It is such an honor to win the California Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Award for Fortune Cookies for Everyone! Fortune Cookies for Everyone! (Smithsonian): The Surprising Story of the Tasty Treat We Love to Eat by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Colleen Kong-Savage, and published by Red Comet Press An investigative picture book which cracks the…
Category: Social Studies
History, social science and geography for kids.
Postcards from Malcolm X Cover Reveal!
I’m excited to announce the release of my newest picture book, scheduled for October 13, 2026. I struggled for a long time to write a picture book biography about Yuri Kochiyama. Most people haven’t heard of her. She preferred to help in the background and not be front and center. Most people have heard of…
Barbed Wire Between Us unboxing!
My author copies just arrived! I can’t wait to show you! Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación, and published by Red Comet Press This is the story of my heart. The manuscript that I struggled with for years, which was, at first, much too dark to be a children’s…
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Since I was going to be in Washington, DC for NCSS, my husband joined me so that we could go to some of the museums. He hadn’t visited museums in DC since his trip in high school. I hadn’t seen the museums since graduating from college. We had a lot of catching up to do!…
History of Auburndale in Newton MA by Newton Historical Society
I live in Newton, which morphed from its original name, New Town, a reference to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1688 on the land where the Waban lived, Newton is made up of 13 villages, with the intent that people could walk to their village center for their needs, such as the post office, library, and…
Tracy Slater’s Together in Manzanar Book Launch
Together in Manzanar by Tracy Slater is an adult book that examines the struggles of a Japanese Jewish Family in an American Concentration Camp. I was thrilled to meet her at her book launch at Newtonville Books! p.s. Related posts: FORTUNE COOKIES FOR EVERYONE Geography Game featuring WWII Internment Sites! Dorktales Podcast about…
Activities for We Sing From the Heart
We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Victor Bizar Gomez ALSC Notable Children’s Book 2025 Carter G. Woodson Book Award Middle Level Honoree Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book Junior…







