Happy Elephant Day!
Save the…Elephants! is on the shelves today!
May it inspire young conservationists and activists everywhere. And always remember my favorite elephant fact, destined to enchant seven-year-olds everywhere: Elephant calves eat the grownups’ poop.
Read MoreCensorship
Thank you, Bonny Eagle School Board, for taking a stand against censorship and making sure kids will still be able to check out It’s Perfectly Normal!
A few takeaways in case you do not get a chance to read the whole article:
It’s Perfectly Normal is one of the most straightforward, nonjudgmental, accessible books about puberty and sexuality out there. It’s constantly praised and recommended for this age group.
It’s Perfectly Normal was not required reading or assigned in any class. It was just there, on the library shelf.
There was already a mechanism in place where parents could request that their kids be prevented from checking this book out. (I don’t like that, but it was there.) That didn’t satisfy this particular group of parents. They wanted to be sure that no kid could read this book. And while we’re on this topic, why does parental control only ever go one way? As a parent as well as an author, what if I want this kind of book available to my child? Do I not have any rights in that regard?
And finally, It’s Perfectly Normal for kids who are going through adolescence to want to read about adolescence, and it’s admirable for them to reach out and learn more about what’s happening to them. We should support that, not try to shut it down!
(And one extra point–I now really want to read Genderqueer, also under threat of censorship. Censors, take note–we most want to read what you try to take away.)
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Virtual Picture Book Panel
I’m so thrilled (and perhaps a touch nervous) to be sharing the news that I’ll be doing a virtual author panel for Brown Is Warm, Black Is Bright. This is the book that School Library Journal describes as:
The book makes for a beautiful read-aloud for a group setting with its detailed full-color vibrant imagery and for individual sharing. File this under Black joy, childhood, autumn reveries, or pair with other celebrations of Black strength and beauty.
The panel will be moderated by the fine staff at Books of Wonder in New York. If you would like to tune in, we’d be so delighted to have you. And please feel free to share this with anyone else you think might be interested.
Date: September 3, 2022
Time: 1:00 PM
How to join
(They recommend reserving a spot, so do check it out before the event starts.
The other authors on the panel will be Sophia N. Lee and Isabel Roxas (Holding On) and Thyra Heder (Sal Boat).
Signed copies of all the books will be available for order. Please come! Spread the word!
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Review for Brown Is Warm!
Delighted to share a warm and bright review for Brown Is Warm, Black Is Bright. School Library Journal says:
Read More“This book is a joyous celebration of the bucolic life of a Black child and her father….The book makes for a beautiful read-aloud for a group setting with its detailed full-color vibrant imagery and for individual sharing. VERDICT File this under Black joy, childhood, autumn reveries, or pair with other celebrations of Black strength and beauty, such as Tami Charles’s All Because You Matter and Useni Eugene Perkins’s Hey Black Child.“
Sarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Readers will treasure the blossoming friendship between opposites in this whimsically illustrated tale. Short chapters and plenty of action make for an accessible and appealing reading experience. . . . Touching and inspiring.”
—Kirkus Reviews