Children's Lit Newsletter 7/04/2025
AKA Sharon's Book Rx
HAPPY PRIDE!!!!!
At at time when the FOC (see below for meaning, and yes, I did lose a couple subscribers for that - oh well), is trying to erase history, such as renaming the USNS Harvey Milk, let's speak up more loudly than ever! This month and EVERY DAY OF EVERY MONTH!!
EDIE FOR EQUALITY from our own Michael Genhart!!!!!
What an INCREDIBLE book!! I had heard of Edie Windsor when her case went to the Supreme Court saying that inheritance between spouses should be free from taxes, regardless of gender of the deceased spouse (before her case, only opposite gender spouses were protected from taxes) but didn't know any more than that. It is an incredible story - and a love story between Edie Windsor and Thea Spyer, first and foremost. Beautifully written and incredibly illustrated. There is enough backmatter to make an information nerd like me VERY happy!! Michael is happy to sign bookplates, so we will have them at Reach and Teach. If you want them personalized, we can do that, it just takes a bit longer.
Robin Stevenson Speaks Out on cruel Supreme Court Decision
This is reprinted from Robin's Facebook page (with her permission). It is more important than ever to get LGBTQIA+ books into kids' and teens' hands. Please do buy them from your local indie bookstore. If you want signed bookplates, we have them at Reach and Teach.
Robin's website is: https://robinstevenson.com/
REACH AND TEACH WILL HAVE SIGNED BOOKPLATES FOR MANY LGBTQIA+ BOOKS
Please feel free to reach out and order your books with signed bookplates (if you want them personalized, that will take a tad longer, of course, but we're happy to coordinate that)
Reflections on SONG OF A BLACKBIRD and the current, sadly similiar and frightening, situation
NOTE: Maria Van Lieshout came to my temple (Etz Chayim in Palo Alto) I can UNEQUIVOCALLY recommend her for temple or school visits. She's AMAZING. Also, Reach and Teach can arrange for drawn and personalized bookplates from Maria, if you'd like.
by Craig Wiesner -
The flashback was beautiful. I was invited to a Jewish temple to sell books for Maria Van Lieshout’s talk about her graphic novel Song of A Blackbird. As I waited I heard children singing in Hebrew, words and melodies and the thump thump thumps of little hands reminded me of my childhood Hebrew School. Soon children and adults came in and we were mesmerized by Van Lieshout sharing the stories that inspired her to create the book.
The Book: In 1943 Amsterdam, Emma Bergsma’s world changes when she witnesses Jewish families being forcibly deported to concentration camps. That pivotal moment lights a fire within her, and she decides to join the Dutch Resistance, drawn into a clandestine world of printing presses and counterfeiters, with thousands of lives on the line.
In 2011 Amsterdam, teenage Annick’s world changes, searching for a bone marrow donor for her beloved oma leading to a shocking revelation: her grandmother was secretly adopted as a child. The only clues to finding their lost family are a series of art prints—each signed by a mysterious “Emma B.”
This novel weaves together two timelines to reveal how art, in the face of political upheaval and nearly insurmountable adversity, can become our greatest lifeline.
Van Lieshout shared stories of the people she based the book on, heroic members of the Netherlands resistance. As she talked about people being rounded up, the free press becoming purveyors of propaganda, schools losing their freedom, historic institutions dismantled, too few speaking out, my chest tightened, anger bubbling up. I wondered if others felt the same.
Hours earlier I had donated money to send two American children to their mother’s home country. Their mother had shown up for a routine ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) appointment and was suddenly deported. Her children, U.S. citizens, had no other caregivers. The painful decision was made to send them to their mother, to a country they had never seen. I thought of them as Van Lieshout told us about Jewish children, separated from their parents at a Nazi deportation center, who, with their parents’ secret permission, were whisked away to other families through an underground railroad. Most never saw their parents again. 102,000 Dutch Jews were killed in the Holocaust. The resistance saved 600 children.
I was thinking of today’s America, people rounded up and deported, visa-holders thrown into jails without due process, children separated from their parents, an American child with late stage cancer deported, homes burst into by masked armed agents, with warrants for the wrong people, mothers and children forced outside in their underwear, a student accosted outside her home, handcuffed, taken hundreds of miles away to jail, whose only “crime” was writing an op-ed, major universities being attacked - funding slashed, mainstream media threatened with lawsuits and lost licenses, law firms barred from entering federal courts, lists of disabled people gathered for “studies,” university professors getting federal government texts asking if they’re Jewish, government civil/human rights agencies dismantled, judges threatened with impeachment with one handcuffed and arrested outside her courtroom, the U.S. Attorney General bragging about signing death warrants… All of that was rattling in my head.
Van Lieshout ended by showing photographs of the story’s main WWII characters. Most didn't survive but they saved thousands of lives. After a few general questions one person brought up parallels with today. I could see how some of us had been holding something tightly in our chests, and suddenly, it was released, free. I’ll paraphrase what one person said: During the war horrible atrocities were committed. Millions were murdered. But during the years leading up to the war it all could have been prevented. If only people had stood up and resisted earlier, when the seeds of hate were being planted, as the structures of democracy were dismantled, countless lives could have been saved.
It is always dangerous to compare any moment to what led to the Holocaust, but there I was, sitting in a room full of Jewish people, my skin crawling because history may not repeat, but it clearly rhymes. Just as I felt a warmth wash over my body hearing Jewish children singing in Hebrew, dread gripped me hearing Van Lieshout’s story. How many more Jewish children might there be today, singing in Hebrew schools, if six million of us hadn’t been slaughtered? 85 million people died in WWII, countless others wounded, entire nations forever traumatized.
Will we hear the song of a blackbird now, trying to get the attention of a generation bombarded by noise, to stand up against tyranny right here at home? If not, an era of darkness may be near, from which there might be no escape.
Here are the first lines of the book: I’m singing to you. Yes you. WILL YOU LISTEN?
Craig Wiesner is the co-owner of Reach And Teach, a book, toy and cultural gift shop on San Carlos Avenue in San Carlos. Follow Craig: craigwiesner.bsky.social
Buy the Book Here (or at your favorite independent bookstore!)
OUR INAUGURAL "BE THE REASON" CAMPAIGN WAS A HUGE SUCCESS!!
Be the Reason was a campaign started by the Bay Area Kid Booksellers. We're focusing on the positive, i.e. Be the Reason your Independent Bookstore THRIVES. Be the Reason the LGBTQIA+ sees books on the shelves about them. Or, in the campaign above, Be the Reason a low income, public school gets an INCREDIBLE library (through Access Books Bay Area with help from Reach and Teach).
Access Books was able to get over FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS in brand new books for Lead Elementary School in San Mateo!! WOO HOO. Below are some photos (photo credit Derrick Kikuchi and Cathy Cheng).
We will be doing more Be the Reason campaigns in the future. Watch here or the Reach and Teach website for details.
AND YOU CAN CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ACCESS BOOKS BAY AREA AND ANOTHER FANTASTIC INDIE, LINDEN TREE BOOKS
We are excited to announce that we are partnering again this summer with Linden Tree Books on our very own book drive to run July 1-31. Linden Tree Books is a family-owned bookstore that specializes in connecting readers of all ages to the magic of books. Join us and Linden Tree in helping spread the magic by donating books to children living in underfunded communities in the Bay Area.
We’ve made it easy to participate! At Linden Tree, there will be a blue mailbox in the front of the check-out counter for your donations. Choose from a display of pre-selected books, pick your own book, or choose a gift card to purchase. Once you have made your purchase, place your donation in the mailbox. Not only will buying your books at Linden Tree help support a local small business, your gift will be used in our upcoming library refurbishment project. We also welcome gift card donations purchased online! Select a gift card amount, choose “In-Store Pickup” under Delivery Options, and write "Access Books Bay Area" in the Notes Box. All donations are incredibly appreciated.
Don’t forget to spread the word, and if you make a donation, please post on social media tagging @accessbooksbayarea and @lindentreereads.
VOTE VIA THEIR INSTAGRAM PAGE FOR THE COVER YOU LIKE BEST!!
THE JUNETEENTH ALPHABET!! FABULOUS RESOURCE!
Yes, I know that Juneteenth is the 19th (I got to be at the Golden State Valkyries game that day and was THRILLED when "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was performed), but we can teach about Juneteenth all year. I love this book because it gives more resources and leads for more information/thoughtful questions, on almost every page. More info here: https://www.sourcebooks.com/for-children/9781464219016-the-juneteenth-alphabet-hc-pic-bk.html
Also, for those in the Bay Area, don't forget the INCREDIBLE Domini Hoskins Black History Museum in Redwood City https://hoskinsblackhistorymuseum.org/?fbclid=IwAR0z1c7FXixdX1ACxNjO7ReTc5cwcxFWHYyo6pnWQW-vnLt3LEmHwu9qi3Y
GRAPHIC NOVELS ARE REAL BOOKS!!!!
I STILL have to convince teachers, parents, and yes, librarians (not all, but some) that graphic novels deserve respect. This t-shirt from Jarrett J. Krosoczka is PERFECT!!
ADDING TO THIS FROM LAST WEEK'S NEWSLETTER: I had recommended DRAGON HOOPS to someone for his teens. He did go look at it (and I appreciate that he cancelled his Amazon order and checked it out at his local indie), but his reaction was that graphic novels are not sophisticated enough for his brilliant children. Yes, I am taking a breath. Yes I am writing a response but not putting the address in yet (so I don't send it when I'm not ready). Yes, I WILL be responding, because I have to. The disservice done to the books, and possibly his offspring, must be addressed. Wish me luck, y'all.
Enter an Archive of 10,000+ Historical Children’s Books, All Digitized & Free to Read Online
Spousal Unit found this. Please let me know if this is considered a No No. If not, what an incredible resource!
https://www.openculture.com/2025/06/enter-an-archive-of-10000-historical-childrens-books.html
BOOK TALKS (for adults or kids), CURRICULUM CONSULTING (finding books that fit), etc.
Hey all!!
Recently I have given Book Talks to students and parents that can focus on Engaging Reluctant Readers, Diversify Your (home or school) Bookshelves, and Great and Engaging Books (for various ages/grades). They've been well received and participants leave with TONS of information (and quite a few win prizes). I do these in schools or libraries, but would love to be hired by companies as a 'Perk' for their employees who have children in their lives. So, using my 'Social Capital' (that's you all) to spread the word.
I also work with teachers to help find great books that fit (and expand) the curriculum (otherwise known as my idea of a good time).
Please feel free to spread the word and send people my way: sharonlevin @ mindspring.com
We now return to our regular programming.
NOTE TO AUTHORS, ILLUSTRATORS, BOOKSTORES HAVING EVENTS!!
I try (when I have time/energy/spoons) to visit store websites and pull event information. However, the best way to get your events in is to e-mail me directly with FOR THE NEWSLETTER as the subject line. There are over 2000 subscribers to this newsletter - plus it gets posted on Facebook, Twitter (I said what I said), BlueSky and my local NextDoor. I am happy to spread the word, it's just easier if 'the word' (not the religious one) comes directly to my inbox
I'm only as good as my sources, so please do feel free to share events, good news, etc.! Please e-mail me at sharonlevin at mindspring dot com and put For the Newsletter as your subject line.
I'm always happy to feature giveaways. There is NO paid advertising in this newsletter - I do not require anything to feature a giveaway. I'm just happy to do it.