My friend Lynn’s brother-in-law has a new book coming out and we went to his book launch at Harvard Book Store to learn about how cemeteries have shaped history in America. This book started in Greg Melville’s youth with a summer job mowing the grass at the local cemetery where he grew up in Bedford,…
Category: Social Studies
History, social science and geography for kids.
Manufacturing History in Newton Upper Falls & Book List
I didn’t realize that the Industrial Revolution took place where I live in Newton, Massachusetts. The city of Newton began as an offshoot of the more well-known Cambridge but morphed into its own city. The Charles River winds through Newton and it drops by 25 feet in Newton Upper Falls, creating the perfect conditions for…
Book Announcement! Postcards from Malcolm X: How Yuri Kochiyama Became a Civil Rights Activist
I am so thrilled to be making a book with Angus Yuen-Killick, founder of Red Comet Press. The incredibly talented Keith Henry Brown will illustrate Postcards from Malcolm X: How Yuri Kochiyama Became a Civil Rights Activist. This middle grade picture book biography is slated to come out in January of 2027! p.s. Related…
I Walk the Black Heritage Trail in Boston
I’ve wanted to do the Black Heritage Trail in Boston’s Beacon Hill since I moved here but it’s a lot harder to find than the Freedom Trail which is marked by a red brick line that traverses the city. I thought the Black Heritage Trail started somewhere in Boston and extended to the South End…
Raksha Bandhan with India’s Boxing Champion Vaibhav Yadav
I learned about Raksha Bandhan from Rajani LaRocca’s Storytelling Math picture book, Bracelets for Bina’s Brothers. We used her picture book for the August 2021 Multicultural Children’s Book Club. I also learned about Raksha Bandhan from my friend, Vaibhav Yadav, who trained at my boxing gym. He’s India’s Unified Welterweight boxing champion, a.k.a….
New Orleans Holocaust Memorial
The New Orleans Holocaust Memorial Sculpture is an artistic visual prayer in memory of the Six Million Jews of Europe and those millions of other victims who were tortured and murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators from 1933-1945. The sculpture is composed of nine panels, each with different designs. As you view the scupture…
Celebrating Girls’ Day: A Japanese Holiday called Hinamatsuri
I’m half Japanese American but I’ve never celebrated Hinamatsuri, known as Girls’ Day or Doll’s Day, in Japan. It is celebrated on March 3 every year with a display of dolls representing the Heian court in a celebration to celebrate girls and wish for their continued good health and happiness. An expansive hinadan in Katsuura,…







