Two books that support kids: an LGBTQ intro for littles and a story about a girl coming into voice
The Rainbow Alphabet with Mami Q and The Girl in the Library, The Library in the Girl will be published in 2017 by Reflection Press.
Written and illustrated by me, The Rainbow Alphabet with Mami Q is a playful take on the Mother Goose tradition that respectfully centers and celebrates LGBTQ experiences and stories for kids. Rooted in the concept that as we center LGBTQ kids we center folks from ALL our communities, Mami Q sings us through a simple understanding of queer identities. Even with so many letters in the rainbow alphabet, Mami suggests that one day we will need more words or maybe better words to speak the truths of more people.
Colorfully illustrated, fully inclusive, this book will serve as an easy place to speak the words for educators, parents and caregivers of what LGBTQIA2S means. Help kids find their own confidence in understanding themselves, their families and the world.
The Girl In the Library, The Library In the Girl is my story. The one I’ve been telling kids in schools for the last 20 years. I grew up during a time when I did NOT see ANY books that looked or sounded like me and my family or folks I knew. I think because of that, I used to draw my big, round Chicana face into the blank page in the backs of books! Eventually I began drawing a whole series of characters and later writing poems and stories. As a child I couldn’t find books that looked and sounded like me in the library, now the library has books written, illustrated, even published by me!
Having books that are ours in the library helps the library feel more like home. I hope these new books support more and more kids in feeling like the library is theirs to enjoy and is theirs to fill up with books written, illustrated, even published by them too!
PRE-ORDER these books and more and support my work with Reflection Press and School of the Free Mind, through my Indiegogo campaign: www.reflectionpress.com/radicalact
I’ve also added another book to my list of 6 in case you missed it, When a Bully is President/Truth and Creativity for Oppressive Times. You can read more about it in my last blog post.