Diversify your reading routine to learn a little more about – and introduce your kids to – the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islanders) mores, traditions and cultures. From biographies to cultural traditions to eliminating stereotypes, you can stock your shelves or check with your local library for these great books for kids of all ages….
Thank you to Ariel Gordon Bernstein for the heads up that Sumo Joe was included in Bank Street College’s The Best Children’s Books of the Year! I never would have thought to check. I have recently been submitting manuscripts to literary agents and am in recovery from rejection. Ditto for editors whom I have submitted…
I was thrilled to do a Skype author visit with 120 kindergartners! They were well prepared having read the story ahead of time. They also came up with questions that the Media Specialist had collected ahead of time. For such a young group, the teachers asked for a 20-minute visit. The kids were great and…
I’m grateful that my mother was able to read my debut picture book. My mother was always supportive of everything we did and when my sister and I started writing and publishing books, she would make a point of purchasing five copies. At the time, she was living in an Independent Living facility so she…
I’m excited that Sumo Joe has been reviewed by BookList as well as Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus Reviews! Booklist Online Exclusive: May 24, 2019 Sumo Joe. By Mia Wenjen. Illus. by Nat Iwata 2019. 40p. Lee & Low, $18.95 (9781620148020). Gr. 1–3 Looking suitably round and solid in Iwata’s simply drawn domestic scenes, gentle Joe…
I can’t believe that Sumo Joe is releasing today! It feels like I have been talking about Sumo Joe for years and now it’s finally real! Thank you to everyone who has supported me along this journey including authors who have kindly covered Sumo Joe on their blogs: Caroline Starr Rose: Classroom Connections: Sumo Joe…
Sumo Joe was reviewed in Publishers Weekly! Sumo Joe Mia Wenjen, illus. by Nat Iwata. Lee & Low, $18.95 (40p) ISBN 978-1-62014-802-0 A sister eagerly wakes her big yet gentle older brother, “Sumo Joe.” As the girl leaves, Joe welcomes two friends to “practice sumo!” in “the ring” (pillows in a circle), each wrapped in…