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    • We Sing From the Heart is a Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner!
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    • Food for the Future is a finalist for 2023 INDIES Book of the Year!
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    • FOOD FOR THE FUTURE is a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection!
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Author: Pragmatic Mom

I am a mom with three kids and a husband living in Newton, MA. I graduated from Harvard University with a degree in HIstory and Science. I went to The Anderson School of Management at UCLA for my M.B.A.My background is entrepreneurial. I started several companies and currently serve on three boards including for my elementary school and preschool. I was a SAHM for nearly 8 years, and went back to work part-time just recently. Now I work almost full time as a WAHM for a consumer electronics start-up in Boston.My blog is my outlet to read children's literature which is my great secret pleasure, and to document any interesting and/or useful information that I acquire as I parent. My kids are quite active and pursue many interests collectively including soccer, gymnastics, rhythm gymnastics, karate (Chung Kook Doh), ice skating, Chinese, Spanish, flute, piano, T-ball, book clubs, and art. In my free time, I have been doing kickboxing, vinyasa yoga, zoomba, and I am trying to learn Spanish as well.Learning about SEO and how to blog has been a really fun enterprise albeit very time consuming. I started a bloggers group that meets weekly called www.coffeeshopbloggers.com. The S.O.S. on SEO. We share our collective frustrations and knowledge from blogging.Now you understand the Type A parent I am...hence the tagline my blogger friends came up for me for my blog:Type A Parenting for the Modern World
Books that inspired graphic novel NORI

List of 5 Books that inspired graphic novel NORI

Posted on July 20, 2020February 23, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

Please welcome Rumi Hara today with her list of books that inspired her graphic novel Nori. She is a Japanese cartoonist living in New York who’s been gaining acclaim in the comics community. Nori by Rumi Hara Nori is a spirited preschooler who lives in suburban Osaka in a multigenerational family. Her grandmother takes care…

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How to Make Family Vacations More Educational

How to Make Family Vacations More Educational

Posted on July 17, 2020February 23, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

The first word that comes to mind when talking about vacations is “fun”, especially for children. Kids want to feel totally free on vacations and have as much fun as possible. Parents usually want rest and relaxation on family vacations, but they also need some entertainment. But there is also a way to combine fun…

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SAY HER NAME March Boston organized by Black Lives Matter

SAY HER NAME March Boston organized by Black Lives Matter

Posted on July 15, 2020February 21, 2026 by Pragmatic Mom

My neighbor invited me and my daughters to join her and her daughter at the Say Her Name March in Boston on the 4th of July. Group organizers said the rally for Breonna Taylor, Riah Milton, Oluwatoyin Salah, Marielle Franco, Tseshego Fatso Pule, Christine Ricketts, and Bobby Jean Graham and other Black women who have…

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Antiracist Books for Kids, Teen, and Adults

29 Antiracist Books for Kids, Teens, and Adults

Posted on July 13, 2020December 29, 2025 by Pragmatic Mom

Please welcome my guest today,  Lisa Stringfellow, Co-Chair of the Inclusion and Diversity Committee for NESCBWI, who asks “… what can we do on an individual level to educate ourselves about issues of equity and social justice?”   p.s. Related posts: Multicultural Children’s Book Day NEW Classroom Kit on Structural Racism! A Unit on Skin…

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Top Children’s Books to Help You Address the Diversity of Human Race

Top 4 Children’s Books to Help You Address the Diversity of Human Race

Posted on July 10, 2020February 23, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

With recent unsettling events occurring in the United States, various themes about how the Black American minority is seen were brought to light once again. With various online platforms going as far as deleting some movies from their content that allegedly were racist, it’s safe to say that racism remains an important issue in today’s…

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Multicultural Children's Book Day Sponsorship Flash Sale

Multicultural Children’s Book Day FLASH SALE!

Posted on July 8, 2020February 23, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

Can you believe our 8th event is coming up?! Our Multicultural Children’s Book Day online and offline celebration occurs on the last Friday of January. We will be celebrating next on January 29, 2021! We are currently holding a Flash Sale for sponsorships. If you are a diverse children’s book author or publisher, go here…

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Exotic Fruit Challenge: Cherimoya

Exotic Fruit Challenge: Cherimoya (Take 2)

Posted on July 3, 2020February 23, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

My 14-year-old son’s Exotic Fruit Challenge: Cherimoya (Take 2, fresh from the Farmers’ Market!). The first time we all tried Cherimoya, we were not fans. MaryAnne of Mama Smiles suggested that our fruit, being imported, might not have been at its peak ripeness. She was right! When we tried it again, this time from a…

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I’m Mia Wenjen!

Mia Wenjen High Res Headshot Jerry Russo

Hi, I’m Mia Wenjen. Nice to meet you!

I blog about diverse children’s books, co-founded Read Your World on Jan 29, 2026, and write children’s books.

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Mia Wenjen watercolor figure painting

Activity Guides for My Books

Activity Guides to Mia Wenjen's Books

Barbed Wire Between Us (click to purchase)

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

Barbed Wire Between Us original song by Daria Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wZieLAYEXA

Pre-Order Postcards From Malcolm X

Postcards from Malcolm X by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Keith Henry Brown

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Fortune Cookies for Everyone (click to purchase)

FORTUNE COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Colleen Kong-Savage, Published by Red Comet Press

Makoto Hagiwara| Inventor of Fortune Cookie | Dorktales Storytime Stories for Kids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1TaM7HjuzY

Fortune Cookies for Everyone book trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9k6aOlMgCc

The Traveling Taco (click to purchase)

Cover Reveal for THE TRAVELING TACO by Mia Wenjen

The Traveling Taco Song created by Daria – World Music for Children

https://youtu.be/KWTuCwbWLXs

We Sing From the Heart (click to purchase)

We Sing From the Heart picture book cover reveal of The Slants Simon Tam

Dorktales Storytime Podcast: Simon Tam featured in We Sing From the Heart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlDdwUZpcNI

FOOD FOR THE FUTURE (click to purchase)

Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Robert Sae-Heng

Food for the Future Song created by Daria – World Music for Children

https://youtu.be/uTw6y3EjeOA

SUMO JOE (click to purchase)

Sumo Joe cover reveal

CHANGING THE GAME (click to purchase)

Changing the Game: Asian Pacific American Female Athletes by Mia Wenjen

Boxer Baby Battles Bedtime! (click to purchase)

Cover Reveal: Boxer Baby Battles Bedtime!

3rd Newton Children’s Book Festival 2026//NEW Venue!!

Save the Date for the 3rd Annual Newton Children's Book Festival 2026!

Heim Nest Kid Mattress Exclusive Deal

Heim Nest Kid Mattress
educational toys
educational toys from dhgate stores

Online GED test at Excel

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The Elusive Full Ride Scholarship (click to purchase)

The Elusive Full Ride Scholarship: An Insider’s Guide

How to Get Kids Reading

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Purchase Read Your World Merch

LGBTQIA+ Books Save Lives Merch.

Buy it here!

HOW TO COACH GIRLS book trailer by Mia Wenjen & Alison Foley

https://youtu.be/j74M0bBxrGg

HOW TO COACH GIRLS (click to purchase)

How To Coach Girls by Mia Wenjen and Alison Foley

ebook Version has 3 bonus chapters (click to purchase)

How To Coach Girls ebook

My Websites

  • How To Coach Girls
  • I Love Newton
  • Mia Wenjen (My New Author Website)

The Traveling Taco Book Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf4tp9lffG0

We Sing From the Heart book trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJNcJd8dEPU

Recent Posts

  • Teacher’s Guide for BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US June 24, 2026
  • Kung Fu Crane Girl picture book announcement! June 22, 2026
  • Simon Tam from The Slants and how a reader found him June 19, 2026
  • Summer Children’s Book Series at Tower Hill Botanical Garden June 17, 2026
  • 10 Picture Books About the Art and Skill of Sharing + GIVEAWAY! June 15, 2026
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