History, social science and geography for kids.
I’m thrilled to announce a new picture book through Red Comet Press. 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. This is the story of Simon Tam, the leader of the popular all-Asian-American dance-pop band, The Slants®,…
Lisa Rosowsky was in my freshman dorm in college and it’s been an absolute pleasure to watch her artistic career unfold as someone who makes political commentary about the Holocaust, as well as more contemporary times. Her art is multimedia and makes you think. It elicits a deeply emotional response, as art can do. I…
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,…
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…
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 2024! p.s. Related posts: Highlights…
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…
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….