Highest highs: Me and a room full of middle schoolers at a school visit in November 2022, organized by We Need Diverse Books and Writers and Artists Across the Country. Every student in the photo is holding their own copy of my nonfiction book for readers age 11 and...
Miscellaneous Awesomeness
Download the Activity Sheet for RED AND GREEN AND BLUE AND WHITE
I'm a giant fan of the RED AND GREEN AND BLUE AND WHITE picture book illustrator, Paul O. Zelinsky, and he created this brilliant activity page (click here to download.) What's so cool is that kids can fill in the windows with all Christmas trees and one Menorah, just...
Summer 2022 Update
Hi, community! The last few months have been full of many things, but not blogging... So, here are some fun highlights of what's been going on: #1 The International Literacy Association chose NO WAY, THEY WERE GAY? as the winner of their Young Adult Nonfiction Award!...
STRONG – A Stereotype-Breaking Picture Book I Wish Had Been Read to Me When I was a Little Kid
Strong by Rob Kearney and Eric Rosswood, Illustrated by Nidhi Chanani Rob dreams of becoming a champion strongman. He wants to flip huge tires, lug boulders, and haul trucks -- and someday be the strongest man in the world! But he feels like he can't fit in with his...
Small Town Pride – A Gay 13 Year Old Finds Himself, His Voice, and Maybe… Community
Small Town Pride by Phil Stamper Jake is just starting to enjoy life as his school’s first openly gay kid. While his family and friends are accepting and supportive, the same can’t be said about everyone in their small town of Barton Springs, Ohio. When Jake’s dad...
We Need To Be Talking About Reparations for Descendants of People Who Were Enslaved
This New York Times Article, "The Ransom: The Root of Haiti's Misery: Reparations to Enslavers" starts with some slides: In 1791, enslaved Haitians did the seemingly impossible. They ousted their French masters and founded a nation. But France made generations of...