Morning links: Diversity edition.

Holly Sterling illustration via the Guardian's piece on nursery rhymes.

• This week, the Guardian is focusing on diversity in books for youth: "This week is all about celebrating and sharing the diverse books we love and also asking questions about why there aren’t more of them around!"
• At the Guardian: Diverse voices: the 50 best culturally diverse children's books. (It should be noted that Seven Stories, the original creator of the list, called it Diverse Voices – 50 of the Best Children’s Books, which is WAAAY different than saying 'the 50 BEST'.)
• At the Guardian: Nursery rhymes from all over the world – a gallery to share with children. Well, that book just jumped to the top of my wishlist.
• At Dazed: Come out with the best characters in queer lit. Very little YA, sadly. To fill that void, see this column at the Horn Book.
• At Flavorwire: Anti-Harassment Policies and Diversity Panels: How NY Comic Con Worked to Make Geek Culture More Inclusive. "It was perhaps the best representation of what Comic Con should be: an inspiring place that celebrates diversity and differences, and that aims not to erase these differences but to highlight how important they make the world."
• At the Guardian: Na'ima B Robert: Where are all the Muslim characters in children's fiction?" "You will find that, underneath the layers of unfamiliar language, culture, family dynamics and expectations, there is something you can relate to: a shared humanity, a heart, a soul, that speaks to yours." (Note: If you aren't following Ms. Marvel, START.)
• At the Guardian: SF Said: Books showed me it was all right to be different. "Whenever I visit schools, there’s one question I’m always asked: “What’s your real name?” I explain that SF Said is my real name. The initials stand for Arabic Muslim names, because my family is originally from the Middle East. My name is ordinary if you speak Arabic, but unpronounceable if you don’t. So I use initials, because no-one could ever say my name when I was growing up."
• At the Guardian: Sita Brahmachari: the importance of diverse names in children's books. "Even so when I was young the only Sita I ever met in a book was in the story of Rama and Sita. The chances of coming across a modern British Sita (or someone like her; my character Mira for example) in a book that I might have picked off a library shelf… were slim. Things have changed a lot since then but there is still a long way to go until the range of stories and central characters in books reflect the diversity of our world."
• At CNN: What teens will be reading next. ""I've seen real momentum in the awareness and desire for more inclusive and diverse narratives, culminating in the amazing #weneeddiversebooks Twitter campaign that went viral," Pon said."
• At Gay Star News: New Neil Gaiman book for children features a princess being woken by a kiss from a queen. "A spokesperson for Bloomsbury said to GSN, ‘While it is not a gay story in itself there is much to be said about having a female kiss not only described but illustrated in a book for young readers.’"
• From FiveThirtyEight: Comic Books Are Still Made By Men, For Men And About Men. "And even then, the characters were often neglected. “‘Spider-Woman’s’ cancellation in 1983 after 50 issues was notoriously unceremonious,” Miller said. “A single line of text declared the series was ending, pasted onto a story page that established that Spider-Woman had never existed in the Marvel universe, and that everyone would magically forget her!”" GRAPHS! THIS ONE HAS GRAPHS!
• At the Guardian: What are the best diverse books for children and teenagers? "Children’s authors, poets and illustrators, including Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Grace Nicholls and Wendy Meddour, recommend diverse books that inspired them to children and teens today."
• At NaNoWriMo: We Need Diverse Books: Novels that Get Representation Right. "With all the important conversations about diversity happening among readers, writers, and the publishing industry, the number one question most authors have is: how can I write diversity—and do it right—without falling back on tired tropes and stereotypes?"