2011 POC Reading Challenge

Last year, I couldn't help but notice the whitewashing of covers, as cases popped up all over the blogosphere. And it bothered me, as it should. But I have to be honest and tell you that I didn't read any of the books affected, and I'm sorry for it. So, this year I'd like to officially join the POC Reading Challenge, "to highlight and celebrate authors and characters of color."

The levels of participation are:

Level 1: Read 1-3 POC books
Level 2. Read 4-6 POC books
Level 3. Read 7-9 POC books
Level 4. Read 10-15 POC books
Level 5. Read 16-25 POC books

I haven't yet chosen a level for myself. It seems too easy to go for Level 1, but if I can review and write honestly about that many books, then I'll be happy. And really, I'm joining more for the discussion and community than anything else.

I'll post books here as I read them...

1. The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa (review)
2. Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles
3. Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves (review)
4. The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
5. Huntress by Malinda Lo
6. The Red Umbrella by Christina Gonzalez (review)
7. Tell Us We're Home by Marina Budhos (review)
8. Riding Freedom by Pam Munoz Ryan
9. Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

Update: Not included here are the tons (tons!) of picture books I read for work. We have an extremely diverse population of students, and I'm always reading them books from different cultures.