#BlackLivesMatter #BlackStoriesMatter

I'm still looking for words for what is happening in our country right now. Our youngest daughter, who is 13, is also looking for words. I think she is off to a good start with the sign she made below. We're planning to attend the outskirts of a peaceful demonstration in our hometown on Friday, and these are the words she will carry with her...

I haven't made my sign yet but am going to include this incredibly beautiful tribute (below) that our friend in Chicago, Meenakshi Dash, painted. She has given permission to share it, with or without credit, so feel free to do so if you are as moved by it as I was. Her painting has helped calm me amidst the turmoil and allowed me to begin thinking about how I can take action in this time of change...

Painting of George Floyd by Meenakshi Dash (2020)

Earlier today, a Black colleague at my workplace offered suggestions on how all of us can be part of the change. (Thanks, Shawnda!) Stand up immediately if someone says or does something racist, whether that person realizes it or not. Push through the awkwardness you might feel. Make and display a sign, like my daughter did. Attend a protest. Educate yourself about racism, African American history, police brutality. Start a conversation with family and friends.

I would like to add that you can read or share a book by a Black author or a Black illustrator. Here are a few whose picture books I have featured on my blog. If you click on the author and illustrator links, you can learn more about the creators and see some of their truly amazing portfolios. The book links take you to my blog posts, some of which include interviews or stories about meeting the creators...
















Author: Michelle Meadows
Illustrator: Ebony Glenn
Book: Brave Ballerina: The Story of Janet Collins
Book: Hibernation Station

















Illustrator: Theodore Taylor III
Foreword: Misty Copeland
Book: Trailblazer: The Story of Ballerina Raven Wilkinson

















Author: Valerie Bolling 
Book: Let's Dance!

Author: Connie Schofield-Morrison
Illustrator: Frank Morrison
Book: I Got the Rhythm 

















Author: Patricia C. McKissack
Illustrator: Jerry Pinkney
Book: Mirandy and Brother Wind 


Here are a couple other fantastic resources for finding children's books that feature Black characters and voices:

The Brown Bookshelf 
"Brown Like Me" Books

If you have particular Black authors or Black illustrators you admire, or other websites you recommend, please give them a shoutout in the comments below. #BlackLivesMatter #BlackStoriesMatter

Time to Get Back into the Rhythm!

I just arrived in the Santa Cruz Mountains for a weeklong writing retreat at the Wellstone Center in the Redwoods. The grounds are gorgeous...and so peaceful...and I am just settling into my room and thinking of some goals for the week. One of my goals, of course, is to get some blog posts out!

The hustle and bustle of life really does take a toll on you (or at least it does on me), so I am so looking forward to the solitude I'm going to have this week. I've already cleared my regular work calendar and am going to spend the ENTIRE week focused on children's writing. I am excited to get back into the rhythm of writing and creating! And speaking of rhythm....

I Got the Rhythm by Connie Schofield-Morrison and illustrator Frank Morrison has been on my "to blog about" list for far too long. Finally I am here to tell you about it! And a much belated thank you to the publisher, Bloomsbury, for sending me a review copy.

The very simple text and exuberant illustrations in this book show readers that rhythm is everywhere -- if you just keep your eyes open. Musicians have rhythm in the way they play their instruments. Butterflies have rhythm in the way they flap their wings. Even street vendors have rhythm in the way they pass out food. And, as the main character in I Got the Rhythm finds out, once you find the rhythm, there are many ways to keep it going! 

I looked at the rhythm with my eyes. BLINK BLINK

I smelled the rhythm with my nose. SNIFF SNIFF 

I sang the rhythm with my mouth. OOH LA LA

The main character also uses her hands, fingers, hips, knees, and feet to keep the rhythm going as she takes a walk through the city with her mom. By the end of the book, her whole body is involved, and she is dancing up a storm!

If I find the rhythm again this week at my retreat, I hope I can keep it going, too. Let me know if you have any good ideas for "getting back into the rhythm" or keeping it going once you find it -- whether it's to do with writing, dancing, or another activity you love!