A few things to know about Mitali Perkins and some resources.
Briscoe Visit
Mitali visits Briscoe for 3 presentations on Wednesday, November 20, 2013.
Presentation for grades 6 & 7: LIFE BETWEEN CULTURES
Using a personal, humorous slide show, Mitali shares candidly about her experience of growing up between two cultures, exploring some of the tensions immigrant kids face, and introducing some of the richness of Bengali culture. Students are encouraged to ask questions, and discussion throughout sparks lively responses from participants.
Presentation for grade 8: STORIES ON THE FIRE ESCAPE
During the teen years, one thing's for sure: your life story gets much more interesting. Of course, that might mean your heart ends up a bit scorched in places. Good stories have the power to heal those burns. In this personal, engaging presentation, students reflect on the power of stories as they listen to funny and poignant memories from Mitali's teen years.
See some excerpts of thank you letters students have written to Mitali.
Books
She is the author of a number of YA novels, including three that have been on the Briscoe summer reading list:
She has recently edited and published Open Mic: Riffs on Life Between Cultures in Ten Voices, a collection of humorous stories (both fiction and nonfiction) by 10 different YA authors who share stories touching on race.
She has also written short stories and several other books, including a shorter book, Rickshaw Girl. (Summary: In her Bangladesh village, ten-year-old Naima excels at painting designs called alpanas, but to help her impoverished family financially, she would have to be a boy, or disguise herself as one.)
Biography
Mitali was born in India and immigrated to the States with her parents and two sisters when she was seven. Her name, “Mitali” means “friendly" in Bengali. She says she has had to live up to her name because her family moved so much — she’s lived in India, Ghana, Cameroon, England, New York, Mexico, California, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Massachusetts.
Mitali studied political science at Stanford University and Public Policy at U.C. Berkeley before becoming a YA author. She lived in the Boston area, in Newton, for many years, and recently moved back to California.
Mitali Online
Follow Mitali on Twitter - she is very active!
Bamboo People website for the book of this name
If you want to use this or another video in the classroom, do not stream it, I can give you a file I downloaded.
Press
Five Questions for Mitali Perkins - Horn Book, Aug. 12, 2013
Author Interview with Mitali Perkins - BookBundlz
Video Interviews - PrimarySource.org
More author interview resources - TeachingBooks.net