Sneak Peek: Meg Medina

Meg Medina: It's really rewarding. I mean, so being able to be both specific and universal at the same time. And that comes, I think, truly from just being very honest to the experience. And that's the experience I have when I read other people's books outside of my experience of my own cultural experience. I'm drinking in all that they are opening up to me, right? I'm drinking in the culture, the language, the customs, all of it. And I'm also feeling connected and seen in those moments where-- those events, those people that an attitude that a character has resonates with someone I know or something I've seen. And that I think is at the heart of why children's literature can be so powerful. Especially when we create really robust inclusive collections, right, in classroom libraries and school libraries and neighborhood public libraries. Because it knits us together. It allows us to do both things. To celebrate all that we are and all the cultures that make us up as a country, and who we are as people. Like just as human beings. The commonality. And I think that is really vital especially now.