It comes up every year: what are the “good” books for Thanksgiving and Indigenous Peoples Day? It’s not simply a question of #OwnVoices but historical accuracy from multiple points of view. It’s much easier to celebrate a narrative that eliminates conflict and genocide. In searching for books over the past few years, these are the…
Category: Best Books for Kids
Best picture books, chapter books, young adult books, graphic novels and non fiction for kids.
10 Children’s Books about the COVID-19 Pandemic
Please welcome Dr. Erin King-Mullins of the Corona-Mamas.com blog today. She’s a surgeon from Atlanta, Georgia, as well as a new mom. Her blog addresses two pandemics: COVID-19 & Racism. I’m thrilled to have her today with helpful children’s books to understand the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: Bereavement/Death Picture Book Picture Book on Expressing Emotions Anxiety…
10 Middle Grade Books about Immigrant Families
Read these middle grade books about immigrant families! These chapter books about immigration shed light on life for many of our kids. I met Laura Shovan through social media and I got to know her when she included me in creating an NCTE proposal for a sports-related panel. I had read her first book, a…
My Red-Tailed Hawk Babies Learn to Fly
My neighbors and I are enjoying watching a Red-tailed Hawk family grow up. There are two baby chicks who are now fully-fledged teenagers with keys to the car. They can be seen swooping around from tree to tree and they are a raucous bunch; noisy, playful, and fun! Their arrival this spring has made birdwatchers…
List of 5 Books that inspired graphic novel NORI
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…
Activists & Activism: New Multicultural Children’s Book Day Classroom Kit
I’m extra excited to announce our newest Multicultural Children’s Book Day Classroom Kit on Activism and Activists! You can get it here. There’s something more … I illustrated the poster this year! Now, I didn’t set out to illustrate anything! I had been working on my drawing skills, taking figure and portrait classes recently. I…
Racism in Children’s Books: Asian Slant Eyes
“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…







