Hi Reader, Do you have a question about my new ebook, From the Margins to the Center: A People's History of the United States Told Through Children's Books? I'm here to answer the most common questions I've been getting about this brand-new resource. #1 Is this a history curriculum? No, this is not a full curriculum. It is a set of in-depth book reviews broken down by periods of U.S. history and by age group (with books for kids as young as age 5 and as old as age 14). You could certainly put...
22 days ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, When I was creating From the Margins to the Center: A People's History of the United States Told Through Children's Books, I came across a movement I'd never heard of. First, I noticed it in Ilyasah Shabazz's excellent novel about her mother's childhood, Betty Before X. (Shabazz's father is Malcolm X.) When young Betty moved to Detroit in 1945, a mentor from her church got her involved in the Housewives' League. The League organized Black women to put economic pressure on...
26 days ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, I'm thrilled to announce that From The Margins to the Center: A People's History of the United States Told Through Children's Books is now available! I started researching and writing this ebook five months ago after deciding that none of the homeschool U.S. history programs out there were quite what I wanted. As I searched for engaging non-fiction books and historical fiction that would pull my son into different eras, I wished I could find some type of mega-list of U.S. history...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, Have you been wanting your kids to read more this summer, but they're just not interested? Believe me, I've been there! Until recently, it has been really difficult to get my kid to read in the summer. Even when I carefully picked out chapter books that I was sure he would love (if he would just try them!), he often said "no thanks." What he would read - eagerly - were graphic novels. Maybe your kid likes graphic novels too but you're sure if they "counted" as reading. Checking out...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, I write to you most Tuesdays, but I didn't plan to send an email today. My plan was to spend the day editing a new U.S. history resource I plan to release soon. But then I saw the faces looking out the window of the 3rd floor of immigration court. Activist friends had sent out the call for folks to rally outside immigration court this morning, calling for an end to ICE raids and surprise deportations happening when people followed the rules and showed up for their court dates. I've...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read