Sharing diverse kids books with Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) characters we ❤️

Not all children’s books with BIPOC characters are created equal, with some even perpetuating negative racial stereotypes. Here are the good ones ?

Instagram post 18107078983320795

Instagram post 18107078983320795

Life has been immensely full and so very busy. Did

Life has been immensely full and so very busy. Did anyone else feel like May was 1,000 days long?! I have big plans for getting back to this passion project of mine. I’m eagerly anticipating having more childcare (aka more time for me) soon and my youngest going off to preschool in the fall. As I look ahead, I know I’ll get back to this (and so many other) projects soon. Needed a reminder so I ordered this awesome custom thermos cup from @yeti! Can’t wait to drink my chai tea in this bright and beautiful cup. ❤️ #mamaletsread #reminder #greatworkahead #notanadjustafan

Happy Mother’s Day! ❤️

Happy Mother’s Day! ❤️

Instagram post 17992278706794041

Instagram post 17992278706794041

Community please help support an amazing Bay Area

Community please help support an amazing Bay Area Social Justice Montessori School, @peartreeschool by grabbing some delicious food from @bellyuptown (Rockridge Oakland location only) tomorrow (3/21) from 4 to 8:30 pm.

Belly, a WOC owned biz, has generously agreed to donate a share of their proceeds to Pear Tree. So please order up and mention Pear Tree at checkout. #tacotuesday #schoolfundraiser #oakland #bipoc

The last few days of lunches for my kids: Slide 1

The last few days of lunches for my kids:

Slide 1: sunflower butter and cherry preserves @bonnemaman_us on @canyonglutenfree gluten free bread, apples, grapes, freeze dried strawberries, and carrots

Slide 2: homemade taco shells with baked corn tortillas, shredded cheese, butter lettuce for make your own tacos. (Taco meat not pictured in a @yumboxlunch thermos.) Plus apples, grapes, freeze dried strawberries, and carrots.

Slide 3: Snack size @yumboxlunch with hard boiled eggs with some ranch salt from @traderjoes, @scharglutenfree entertainment crackers, blackberries, and apples

Slide 4: charcuterie box with low sodium salami, smoked cheddar, @scharglutenfree crackers, apples, blackberries, and a @eatdelizza gluten free eclair

Slide 5: gluten free biscuit, lentil carrot soup (not pictured, gluten free eclair, apple, blackberries, apples, grapes, and carrots

Slide 6: repeat of slide 4 with @enjoylifefoods chocolate protein balls

#mamaletsreat #mamaletsread #lunchideas #yumboxlunch

💕 Happy Valentine’s Day!! May your day be fil

💕 Happy Valentine’s Day!! May your day be filled with things that bring you joy and love. My two big kids worked hard on their Valentine’s Day cards for their classmates last night. My littlest love is sick with another bad virus, but I took a shower, wore some makeup, and am rocking my bright pink heart sweater today.

💝 I’m all about celebrating love and especially self-love for my three kids. I’ve been following CreativeSoul Photography and finally bought The Me I Choose To Be. This beautiful book is an uplifting ode to the power of potential. Natasha Anastasia Tarpley presents lyrical text combined with the captivating photographs by Regis and Kahran Bethencourt of CreativeSoul Photography. The Me I Choose To Be is a beautiful reminder that each and every Black and brown child is unique and has the power to determine their own destiny. This is a must-read for children of all ages and cultures, as it encourages self-love and embraces the beauty of diversity. With such a powerful message, this book left a lasting impact on my kids as they gleefully exclaimed that each photograph was them. I highly recommended this book celebrating beauty, love, and endless opportunities!

💖 Do you have any special Valentine’s Day traditions? I usually make a fancy dinner and dessert. Let’s see if I have time to make a flourless chocolate cake today. 🤞🏽

#mamaletsread #themeichoosetobe #blacklove #blackjoy #valentinesday2023❤️

Hiking Do you like to go hiking? We used to go h

Hiking

Do you like to go hiking? We used to go hiking a lot more before we had kids and are trying to get back into incorporating hiking a regular part of our weekends. Hiking is such a fun way to spend time with family and burn some energy. ✨

🌳 This morning we decided to hike the Stream Trail in Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park. We looped back via the Eucalyptus Trail and finally the East Ridge trail to get back to the Skyline Gate Staging Area.

🏃🏽‍♀️ Our hike was just under 4 miles and a perfect relaxing way to spend our Sunday morning. Our big kids were fine the whole way, but our 2 year old hitched a ride halfway through. Of course we had lots of water and snack breaks too.

🐞 The highlight of our hike was definitely seeing THOUSANDS of ladybugs. Our family was in awe of how many ladybugs there were. I knew there are often ladybugs, but have never gotten the timing right to see them. It was a pleasant surprise to see them today.

#mamaletsread #getoutside #510families #blackjoy

I bought KINDergarten: Where Kindness Matters Ever

I bought KINDergarten: Where Kindness Matters Every Day to donate to my son’s preschool class because they’ve been having lots of conversations about what it means to be kind and ways to be kind. I thought this sounded like the perfect extension of their lessons and I was right. This book is perfect.

🧑🏽‍🦱 The book starts with an introduction to a quiet boy named Leo. He receives a letter from his new kindergarten teacher all about how they will be sharing ways to be kind when school starts. Leo understandably is nervous about the new adventure that awaits him. The rest of the story focuses on how the amazing Ms. Perry works with her class to put together a kindness pledge. Leo ultimately realizes he is ready for KINDergarten after all.

📚 The thoughtfulness and care with which this book is written truly shines through. Vera Ahiyya is clearly an educator, as this book shows true experience in how the story follows Leo in the weeks before kindergarten through his first few days. I love how this story acknowledges Leo’s feelings without judgment. It is so normal for humans to feel nervous about new experiences and this book really honors those feelings. I also appreciate how Ms. Perry asks the class to help put together a kindness pledge. This book is a great tool to have deeper conversations about what kindness is and ways we can all be kind.

🎨 The illustrations by Joey Chou are vibrant and colorful. My kids and I all loved how diverse the class is and my kids immediately noticed that several characters looked like them.

✨ The back matter has the kindness pledge and a great author’s note about when to utilize the kindness pledge in class. ✨ Bonus the book jacket is a kindness pledge poster!

#mamaletsread #KINDergartenkindness #blackhistorymonth #blackauthors #bipockidlit

On today’s first day of Black History month, I’m embracing Black Joy as liberation.

✨I draw my big kids random doodles every day for their lunch boxes. So today I did quick drawings of Black Girl Magic and Black Boy Joy. Drawing isn’t my strength, but rudimentary drawings bring us all a little joy.

✨ I got to volunteer at my big kid’s school for their book fair today. Saw lots of awesome new books and bought a few for my kids.

✨ My 2 year old didn’t want to take a bath, so we did a bubble bath and her joy was contagious.

✨ My kids went sledding this weekend with my husband and my oldest just told me she wants to move to Tahoe. 😅💛

Hope you are leaning into joy today and everyday!

Oh my goodness I can’t believe yesterday was my

Oh my goodness I can’t believe yesterday was my first time at the Musical Story Time @freightandsalvage! This @berkeleypubliclibrary story time is hands down the best story time I’ve ever been to. You can see my 2 yo living her best life and dancing to some of the amazing music by @thestorytimeband. My 4 year old was equally enthusiastic and both kids asked to go back.

Want to check it out? It is every Thursday at 10:30 am @freightandsalvage in Berkeley. It is totally FREE and they have a cafe in case you need to caffeinate, because caregiving sometimes requires extra caffeine.

#berkeleystorytime #bayareamoms #510families

I’m planning to share more than BIPOC books here

I’m planning to share more than BIPOC books here. I’m a long time distance runner. I do a lot of cross training on my @onepeloton bike, because nap workouts are life, BUT I try to run outside in the sunshine as much as possible. What is your favorite workout?

🌈 I’m so excited to share this inspiring boar

🌈 I’m so excited to share this inspiring board book by Bay Area author, Temi Adamolekun. As you can see from my pictures, my 2 year old loves Your Special Voice and insisted on being my model. I gifted her the book for Christmas and she loves looking at the bright pictures. Recently she has even started repeating each sentence after I read it to her and it is seriously so sweet.

✨ Your Special Voice is all about inspiring kids to make a difference using their own unique voice. The text is simple and empowering, clearly written with love. The illustrations by Keisha Okafor are vibrant and colorful. My favorite thing about this book is that it has mass appeal! All three of my kids (6, 4, and 2 yo) love reading this book!

🌈 If you are in the Bay, please join me at Natural Resources on Feb. 4th as Temi does a FREE author reading and book signing.

✨ Please join me, as author Temi Adamolekun read

✨ Please join me, as author Temi Adamolekun reads her new book “Your Special Voice” to families, followed by a Q+A with the author on Feb. 4th. Temi will be available to sign books before and after the reading! This event is Co-hosted with Natural Resources, an amazing SF nonprofit that serves expecting and new families of all income levels through education, empowerment, and community.

✨ Stay on the lookout as I will share more about this empowering board book that inspires young readers to use their own special voice to make a difference in the world!

✨ Link in bio to reserve your FREE tickets and order your book copy.

My oldest child absolutely loves making art. It br

My oldest child absolutely loves making art. It brings me great joy to see her passion for making art, jewelry, and other crafts. An appreciation for art was instilled in me by my mother. While I do not consider myself an artist, I deeply admire and respect creators of art. So it will come as no surprise that our family loves Radiant Child, by author and illustrator Javaka Steptoe.

👑 In Radiant Child, Steptoe tells the story of young artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. As a young boy, he developed a passionate love for art. His Puerto Rican mother also felt passionately about art and reminded Basquiat to look for it wherever he went. He gathered inspiration from all around him, turning his dreams and thoughts into drawings and collages.

🎨 This picture book is filled with rich facts about the famous Jean-Michel Basquiat. My kids were inspired by his courage to step outside of the box and explore a new world of art, one that didn’t follow the “rules.” And my oldest enthusiastically echoes young Basquiat’s declarations of becoming a famous artist. This is a genuine story with a diverse perspective and vibrant pictures to reflect and amplify the text.

☠️ I was unaware that Basquiat’s accident as a child had such a great influence on his artwork. The book details that his mother’s gift of an anatomy book inspired much of his work, using skulls and skeletons in much of his work. The compelling story is paired with incredible original illustrations inspired by Basquiat’s art. As you look closely at each page, you will see wooden panels which the author and illustrator Javaka Steptoe used as his canvas. The vibrant colors, layered illustrations and intricate details will draw you into this award-winning, nonfiction biography.

👑 I also appreciate the back matter on both the author illustrator Steptoe and on Jean-Michel Basquiat himself. My kids love seeing Basquiat’s artwork and I’m planning to gift them with a print for their room.

💛 Link in bio to my Bookshop.

#mamaletsread #radiantchild #basquiat #bipockidsbooks #blackauthorsmatter #blackillustratorsmatter

Follow on Instagram

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. New posts will not be retrieved.

Log in as an administrator and view the Instagram Feed settings page for more details.

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: There is no connected account for the user 17841431842743379 Feed will not update.