Barbed Wire Between Us unboxing!

My author copies just arrived! I can’t wait to show you!

Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación, and published by Red Comet Press

This is the story of my heart. The manuscript that I struggled with for years, which was, at first, much too dark to be a children’s book. Critique partners told me to write an Op Ed instead. Years went by as I struggled to come up with the words. It morphed into a free verse poem and then into a reverso poem. Still, it sat on my desktop as I wondered if this was a book. Finally, I got the courage to send it to my agent. It releases on March 31, 2026. I hope you like it.

Here is my first reaction to my box of author copies:

p.s. Related posts:

Geography Game featuring WWII Internment Sites!

BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US gets Kirkus Starred Review!

Barbed Wire Between Us included in Sneak Peek list of Poetry for Young People 2026

BARBED WIRED BETWEEN US: Kirkus The Most Anticipated Children’s Books of Spring 2026

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My books:

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

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
Kirkus: The Most Anticipated Children’s Books of Spring 2026

Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

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

California Eureka Non-Fiction Silver Award
Reading Rockets’ Summer Reading Guide 2025

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)
Junior Library Guild Gold Selection