Here is the Teacher’s Guide for Barbed Wire Between Us: Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación This is a free and downloadable guide: Barbed Wire Between Us Teacher’s Guide Related Barbed Wire Between Us Videos Interview with illustrator Violeta Encarnacio: Original song music video for Barbed Wire…
School is out, and July is a slow month for children’s book list-related events, but here is what I have. 4th of July 6 Favorite Diverse Picture Books for 4th of July Here’s a video interview of Janet Wong on her inspiration behind writing Apple Pie Fourth of July: July 14th: Shark Awareness Day 22…
My Book News! GREEN HOMES HAPPY PLANET Cover Reveal BARBED WIRED BETWEEN US: Kirkus The Most Anticipated Children’s Books of Spring 2026 We Sing From the Heart Wins Social Justice Literature Award BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US gets Kirkus Starred Review! A Great Review by BookList for FORTUNE COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! We Sing…
We have 72 bundles of children’s books at our Read Your World website. Everything is on sale for Back-to-School! Go directly to our store or click here to see the 72 bundles. Use code VGA5J7DQ at checkout. Sale ends August 31! Thank you for supporting nonprofit Read Your World. We promote literacy through diverse books for children. To examine…
My middle daughter, PickyKidPix, became terrified of sharks after indulging in too many Shark Week TV shows. It’s easy to get a skewed impression of sharks so let’s use children’s books to learn about sharks before Shark Week begins on July 17th! Let’s start Shark Week off with some facts about sharks, shed by the first…
My deepest thanks to everyone who reviewed The Traveling Taco! Thank you so much!! If I missed anyone, please leave a comment and I’ll add you! Educators’ Spin on It: Exploring Food History and Culture with The Traveling Taco Erin Dealey: Happy delicious Book Birthday wishes to THE TRAVELING TACO + 8 Qs…
My author copies for Postcards From Malcolm X arrived! Here’s my unboxing video: Postcards from Malcolm X: How Yuri Kochiyama Became a Human Rights Activist by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Keith Henry Brown A moving portrait of Yuri Kochiyama―an ordinary woman who became an extraordinary activist―and her bond with Malcolm X When Japanese American activist…
It was fortuitous to meet Wade Ishikawa and his friend Will at the Hanapepe Salt Pond. I was just hoping to get some photos, not realizing that the salt ponds are only operational during the summer. Not only did Wade go over the harvesting process, clarifying some fine points that my research for Food for…
When we took a family trip to the West Coast to visit art colleges for my oldest child, we stayed near Fisherman’s Wharf. There, at the Boudin Bakery, I saw an exhibit about inventions that come out of San Francisco. I noticed that the fortune cookie was one of them. I didn’t think about this…
Thank you to Erin Akamine for featuring me on Discover Nikkei: Mia Wenjen is an accomplished children’s book author, a mother of three, an avid blogger known as Pragmatic Mom, and co-creator of Read Your World, a nonprofit dedicated to celebrating diversity in books. Yet perhaps her most successful and ongoing achievement is feeding her voracious appetite…