The Pop-Ups Series-Honoring our gay grandfathers and those who paved the way

A new bilingual children’s book series that celebrates LGBTQ history through the lens of multicultural and multigenerational queer family The Pop-Ups’ Picnic, the first book in the series, will be published by Reflection Press in 2017 The Pop-Ups are what we call GrandPop and PopPop, Sky’s grandfathers. Like all grandparents, …

We Are Stronger Together

Aligning with Other Indie Presses

I am fiercely independent and I’m drawn to those who are too. But no one can or should live without others. We are stronger together. And in these days we need our strength. We need each other, even in our independence. As I walk toward independently publishing my own children’s …

COMING OUT for our Kids in the Children’s Book Industry

Making Books that Center LGBTQ Kids

A Book That Shows How Creativity Can Keep You Strong When You’re Courageously Being Yourself The Boy Who Drew Dresses/the Very True Tale of a Perfectly Gay Little Boy will be published by Reflection Press in 2017 This is a story about my friend Paul Gallo. Today he is a …

Is Equality in the Children’s Book Industry Possible?

And Do We Have Time to Wait? (infographic)

When we look at CCBC’s statistics in the framework of how many books we need to make to stand in equity with white Americans, we begin to understand our real position. I estimate that the children’s book industry would have to increase its production level by 45% to accommodate an …

Why Children’s Books are a Radical Act

I just released Children’s Books as a Radical Act on Indiegogo to support my first 6 independently published children’s books. What makes these books radical? Why is it noteworthy that they’re independently published? Why children’s books of all things? Radical? Any time we center ourselves as POC, indigenous or queer …

Falling, Fire and Fierce Creativity

The Release of Whaleheart and News of the Next Season at our School plus NEW BOOKS from the Community!

The Falling. It’s that delicious time of year when there’s a detectable shift in the seasons. I can feel the changing, the Falling, as everything around me shimmers through yet another of our eternal cycles. I’ve been craving this shift, longing for it. Today after a hot spell, the skies …

the story of Whaleheart

(....or how a wild idea became reality!)

I’ll never forget it. In February of last year I had this wild idea that I thought just might work…. It was at that critical mass moment right before the diversity conversation exploded in the children’s book world with assistance from the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign later that summer. Many of us …

i am kidlitcon

finding more people to play!!!

this year’s theme for KidLitCon was: Blogging Diversity in Young Adult and Children’s Lit: What’s Next? it’s always soothing to be around folks with whom i can relax and even play a bit. play is serious business to me. play means a quality of curiosity, openness, courage and innocence. today …

From Manuscript to Thumbs to Final Art

The first ever Heart of It Collection children's book is beginning to manifest!

While my first Heart of It e-course officially ended back in May, that was by no means the end of the experience! Over twenty artistauthors decided to contribute to our first ever Heart of It collection children’s book. (The “official” title is yet to be decided.) Since the end of …

Community Conversations: Creating Inclusive Children’s Books

[webinar replay]

Thank you to all who attended our first Community Conversations webinar – Reflecting ALL Our Children: Creating Inclusive Children’s Books. It was fantastic to be in community talking about possibility! We just barely scratched the surface! Honestly I’m hoping this can be the first of a series of webinars dedicated …

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