurence Yep  (2005)

Laurence Yep served as the inaugural speaker of our children’s lecture series. Yep’s interest in intersecting cultures, differing perspectives and the links between generations of people all illustrate the rich diversity of ideas found in children’s literature. His stories excite children and teens by placing them in unfamiliar worlds with protagonists who share their sense of wonder and discovery. To read more about Yep, visit Scholastic.