We Sing From the Heart wins Julia Ward Howe prize for children's literature!

We Sing from the Heart has been selected as the 2024 winner of our Julia Ward Howe prize for children’s literature! This is the first award that I’ve won outright. I am thrilled and humbled!

The Boston Authors Club Julia Ward Howe Book Awards are awarded annually by the Boston Authors Club to authors living within 100 miles of Boston for books in both the adult and young readers’ categories.

Thank you to the Boston Authors Club for this honor and congratulations to all the other winners and honorees!

My books:

Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación

⭐ Starred review from Kirkus
⭐ Starred review from Publishers Weekly
⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal
Kirkus: The Most Anticipated Children’s Books of Spring 2026

Free and downloadable guide:

Barbed Wire Between Us Teacher’s Guide

Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Postcards from Malcolm X: How Yuri Kochiyama Became a Civil Rights Activist

Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Fortune Cookies for Everyone! (Smithsonian): The Surprising Story of the Tasty Treat We Love to Eat

California Eureka Non-Fiction Gold Award
Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)

The Traveling Taco: The Amazing and Surprising Journey of Many of Your Favorite Foods

California Eureka Non-Fiction Silver Award
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
Reading Rockets’ Summer Reading Guide 2025

Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court

ALSC Notable Children’s Book
2025 Carter G. Woodson Book Award Middle Level Honoree
Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
2024 Julia Ward Howe Prize for Children’s Literature Winner
California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2025
Recommended Reading for the Social Justice Literature Award 2025 (International Literacy Association)
Pennsylvania Mountain Laurel Book Award Nominee 2026-27
Junior Library Guild Gold Selection