On Book Drives
Lately I’ve been thinking of a challenge that has come along with the many wonderful things that surrounded the publication of Martí’s Song for Freedom. It’s the day-in and day-out confrontation with the inequalities that surround children’s lives. These inequalities … Continue reading On Book Drives
Duncan Tonatiuh: Creative process, migration, pre-Columbian & modern art
Ten years ago I was a young dad going back to school when I met artist Duncan Tonatiuh in class. We were both students at Parsons in New York. Duncan was then working on his thesis project and showing me some of what would … Continue reading Duncan Tonatiuh: Creative process, migration, pre-Columbian & modern art
John Seven & Jana Christy: “We Say No! A Child’s Guide to Resistance”
Interview with John Seven and Jana Christy, author and illustrator of several picture books including We Say No! A Child’s Guide to Resistance, A Rule Is to Break: A Child’s Guide to Anarchy, Gorilla Gardener: How to Help Nature Take … Continue reading John Seven & Jana Christy: “We Say No! A Child’s Guide to Resistance”
Monica Clark-Robinson: “Let the Children March”
AFD: What teacher helped you find your writing voice? MCR: I couldn’t begin to name just one teacher! My ninth grade English teacher, several workshop leaders and speakers at conferences, the women of my critique group, my oldest daughter, my … Continue reading Monica Clark-Robinson: “Let the Children March”
Lyn Miller-Lachmann: “Three Balls of Wool”
Interview with Lyn Miller-Lachmann, translator of Three Balls of Wool (Can Change the World), by Henriqueta Cristina; illustrated by Yara Kono (Enchanted Lion Books, 2017) AG: What’s the story behind the translated edition of Three Balls of Wool (Can Change … Continue reading Lyn Miller-Lachmann: “Three Balls of Wool”
Linda Williams Jackson: “Midnight Without a Moon” and “A Sky Full of Stars”
It’s Mississippi in the summer of 1955, and Rose Lee Carter can’t wait to move north. For now, she’s living with her sharecropper grandparents on a white man’s cotton plantation. Then, one town over, an African American boy, Emmett Till, is … Continue reading Linda Williams Jackson: “Midnight Without a Moon” and “A Sky Full of Stars”
Deborah Kops: “Alice Paul and the Fight for Women’s Rights”
AP: It was such a pleasure to read your new book Alice Paul and the Fight for Women’s Rights. I learned so much about Alice Paul and about the suffrage and women’s rights movements in the US! DK: Thank you, … Continue reading Deborah Kops: “Alice Paul and the Fight for Women’s Rights”
Maya Christina Gonzalez: Self love, activism, and LGBTQ+ Storytelling
Maya and I first crossed paths in the early 2000s. I was fresh out of publishing studies, working at Children’s Book Press* with dreams of starting a publishing house for underrepresented stories told from personal experience. Maya was a veteran … Continue reading Maya Christina Gonzalez: Self love, activism, and LGBTQ+ Storytelling
Alli Harper: We Need Everyday Books With Families Like Ours
The State of Picture Book Offerings with Same-sex-parented Children Anna was born in our 2008 Subaru Outback on a cold night in January 2013. She is named after a Tolstoy character. We, Anna’s two moms, were married in a library. … Continue reading Alli Harper: We Need Everyday Books With Families Like Ours
Building Power on the Margins: Social Justice Holiday Children’s Book Fair 2017
Most any significant endeavor calls for accomplices. – Phillipe Petit If you flock to high-profile exclusive events with VIPs and groupies, flashy swag bags and passed hors d’oeuvres (I had to look up how to spell that), the Social Justice … Continue reading Building Power on the Margins: Social Justice Holiday Children’s Book Fair 2017