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Category: Controversial

The Chinese Exclusion Act

The Chinese Exclusion Act – What They Don’t Teach in History Books

Posted on July 19, 2021April 27, 2025 by Pragmatic Mom

I’m kicking off a series that I call “What They Don’t Teach in History Books.” These are topics that are generally erased from history. I don’t remember ever learning about them at school. I will center each topic using children’s books. I plan to add videos and other links to make each topic a more…

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Matt de la Pena and his comeback from sexual misconduct accusations

Scbwi: Matt de la Pena and his comeback from sexual misconduct accusations

Posted on February 5, 2021February 22, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

Today, I’m going to examine sexual misconduct with two examples. Let’s start with the more public one, Jeb Rubenfeld, Yale Law School tenured professor and husband to Tiger Mom, Amy Chua. Yale Law Professor, Jeb Rubenfeld, Suspended for Sexual Misconduct This is from New York Magazine: A two year suspension, however, was not was the…

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Portraying Asians in Children's Books

Are Slant Eyes Racist? Portraying Asians in Children’s Books

Posted on January 4, 2021February 22, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

“[Asians] are not a monolithic group. There’s nothing in our DNA that binds all Asian-Americans together. No group identifiable by race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion is unanimous in terms of how they approach justice, even if they share the same values. We’re far more diverse than stereotypes allows.” from Slanted: How An Asian American…

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Racism in Children's Books: Asian Slant Eyes

Racism in Children’s Books: Asian Slant Eyes

Posted on June 29, 2020February 23, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

“Chink!” “Jap!” “Where are you from?” “Do you eat dog?” “Why don’t you go back to where you came from?” “Do you know Kung-Fu?” From the racist to the innocuous, issues of culture, ethnicity, and discrimination are prevalent themes for Asian minorities in the United States. The Asian desire to be “American” and fit into mainstream society in the U.S. can be challenging as…

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Can A Book Do Real Harm? Anti-Asian Racism in Joey Pigza series by Jack Gantos

Anti-Asian Racism in Joey Pigza series by Jack Gantos

Posted on May 29, 2020February 23, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

Selma Yalazi-Dawani sent this to me via Facebook. She is a curriculum developer in education. Her 10-year-old was reading a book series that was introduced to him by his school. He was enraged to find anti-Asian racism in a book published in 2015. The book? The Key That Swallowed Joey Pigza by Jack Gantos. Here…

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SCBWI Minnesota Racist Illustration and Gaslighting Response

SCBWI Minnesota Racist Illustration and Gaslighting Response

Posted on February 27, 2020June 11, 2025 by Pragmatic Mom

November 20, 2020 April, As the Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, you could have acknowledged the minority group that was hurt by the Scbwi Minnesota group — that of mixed-race Black/Asian American children. Seeing a racist image that reflects their ethnicity is harmful to adults and children. This is why Dr. Sarah Park Dahlen and…

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#SarahDessen PR Firm Debacle

#SarahDessen PR Firm Debacle

Posted on November 25, 2019April 10, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

A funny thing happened on Twitter to me this past week. A woman was aggressively calling me out for tweeting about #SarahDessen. It was strange and out of the ordinary how persistent she was, and she seemed to be closely monitoring her Twitter account, replying almost instantly every time I responded. Some of her tweets…

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I’m Mia Wenjen!

Mia Wenjen Pragmatic Mom

Hi, I’m Mia Wenjen. Nice to meet you!

I blog excessively about diverse children’s books (picture books through middle grade). I am also the co-founder of Read Your World Celebrates Multicultural Children’s Book Day on Jan 25, 2024, our 11th year!

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