Lycée Français de New York senior Alice Dauchez likes books. She likes books so much, she started a reading club at the school last year. Today, the Novelty Book Club claims several active members from the Lycée student body, and, this May 8th, the club will be hosting its first ever book panel. The theme is diversity and representation in American children’s literature, and speakers will include award-winning YA authors and publishers from around New York City and beyond:
- Kheryn Callender, Hurricane Child and This is Kind of an Epic Love Story
- Adam Gidwitz, A Tale of Dark and Grimm series and The Inquisitor’s Tale
- Nikki Garcia, Little Brown Books for Young Readers
- Sydnee Monday, Penguin Random House’s Kokila imprint
- Beth Phelan, book agent and winner of the 2019 Children’s Book Council Award for Outstanding Achievement in Diversity
Dauchez created the event to commemorate Children’s Book Week, an annual festival of books for young people, which will be celebrating its 100th birthday this year. Over 750 schools, libraries, and bookstores are expected to participate across the country. The event will be co-sponsored by We Need Diverse Books, a non-profit and grassroots organization whose mission is to put more books featuring diverse characters into the hands of all children.
On a recent break between her classes, we caught up with Dauchez to talk about the inspiration behind the Novelty Book Club, bringing the panel to life, and her future plans.
How did the “Novelty Book Club” come to be?
I’m a huge fan of reading. When I started the book club last year, I wanted it to be about more than just discussing books. My main goal is to build community. We started by reading to 1st graders. Their enthusiasm motivated me to expand my efforts to spread the joy of reading. I created the panel as part of the Children’s Book Week celebration so we could involve the community outside the Lycée too.
How did you pick the speakers for the panel?
I wanted a diverse panel of diversity champions, so I did some research and sent targeted emails. The protagonists in Kheryn Callender’s award-winning Hurricane Child and This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story are queer people of color. Nikki Garcia’s first acquisition was the Lola Levine series about a biracial bicultural character. It’s also one of the first chapter books written and illustrated by two Latinas. Newbery Honor winner Adam Gidwitz, the one Caucasian male on the panel, recently started co-authoring his Unicorn Rescue Society series with an author from the culture or place where the book is set. Beth Phelan was awarded the 2019 Children’s Book Council Diversity Outstanding Achievement Award for her work reaching out to diverse authors and launching #DVPit, a Twitter pitch event for marginalized authors and books with minority characters. Sydnee Monday represents Kokila, an imprint that was launched last year by Penguin Random House and is dedicated to centering stories from the margin.
I’m thrilled to bring this panel to the Lycée.
Why did you pick diversity and inclusion as the theme?
The theme for the 100th anniversary celebration of Children’s Book Week this year is Read Now Read Forever. While I love reading, until recently, it was hard for me to identify with the characters in the books I read. I think it’s important for young readers to be able to see themselves in the books they read so that they can feel a deeper connection with the characters and believe it could be them. It’s this sense of the possible that is powerful. This is why I picked diversity and inclusion as the theme and reached out to We Need Diverse Books to co-sponsor the event.
What has been challenging about hosting a panel?
Everything! I had no idea when I started how much was involved. I reached out to a lot of people and for the most part they have all been super supportive. Now we’re trying to spread the word, so we can have a great turnout.
Did you get help from the school?
Yes, I couldn’t have done it without help from the school. I floated the idea with our Heads of School last November, and they were very encouraging. It’s been great to see the Lycée community come together in support of this event. Our Head Librarian, Mr. Renon, and Primary Librarian, Ms. Tsouri, in particular, have been hugely helpful promoting the event, along with The Cultural Center and Communications Team. Our English Department and Diversity Club have also been enthusiastic.
What will you do after the Lycée?
I’m applying for a publishing internship this summer and will be attending Wesleyan in the fall. Beyond that, I’m not sure, but I know I’ll keep reading and pushing for our voices to be heard!
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Our Voices: Bringing Diverse Stories to Young Readers
Wednesday, May 8 at 4:30pm
Lycée auditorium
505 East 75th Street
Book seats here.
About the Author :
Alice Dauchez is a 12th-grade student at the Lycée and the founder of the Novelty Book Club.