Juneteenth gets its name from the combination of June and Nineteenth and is celebrated annually on June 19. It’s also called Emancipation Day and Freedom Day. Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, announcing enslaved people “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free,” but the proclamation didn’t immediately apply in certain areas, including secessionist…
The #OwnVoices hashtag movement started in 2015 on Twitter to give readers a chance to share books about diverse groups that were written by authors that belong in the same group. For instance, a book with a Black child as the subject would be written by a Black author. from Chicago Parent 25 #OwnVoices Books…
The Tokyo Olympics are postponed for one year but we can still learn about Japanese culture. Did you know that sumo was being considered as an exhibition sport for the Tokyo Olympics? Sumo wasn’t chosen because only a few countries with a sizeable Japanese ex-pat population had sumo. Karate was chosen instead. But I think…
I’m teaming up with Amy Tai, a New York City public school elementary art school teacher, to create a monthly FREE Multicultural Children’s Book Club on behalf of Walking In Other People’s Shoes. Walking in Other People’s Shoes is a digital media platform inspiring women of color to find and empower their voices through storytelling…
My Kickstarter children’s book campaign was a great excuse to catch up with classmates from a long time ago. I went to UCLA’s Anderson School for an M.B.A. nearly 30 years ago. My favorite extracurricular activity was this program called T.E.C. on Campus. It stood for The Executive Committee and it was run by a…
Thank you to Alexis and Tiffany for hosting me and Nat Iwata on their YouTube Channel, Legit Kid Lit! Legit Kid Lit a video series highlighting kidlit creators sharing stories and being silly. We had so much fun talking about Sumo Joe that it ended up as a two-part series: It was fun to learn…
Diversify your reading routine to learn a little more about – and introduce your kids to – the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islanders) mores, traditions and cultures. From biographies to cultural traditions to eliminating stereotypes, you can stock your shelves or check with your local library for these great books for kids of all ages….