Why You Should Follow...

@mitaliperkins on #FollowFriday !

Here at Culturatti Kids, we love a good book. Even better if it touches on important issues for kids. If you look closely enough, you'll even see it in our name... Culture.

Which is why we loved learning about Mitali because she's an author who is passionate about books discussing bridging different cultures. Her books include (information from her blog):

• Secret Keeper (Random House), a novel for teens, and coming next in 2010 is The Bamboo People (Charlesbridge)
• Her first novel, The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen (Little Brown) a story of a California middle-schooler whose traditional Indian grandparents visit for a year, completely upending her typical teenage world. This book was as an ALA Book for Reluctant Readers and the winner of the Christian School’s Association’s Lamplighter Award. Next came
• Monsoon Summer (Random House), featuring a biracial teen who goes back to India for a life-changing summer of romance and realizations. This novel was an ALA Quick Pick, a Bank Street Best Book, a New York Library Book for the Teen Age, and a Texas Library Association TAYSHAS Best Book for Young Adults.
• The First Daughter novels (Dutton), two fast, light reads for teens, explore the campaign experience through the eyes of a candidate’s adopted Pakistani-American daughter.
• She also published Rickshaw Girl (Charlesbridge), a story for younger readers about a young Bangladeshi girl who challenges the traditional female roles in her village. This book won the Jane Addams Honor Award, the Maine Lupine Honor Award, and the Julia Ward Howe Honor Award.

Look forward to some good discussion in her Tweets and thanks to Mitali for supporting literacy!!

P.S. Amy at Culturatti Kids wants to know what part of London you lived in, Mitali! She lived in Notting Hill for 2 years!