History, social science and geography for kids.
It was fortuitous to meet Wade Ishikawa and his friend Will at the Hanapepe Salt Pond. I was just hoping to get some photos, not realizing that the salt ponds are only operational during the summer. Not only did Wade go over the harvesting process, clarifying some fine points that my research for Food for…
I visited the Grove Farm Sugar Plantation and took the tour. This was the home of George Norton Wilcox. This tour is an interesting case of how the victors write the history books. In this case, our tour group was just a handful of people. Our tour guide could recite an astounding number of numerical…
I had such a wonderful time at the 4th Annual Greater Roxbury Book Fair. This young man told me that his class just read Barbed Wire Between Us and that it was his favorite book! I love him so much! Also, this was amazing news to me because my book had only been out for…
Here is the Teacher’s Guide for Barbed Wire Between Us: Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación This is a free and downloadable guide: Barbed Wire Between Us Teacher’s Guide Related Barbed Wire Between Us Videos Interview with illustrator Violeta Encarnacio: Original song music video for Barbed Wire…
My dear friend, Lori Abe, arranged for us to take a private tour of the Hawaii Governor’s Mansion. The mansion is about to close for renovations, so it was the perfect timing. Lori is the Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Josh Greene. As we walked towards the State House, she called to…
Thank you to the National Council for the Social Studies and the Children’s Book Council for selecting The Traveling Taco as a Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People! The Traveling Taco: The Amazing and Surprising Journey of Many of Your Favorite Foods by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong, and published by Red…
I am so happy to announce that We Sing From the Heart is a Pennsylvania Mountain Laurel Book Award Nominee 2026-27. The purpose of the Mountain Laurel Book Award Program is to promote reading of quality books by young people in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to encourage teacher/librarian collaboration in young adult and children’s literature,…