Category Archives: Interviews with Authors and Illustrators

Guest Blogger Post, Interviews with Authors and Illustrators

Multilingual Educator: Teaching the Power of Community and Student Activism through Art and Children’s Literature

This essay by author Christy Hale originally appeared in the CABE 2023 Edition of Multilingual Educator. Christy is the author of Todos Iguales: Un corrido de Lemon Grove/All Equal: A Ballad of Lemon Grove. Her latest book, Copycat: Nature-Inspired Design Around the World, is available now!

Photo credit: Jenna Cole.

Christy Hale has illustrated numerous award-winning books for children, including Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building and several other titles for Lee & Low Books. As an educator, Hale currently teaches picture book writing at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She has also taught art and graphic design to high school students, and first learned about the Lemon Grove case at an in-service teacher workshop. Hale and her husband live in Palo Alto, California. You can visit her online at christyhale.com.

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Guest Blogger Post, Holidays and Celebrations, Interviews with Authors and Illustrators

Teaching Native American Heritage Month: In Conversation with Editor Elise McMullen-Ciotti (Cherokee Nation)

Throughout American history, Native people have been intentionally silenced; their stories set aside, hidden, or drowned out. That’s why it’s critical to read stories about Indigenous characters, told by Indigenous voices. Teaching Indigenous history is essential all year-round.

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Diversity, Race, and Representation, Guest Blogger Post, Interviews with Authors and Illustrators

Mexican X Part X: What the Hex a ‘Latinx’? A Guest Post By David Bowles

This guest post by David Bowles dives into the origin and usage of the terms Hispanic, Latinx, Latine, and others. It was originally posted to Medium in December 2018. David is the author of numerous books for young readers, including The Witch Owl Parliament (Clockwork Curandera #1).

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Guest Blogger Post, Interviews with Authors and Illustrators

Multilingual Educator: The Journey Toward Literacy Begins at Birth: A Personal Narrative

DAD IS READING TO INFANT, Photo by infant’s mother Eva Lin Fahey (author’s daughter) and with permission of father, Nick Floyd 2/22

This essay by author Jean Ciborowski Fahey, Ph. D. originally appeared in the CABE 2023 Edition of Multilingual Educator. Jean’s picture book I’ll Build You a Bookcase has been translated into Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Jean Ciborowski Fahey author photo: A white woman with short white hair wearing a blue scarf

Jean Ciborowski Fahey is an author, parent educator, and speaker dedicated to promoting an early love of reading in children. She also consults for a variety of literacy initiatives and organizations and creates home literacy curriculum for parent-home visitors and early intervention specialists. She lives in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts with her husband, Tom, and dog, Indigo. Visit her online at readingfarm.net.

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Guest Blogger Post, Interviews with Authors and Illustrators

Maya Gonzalez on Nonbinary Representation, the Language of the Nonverbal & Power of Pronouns

Award-winning kidlit creator Maya Gonzalez (illustrator of I Can Be . . . Me!) wrote a series of essays to celebrate Pride month. The excerpt below originally appeared on The Official SCBWI Blog, and Maya’s guest posts included:

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Activities and Events, Diversity, Race, and Representation, Interviews with Authors and Illustrators

Watch the Webinar: Centering Disabilities in the Classroom

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Thank you to all who joined us for our most recent webinar, Centering Disabilities in the Classroom featuring Patty Cisneros Prevo, two-time Paralympic gold medalist, disability advocate, and author of Tenacious: Fifteen Adventures Alongside Disabled Athletes!

If you missed it live (or just want to watch it again), you can access the webinar below, or here on YouTube. Keep reading for links to resources and booklists shared during the webinar and feel free to reach out for more information and/or a Professional Development certificate.

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Diversity, Interviews with Authors and Illustrators, New Releases

How the Bronx Pioneered A Genre: A Guest Post by Linda J. Acevedo

In this guest post, author Linda J. Acevedo invites readers to bust a move while learning about the history of the boogie-down Bronx in her picture book debut. Breaking to the Beat has received FIVE starred reviews and is available wherever books are sold!

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Guest Blogger Post, Interviews with Authors and Illustrators

Multilingual Educator Q&A with Guadalupe García McCall: Author, Professor, and Educator

This Q&A with author and former teacher Guadalupe García McCall and Lee & Low Literacy Specialist Michelle Fuentes originally appeared in the CABE 2023 Edition of Multilingual Educator. Guadalupe’s latest novel, Echoes of Grace, is available wherever books are sold!

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Guest Blogger Post, Interviews with Authors and Illustrators

Black Was the Ink Connects Past and Present

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This post by Michelle Coles originally appeared on We Need Diverse Books in November 2021. Black Was the Ink is available wherever books are sold!

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Diversity, Race, and Representation, Guest Blogger Post, Interviews with Authors and Illustrators

The Reality of Rural Blackness: A Guest Post by Nisi Shawl

In this guest post, author Nisi Shawl invites readers to experience rural Black life in their middle-grade debut novel. Speculation is available wherever books are sold!

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