Skip to content
Pragmatic Mom Barbed Wire Between Us Banner
Menu
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Policies
    • Media Kit
    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright
    • KidLit Blogroll
  • My Book Lists
    • My List of Lists
    • Multicultural Books for Children: 60+ Book Lists
    • #OwnVoices
    • Summer Reading Lists for Middle School Kids
    • Asian American Children’s Books
    • African American Children’s Books
    • Arab American Children’s Books
    • Latinx American Children’s Books
    • Native American Children’s Books
    • LGBTQIA+ Children’s Books
    • Diverse Books for Kids
    • Best Books for Kids
  • Education
    • STEM/STEAM
    • Math
    • Social Studies
    • Art Projects & Exhibits for Kids
    • Applying to Art School
    • Applying to College
    • Book Club for Kids
    • 70+ Free Educational Games
  • Controversial
    • Sexual Misconduct in Children’s Book Publishing #MeToo #TimesUp
    • Rethinking & Examining Dr. Seuss’ Racism
    • Blood Feud over YA #BloodHeir
    • Tulsa Race Massacre: What They Don’t Teach You in History Books
    • The Chinese Exclusion Act – What They Don’t Teach in History Books
    • Segregation in California Schools: What They Don’t Teach in History Books
    • SCBWI Minnesota Racist Illustration and Gaslighting Response
  • My Books
    • BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US gets Kirkus Starred Review!
    • FORTUNE COOKIES FOR EVERYONE Geography Game featuring WWII Internment Sites!
    • Activity Guides to My Books
    • We Sing From the Heart wins Julia Ward Howe prize for children’s literature!
    • WE SING FROM THE HEART is Carter G. Woodson Book Award Honoree!
    • Cover Reveal: Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación
    • New Title … for my picture book A PLACE TO CALL HOME
    • My Book Announcements
    • The Traveling Taco gets a SONG!
    • The Traveling Taco Unboxing!
    • We Sing From the Heart makes Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year 2025!
    • The Traveling Taco on Reading Rockets’ Summer Reading Guide 2025!
    • The Traveling Taco featured in Booklist
    • Origami French Fries: Activity for THE TRAVELING TACO
    • Book Announcement: A Place to Call Home! {and a new title …}
    • FOOD FOR THE FUTURE makes Sunshine State Young Readers Award Orange Blossom List for Nonfiction!
    • Cover Reveal of my latest picture book … FORTUNE COOKIES FOR EVERYONE!
    • Picture Book Announcement! BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación
    • We Sing From the Heart gets a few stickers!
    • Book Announcement! Postcards from Malcolm X: How Yuri Kochiyama Became a Civil Rights Activist
    • Kirkus Reviews My Newest Picture Book: THE TRAVELING TACO
    • We Sing From the Heart is a Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner!
    • We Sing From the Heart gets a few stickers!
    • WE SING FROM THE HEART wins California Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Award
    • WE SING FROM THE HEART is Orbis Pictus Recommended Book
    • WE SING FROM THE HEART is a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
    • Dorktales Podcast: Simon Tam, Hidden Hero of History
    • Food for the Future Wins Nautilus Silver Book Award
    • Food for the Future makes Mass Book Award Long List!
    • FOOD FOR THE FUTURE Makes Green Earth Book Award Long List!
    • Food for the Future is a finalist for 2023 INDIES Book of the Year!
    • New! Food for the Future Activity and Discussion Guide!
    • FOOD FOR THE FUTURE is a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection!
    • ‘Food for the Future’ selected for Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best books
    • Scholastic Purchased CHANGING THE GAME!
    • Starred Review for FOOD FOR THE FUTURE from School Library Journal!
    • Sumo Joe makes Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year list!
    • How To Coach Girls wins Silver Award!
    • Posts on My Books
  • My Book Events
    • My NCSS Schedule in DC
    • My Book Events
Menu
Read Your World Giving Tuesday Fundraiser starts tomorrow.

Read Your World Giving Tuesday Fundraiser is LIVE today!

Posted on December 1, 2025December 2, 2025 by Pragmatic Mom

This year, Read Your World’s Giving Tuesday will support a Title 1 Elementary School in Waltham, MA. Imagine an elementary school that can’t have a book fair simply because the students are low income. Research has shown that owning books, especially books that reflect the reader, improves literacy rates. Our fundraiser will donate over 500…

Read more
Boston Marathon 2025 in Newton MA

Boston Marathon 2025 in Newton MA

Posted on November 26, 2025September 12, 2025 by Pragmatic Mom

This year, I was determined to watch all the leaders of the Boston Marathon as they passed through my town, infamous for Heartbreak Hill. I always missed the wheelchair leaders because they are so fast, but I find them the most compelling of the racers. I told my son that it was interesting to watch…

Read more
The Pressure Cooker Generation: When Academic Anxiety Starts in Middle School

The Pressure Cooker Generation: When Academic Anxiety Starts in Middle School

Posted on November 24, 2025December 24, 2025 by Pragmatic Mom

Middle school used to be about finding your locker, joining clubs, and figuring out who you are. Today, it’s become a high-stakes launching pad where twelve-year-olds already worry about college applications and career paths. The pressure is building earlier than ever, and many students are cracking under the weight of expectations that would challenge adults….

Read more
Best Pediatric Orthopedic Specialists in 3 U.S. States

Best Pediatric Orthopedic Specialists in 3 U.S. States

Posted on November 23, 2025December 23, 2025 by Pragmatic Mom

In This Article What to Look for in a Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist Best Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist in Houston — Fondren Orthopedic Group Best Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist in Los Angeles — Los Angeles Pediatric Orthopaedics Best Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist in Chicago — Windy City Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Comparing the Top Pediatric Orthopedic Specialists/a> Methodology Frequently…

Read more

How Childhood Dental Checkups Create Healthier, More Confident Teens

Posted on November 22, 2025December 22, 2025 by Pragmatic Mom

Most parents understand the importance of protecting their dental health, and it’s important to pass that knowledge down to their kids. Not my father, though. He was an immigrant from China and thought that dental checkups with no cavities were a rip-off. Needless to say, our lack of regular dental checkups meant that we ended…

Read more
I'll be at NCTE Denver!

I’ll be at NCTE Denver!

Posted on November 20, 2025November 25, 2025 by Pragmatic Mom

If you are going to NCTE, I hope to see you! Here’s my schedule:   Friday, November 21 11:00am – 12:15pm Nerdy Book Club Mia Wenjen Mile High Ballroom 1A/1B 2:00pm – 3:00pm We Sing from the Heart (Book) Mia Wenjen RCP Booth #830   Saturday, November 22 8:15am – 9:30am Teaching with the 2025…

Read more
Why Your Family Needs a Home Water Testing Routine in 2026

Why Your Family Needs a Home Water Testing Routine in 2026

Posted on November 19, 2025December 22, 2025 by Pragmatic Mom

They found lead in the water fountains in my kids’ elementary school in Newton, MA. The result? The water fountains were turned off until further notice. But what about lead in the water in my house? We do have a filtration system, but I also decided to test our water for lead and other unhealthy…

Read more

Posts pagination

  • Previous
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • …
  • 468
  • Next

Looking for something? Search here.

I’m Mia Wenjen!

Mia Wenjen by Jerry Russo
Mia Wenjen
(photo by Jerry Russo)

Hi, I’m Mia Wenjen. Nice to meet you!

I blog about diverse children’s books, co-founded Read Your World on Jan 29, 2026, and write children’s books.

Free Blog Updates in your Inbox (RSS feed)

Monthly Newsletter with Subscriber Only Giveaways in your Inbox

My Shop for My Signed Books + Art

Mia Wenjen watercolor figure painting

Activity Guides for My Books

Activity Guides to Mia Wenjen's Books

Follow Me on Instagram

Instagram Icon

Follow Me on Pinterest

Pinterest Icon

Follow Me on YouTube

YouTube Icon

Follow Me on Facebook

Facebook Icon

Follow Me on BlueSky

Bluesky Icon

Follow Me on X/Twitter

Twitter X Icon

Follow Me on LinkedIn

LinkedIn Icon

Search Amazon

Find Children's Books

Shop Read Your World: Discounted Book Bundles and Toys

Fortune Cookies for Everyone (click to purchase)

FORTUNE COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Colleen Kong-Savage, Published by Red Comet Press

Fortune Cookies for Everyone book trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9k6aOlMgCc

The Traveling Taco (click to purchase)

Cover Reveal for THE TRAVELING TACO by Mia Wenjen

The Traveling Taco Song created by Daria – World Music for Children

https://youtu.be/KWTuCwbWLXs

Pre-Order Barbed Wire Between Us

Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación

We Sing From the Heart (click to purchase)

We Sing From the Heart picture book cover reveal of The Slants Simon Tam

Dorktales Storytime Podcast: Simon Tam featured in We Sing From the Heart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlDdwUZpcNI

FOOD FOR THE FUTURE (click to purchase)

Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Robert Sae-Heng

Food for the Future Song created by Daria – World Music for Children

https://youtu.be/uTw6y3EjeOA

SUMO JOE (click to purchase)

Sumo Joe cover reveal

CHANGING THE GAME (click to purchase)

Changing the Game: Asian Pacific American Female Athletes by Mia Wenjen

Boxer Baby Battles Bedtime! (click to purchase)

Cover Reveal: Boxer Baby Battles Bedtime!

I’ll Be at the Newton Children’s Book Festival 2025

Newton Children's Book Festival 2025

I’ll be at hosting a Roundtable at NCTE 2025 Denver

NCTE 2025 Denver Mia Wenjen hosting Roundtable

I’ll be at NCSS DC 2025

NCSS 2025 Denver Mia Wenjen attending

Heim Nest Kid Mattress Exclusive Deal

Heim Nest Kid Mattress
educational toys
educational toys from dhgate stores

Online GED test at Excel

Archives

Categories

The Elusive Full Ride Scholarship (click to purchase)

The Elusive Full Ride Scholarship: An Insider’s Guide

How to Get Kids Reading

  • Multicultural Books for Children: 60+ Book Lists
  • Getting Kids to Love Reading
  • Summer Reading Lists for Kids By Grade
  • Summer Reading Lists for Middle School Kids

Purchase Read Your World Merch

LGBTQIA+ Books Save Lives Merch.

Buy it here!

HOW TO COACH GIRLS book trailer by Mia Wenjen & Alison Foley

https://youtu.be/j74M0bBxrGg

HOW TO COACH GIRLS (click to purchase)

How To Coach Girls by Mia Wenjen and Alison Foley

ebook Version has 3 bonus chapters (click to purchase)

How To Coach Girls ebook

My Websites

  • How To Coach Girls
  • I Love Newton
  • Mia Wenjen (My New Author Website)

The Traveling Taco Book Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf4tp9lffG0

We Sing From the Heart book trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJNcJd8dEPU

Recent Posts

  • WE SING FROM THE HEART at the 2025 NCTE Book Awards Luncheon January 12, 2026
  • 2026 Read Your World Virtual Party! January 9, 2026
  • Tracy Slater’s Together in Manzanar Book Launch January 7, 2026
  • BARBED WIRED BETWEEN US: Kirkus The Most Anticipated Children’s Books of Spring 2026 January 5, 2026
  • FREE Diverse Books from Read Your World – Sign Up Ends Soon! December 22, 2025
© 2026 Pragmatic Mom | Powered by Superbs Personal Blog theme
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT