January 3, 2025

The Gender Binary is a Big Lie: Infinite Identities Around the World

What if you discovered that the whole concept of a gender binary is an illusion? While many people identify as men or women, that is not all there is. The idea that all humans fall into one of two gender categories is largely a construct created by those who benefit from that belief. The reality is that gender is naturally diverse, falling inside and outside of those boxes, and more expansive ideas of gender have always existed. This book taps historical evidence, ancient poetry, ancient burial sites and more.   I can honestly say this book opened my eyes to […]
January 3, 2025

Journeys to Healthy Binding

Chest binding: using a garment that flattens the chest for a more masculine or androgynous look. Overview: https://www.parents.com/kids/health/what-parents-need-to-know-about-binder-safety/
A graphic guide to chest binding with real-life stories and research-backed advice from bestselling Gender Queer author Maia Kobab and University of Michigan professor Sarah Peitzmeier. It is both a practical resource for trans and nonbinary folks and an engaging and perspective-broadening read for anyone interested in what it means to be on a journey of expressing one’s gender. This book is short but packed with important information about how to bind safely and take care of one’s body. One of […]
March 1, 2024

The Genius Kid’s Guide to Mythical Creatures

From beautiful mermaids and gentle unicorns to fire-breathing dragons and bloodthirsty vampires, mysterious beings and magical beasts appear in stories told all around the world. This book highlights 20 legendary beings.   Twenty types of mythical creatures creep, stalk, hustle, fly or swim through this fun graphic novel. From Bigfoot to dragons, vampires to giants, we are treated to surprising facts, a sense of how their mythologies came into being, and how they live – not just their preferred environment, but what they eat and whether they’re hostile or friendly to human beings. We even learn what movies they’ve starred […]
January 5, 2024

Breaking the Chains: African American Slave Resistance

Generations of American history students have grown up believing that enslaved people accepted their lot and became attached to their enslavers, that rebellion was rare and that liberation from slavery happened thanks to the enslavers. In this newly updated version of a celebrated history book first published in 1990, high school teacher and children’s book author William Loren Katz offers a closer look at the lives of enslaved people in the United States, from their African abductions through to their brave resistance to harsh plantation life and their roles in the Civil War. It documents how enslaved people themselves were […]
January 5, 2024

The Antiracist Kitchen: 21 Stories (and Recipes)

What if talking about racism was as easy as baking a cake, frying plantains or cooking rice? The Antiracist Kitchen: 21 Stories (and Recipes) is a celebration of food, family, activism and resistance in the face of racism. In this anthology featuring stories and recipes from 21 diverse and award-winning North American children’s authors, the authors share the role of food in their lives and how it has helped fight discrimination, reclaim culture and celebrate people with different backgrounds. They bring personal and sometimes difficult experiences growing up as racialized people.   I opened the cover of this book with […]
July 7, 2023

Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam

Thien’s first memory isn’t a sight or a sound. It’s the sweetness of watermelon and the saltiness of fish. It’s the taste of the foods he ate while adrift at sea as his family fled Vietnam. After the Pham family arrives at a refugee camp in Thailand, they struggle to survive. Things don’t get much easier once they resettle in California. And through each chapter of their lives, food takes on a new meaning. Strawberries come to signify struggle as Thien’s mom and dad look for work. Potato chips are an indulgence that brings Thien so much joy that they […]
April 7, 2023

Dreamer

This honest, engrossing graphic memoir tells the story of professional athlete and activist Akim Aliu’s incredible life as a hockey prodigy in Canada. Akim Aliu — also known as “Dreamer” — is a Ukrainian-Nigerian-Canadian professional hockey player whose career took him all around the world and who experienced systemic racism at every turn. Dreamer tells Akim’s incredible story, from being the only black child in his Ukrainian community, to his family struggling to make ends meet while living in Toronto, to confronting the racist violence he often experienced both on and off the ice. This is a gut-wrenching and riveting […]
February 3, 2023

Allies: Real Talk About Showing Up, Screwing Up and Trying Again

As an ally, you use your power—no matter how big or small—to support others. You learn, and try, and mess up, and try harder. In this collection of true stories, 17 critically acclaimed and bestselling YA authors get real about being an ally, needing an ally and showing up for friends and strangers. From raw stories of racism and invisible disability to powerful moments of passing the mic, these authors share their truths. They invite you to think about your own experiences and choices and how to be a better ally. There are no easy answers, but this book helps […]
November 4, 2022
I Can't Do What?: Strange Laws and Rules from Around the World

I Can’t Do What?: Strange Laws and Rules from Around the World

Did you know that you can’t keep a goldfish in a round goldfish bowl in Rome? That you can’t take a selfie while running with the bulls in Pamplona? That you can’t climb a tree in a Toronto city park? This book is a look at some of the more curious rules and laws that have been created around the world over many years. Some of these rules and laws may make us laugh. Some may make us angry or frightened for the people they influence. All of these rules and laws will make us think. How did they come […]
October 7, 2022
secret schools

Secret Schools: True Stories of the Determination to Learn

  Education goes undercover in this compelling look at some of the world’s most secretive schools through history. Can you keep a secret? What if it meant hiding from your loved ones, sneaking out late at night or risking imprisonment? And what if that secret was that you were going to school? From covert classrooms created by enslaved Africans in the United States, to academic schools disguised as “sewing lessons” for women in Afghanistan, to espionage schools run by powerful governments, Secret Schools explores the hidden classrooms that have opened their doors so children and adults could learn. Vivid linocut […]