There is such a refined elegance to I. M. Pei is only matched by his warm personality. It’s a combination that allowed him to move in the upper echelons of society in any country. In a way, he reminds me of my own father. Both immigrated from China in pursuit of their education. Though they…
Category: African American Children’s Books
15 Children’s Books featuring Volleyball!
My kids were introduced to volleyball in San Antonio, Texas when we went to visit a close friend of my husband’s from their college golf days. He also has three children, and his oldest had started playing volleyball in first grade. She patiently taught my two daughters how to bump and set the ball in…
Enslaved Poet: Phillis Wheatley
The three women of the Boston Women’s Memorial are Abigail Adams, Phillis Wheatley, and Lucy Stone. I posted on Lucy Stone here. Today I wanted to learn more about Phillis Wheatley. Phillis Wheatley was the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry. Educated by the people who enslaved her, Phillis mastered Greek and…
My Son Boxing: Then and Now & Boxing Picture Books
My son was introduced to boxing by my trainer Marc Gargaro when he was eight years old. Now he’s fourteen years old. Back then, I would take whatever kid had a free week during the summer and bring him or her to my morning boxing training session. My son was too young to object and…
A 10 Picture Book Unit to Connect Kids to Jazz
Today is International Jazz Day! To celebrate, please welcome my guest author today, Matthew Gollub, with his list of jazz books for kids. We are giving away a signed copy of The Jazz Fly (hardcover book with CD and free download). Please fill out Rafflecopter at the bottom to enter. Matthew Gollub is the award-winning author…
Heroes of Black History: Rosa Parks #BlackHistoryMonth
Charlayne Hunter-Gault was one of two black students to attend the University of Georgia fifty years ago. She recalls, “We were greeted by a screaming, howling mob of students, and I think some provocateurs…And as we walked under the arch, the students were yelling and screaming all kinds of epithets, and telling us to go…
14 Children’s Books about Harlem
I brought my daughters and one of their friends to see an art exhibit about Harlem. We were fortunate to get a private tour by Vera Ingrid Grant, Director of the Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African & African American Art at the Hutchins Center in Harvard Square, on her show, HARLEM: Found Ways, a…







