Campus Connection

[caption id="attachment_31984" align="alignright" width="250"] Novelist Mitali Perkins will speak at UW-La Crosse April 8.[/caption]

Presenter at 8th annual Multicultural Children’s Literature event

A renowned author of books for young adults will give two presentations at UW-La Crosse. Mitali Perkins will share stories and expertise of growing up between the two cultures of India and the U.S. She will present at 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 8,  in the Collaborative Learning Studio on the 2nd floor of Murphy Library. Her presentation is part of the 8th annual Multicultural Children’s Literature Event, “Books Between Cultures.” Admission is free. Perkins will address questions such as: what are the tensions facing kids growing up on the margins of race and culture; how do stories serve as windows and mirrors for them, as well as for all of our children; and what should we ask about books when it comes to race, culture and power. Perkins has written eight novels for young readers, including “Rickshaw Girl,” chosen by the New York Public Library as one of the top 100 books for children in the past 100 years. Her novel, “Bamboo People,” is an American Library Association’s Top 10 Novels for Young Adults, and was starred and described in Publishers Weekly as “a graceful exploration of the redemptive power of love, family and friendship." Perkins graduated from Stanford University in political science and received a master’s in public policy from the University of California-Berkeley. After spending the last 13 winters in Boston, she now lives and writes in San Francisco. To complement her presentations, the Alice Hagar Curriculum Center will display books, articles, and other materials that showcase Perkins’ writings, Indian literature and other related children's literature. The program is co-sponsored by UW-L’s Murphy Library, School of Education and Office of Campus Climate and Diversity along with the La Crosse Public Education Foundation. See more at:

• www2.uwlax.edu/MurphyLibrary/Find-information/Curriculum-center/Multicultural-2014/  and
• www.uwlax.edu/murphylibrary/departments/curriculum/stem/teacherresourceday.html.

If you go — What: Eighth Annual Multicultural Children’s Literature Event: Books Between Cultures Where: Collaborative Learning Studio, second floor, Murphy Library When: Tuesday, April 8 —12:30-2 p.m. and repeated from 4-5:30 p.m. Admission: Free