My Gender Work was Stolen in the Children’s Book Industry

#Columbused #GenderWheel #GenderNow #DiverseBooks #StolenWork

Context is Everything I was plagiarized twice in the same year by the same community. It was hard to wrap my brain around at first. After all, this is a community I felt some connection to. These were people I imagine to be well-intentioned parents and professionals. But now there …

My Story, Your Story, Their Story, Who Gets to Tell It?

First Voice/Own Voice and Indigenous, POC, LGBTQI Children’s Books

My Story I have been involved in the children’s book industry for over 20 years. I joke that they accidentally let me in. Indeed, something must have been going on…stars momentarily aligned, portals briefly opened… because not only did I get “in,” but my first book, Prietita and the Ghost …

Self-Publishing Journeys

School of the Free Mind Student Spotlight: Sandra Gonzalez, Skillful & Soulful Press

When Matthew and I changed the format of our School to be independent study as well as more financially accessible, our hope was that folks would take full advantage of all the numerous materials to support them and their publishing endeavors. Publishing a children’s book, whether through traditional means or …

Releasing for President’s Day: When a Bully is President: Truth and Creativity for Oppressive Times

Seeding the journey out

Today is the official release of my new children’s book, When a Bully is President: Truth and Creativity for Oppressive Times. Decolonization. De-escalation. Disengagement. True power. Resilience. Creative force. Equity. Inner authority. Self-care. Community respect. Self love. I didn’t pause. I sat down and wrote the truth book as soon …

VIDEO and DRAWING PAGE for When A Bully Is President, Truth and Creativity for Oppressive Times

the revolution is allways NOW

It is with fierce love that I share a reading and arte of my children’s book When a Bully Is President, Truth and Creativity for Oppressive Times for today’s inauguration. In the days ahead we must know the truth of who we are and that we are pure creative power. …

The Rainbow Alphabet and The Girl in the Library

Finding Voice In a World of Silence

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 …

When a Bully is President/Truth and Creativity for Oppressive Times

A children’s book to support kids and adults in the wake of the 2016 US election. The book can be used as a way to talk about oppression in society or as a straight up tool to talk about the current political climate and the next 4 years with your …

The Case of the Missing Books/10 years of data

#ownvoices in Children’s Books: A State of Emergency/ Blog Series 1 of 3

The graph below shows the children’s books that were missing by POC and Indigenous people in the children’s book industry over the last 10 years. That is if we were creating an equitable number of books per year to white Americans. It can be challenging to wrap our minds around …

What I Learned from 3 Years of Teaching How to Make Children’s Books

#ownvoices in Children’s Books: A State of Emergency/ Blog Series 2 of 3

I’m no stranger to the inequities that exist for People of Color, Indigenous and Queer authors and artists. I’ve been teaching and lecturing about it and its impact for 20 years in the children’s book industry. I speak from knowing and teach from understanding on a personal level. So why …

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