Tag Archive for #bookbloggercon

Not a Complaint So Much as a Lament

I just came across this recent photograph.

Take a look at it. Notice anything?

Here’s the info from the corporate Scholastic blog, On Our Minds:

Book-loving people from far and wide have converged upon New York City this week for Book Expo America — and along with it is probably the largest-ever gathering of book bloggers!

Several of them have put in some long hours organizing the first ever Book Blogger Convention (#bookbloggercon), scheduled for Friday, and we were excited to have about 20 of them here at Scholastic HQ on Monday for a tour of our home!

So, essentially, we’re looking at a sampling of 20 children’s book bloggers. Too bad we couldn’t have flown in, say, Travis Jonker, just to represent.

Sigh.

When we wring our hands over the gender reading gap, wondering what kinds of books will turn boys into readers, I always think: It’s not the books. The books are fine and plentiful. We’re missing the male role models, the fathers with books on their laps, the male teachers and librarians and editors and bloggers.

That the gatekeepers are overwhelmingly women naturally reflects a somewhat distorted perspective (good intentions aside) on books. We need more men — and no female blogger, book-lover, or reading advocate can be blamed for that.

POSTSCRIPT: For some other posts that touch upon this topic: 1) A Tribute to William’s Doll; 2) What Is A Book for Boys?; 3) Books for Boys?!; 4) And lastly, author Kurtis Scaletta recently shared his thoughts in a classic blog post, “How to Write for Boys.”