Frank W. Baker’s New Graphic Novel: We Survived the Holocaust

October 20, 2022 In an era that’s ushered in multitudes of media misinformation with societal outcomes ranging from extremist denialism and revisionist history to banned books and autocratic usurping … [Read more...]

Speaking Out: A Rainbow of Reasons We Need Diverse Books

June 26, 2015 Update Photo essayist/youth archivist Rachelle Lee Smith of visual literacy book Speaking Out will be in town signing copies at Reach and Teach San Mateo tonight 7-9pm. Apropos on this … [Read more...]

Family Diversity In Books: A Child’s View of DOMA

Update: June 26, 2015It's official. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 5 to 4 in favor of marriage equality (see Justice Kennedy's closing paragraph summation which poignantly concludes, "it is so … [Read more...]

Talk To Me: Because Media Matters For Youth Outreach

Sept. 9, 2011 “Text, poke, like, or chat...” What about TALK? I love how this Trevor "Talk To Me" 3-word anti-bullying campaign by The Trevor Project goes back into time to cut through the social … [Read more...]

Harry Potter Alliance: Using Pop Culture Pervasiveness Positively

July 17, 2011 No, I haven’t seen the Harry Potter grand finale yet.Yes, it’s been covered from every angle, dominating Twitter streams, Facebook status lines and yielding the largest weekend box … [Read more...]

Media Matters: SF Giants Are Champions Beyond The Field

Oct. 30, 2014 Update The Giants have won the World Series THREE out of the last FIVE years, and though I've seen a few "NoH8" tweets along with celebratory congratulations, it seems that today's essay … [Read more...]

Meaningful Manga: Graphic Novels and Growth

Update: May 21, 2014 Our friends at Reach and Teach have added another clever manga style illustrated book called "A is for Action" which merits an update! I love the seeding of social change in a fun … [Read more...]

Final 48 Hours! Vote Girl Child Network’s Betty Makoni CNN Hero ’09!

Nov. 17, 2009 Last week, when the Guardian reported, “Tens of thousands of children have been sexually abused in Zimbabwe in a growing epidemic that has shocked human rights activists,” I blinked back … [Read more...]

The Laramie Project: Using Media to Teach Tolerance 10 Years Later

Nov. 13, 2009 It’s fitting that The Laramie Project premiers locally tonight in San Mateo on Friday the 13th, as the theater production resurrects a haunting melancholy on the ‘unlucky’ and fateful … [Read more...]

United Nations Association Film Fest: Not Your Ordinary Kids Flicks!

Is it me, or is the 11th United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF) a screamin’ deal and a fabulous find? (tix here) Yah, yah, I know…documentary schmockumentary, too heavy when … [Read more...]