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 day of historic family diversity with the 5-4 Supreme Court decision ruling that gay couples have the right to marry, as her photos in the book point to the many youth voices not … [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 ordered.") Here's hoping this "kidlit" gets revisited with fresh eyes and an empathetic lens to see how profoundly meaningful this is for children whose families have been denied this … [Read more...]

Author Rosalind Wiseman Brings Youth Editors Into YA KidLit Process

Feb. 8, 2010 I bought a copy of the new YA novel by renowned author Rosalind Wiseman of Queen Bees & Wannabes bestseller fame, called “Boys, Girls & Other Hazardous Materials” ...As soon as it hit my home front, my daughter and her ‘BFF’ clamored to snag it from me, lured in by the cover visual alone. Mean Girls writer and co-star Tina Fey had a snarky testimonial on … [Read more...]

Teen Book Publishers Premiere Louder Than Words TV

August 10, 2009 It doesn’t get more real than this. Louder Than Words teen series developer Deborah Reber hosts a live chat online all this week with the fresh voices and real issues of the teen authors themselves starting tonight on Louder Than Words TV. 8-9pm EST (5-6pm PST) Kyte.TV is an online and mobile video platform in beta right now, hosting live and 'on … [Read more...]

A Challenge: Love Yourself. Share Your Story. Find Beauty.

Happy Valentine’s Day dear readers! Like my 'Luvicon?' (You can make one too!) Little did I know when I wrote about ‘thinspiration’ that there was an actual term for sidewinders and commentary that dings so deeply in the developmental recesses of kids’ minds. "Bodysnarking." Dare to share the body image stories that stuck in your childhood mental relay and lend a hand with a … [Read more...]