When I saw this printable diverse summer reading list challenge for kids over at the Oaxacaborn homeschool group on Facebook, I immediately had to share it. Schools here in Nashville have already dismissed for summer break —I know the re…
May 31, 1921, marks one of the darkest days in America's history. And yet the Tulsa Race Massacre isn't an event I ever learned in school -- and unfortunately most kids today don't either. The Burning of Black Wall Street can be a hard d…
Even though we're starting to dip our toe in a bit of normalcy these days - with kids in school and the world opening up a bit more - the idea of getting a little respite from the daily grind still sounds magical. We've all done our best…
I've always been a fan of graduation gift books . When my daughter graduated from high school five years ago, the headmaster gifted each graduating senior a book with a personal message inside -- Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemp…
For years, we've gotten plenty of pitches from publishers for countless children's books about holidays. And by holidays I mean, generally Christmas. But that's starting to change, and we're so thrilled to see more representation of all …
As someone who didn’t grow up around animals, I’ve learned a lot raising kids who love them, especially my youngest who is an avid horseback rider. When she first asked to take riding lessons, I thought it might be a passing phase, espec…
When it comes to creating empathy and developing a commitment to justice and respect in my children, I tend to turn toward good children's books . While we've recognized AAPI Heritage Month through children's books in the past, the recen…
If you know anything about me and my family, you might have guessed that we'd be marking our calendars for the launch of My Little Golden Book About Dolly Parton , which will be added to the Little Golden Book library this coming Septemb…
This is a sponsored message on behalf of Star Stable Entertainment What do you get when you combine magic, friendship, and horses? The answer is... Soul Riders , the popular trilogy from Star Stable Entertainment, the makers of the popul…
It's a clear, gorgeous 65-degree day here today, and it's the perfect opportunity for me to send my 10-year-old to the back porch with a copy of The Extraordinary Book that Eats Itself -- along with permission to do any of the fun eco-fr…
You know we often turn to books when we want to help our children through their struggles and feelings, and this month feels like the right time to share some excellent children's books on grief and loss. When I think back over the last …
Readers, get excited! The 2021 ALA youth media awards have been announced, and it's time to update our reading lists! In case you're not fully in the book-nerd world like me, that means our 2021 Caldecott, Newbery, Coretta Scott King awa…
My kids and I were glued to the TV last Wednesday, watching history take place on Inauguration Day. We were sobered by the national guard presence, excited about the achievements of our new VP Kamala Harris , and just so totally and comp…
I'm typing from behind swollen eyes today, the result of a day of crying tears of joy, tears of relief. Just a whole lot of tears . Lots of friends and readers have told me the same, and shared that one of the most profound moments of ye…
I don't think our annual roundup of the best children's books of 2020 could come at a better time. As we're heading into a winter of quarantining in 2021, my goal is to turn off the TV more and open up more books. This is my sixth year c…
Every year, we love to share our 10 most popular Cool Mom Picks posts. No surprise, there are lots of posts about Covid-19 here -- and we were glad we could help our readers out during such challenging times. But there are some surprises…
I totally get the last-minute holiday gift problem. Believe me! I mean, we may have started amassing ideas for our 2020 Holiday Gift Guide in, like...February, but hey, we're busy moms. And we're busy shopping for you sometimes at the ex…
This is a sponsored message from Candlewick Press It's hard to believe that it's officially the 20th anniversary of Newberry Honor book Because of Winn-Dixie , the modern classic by Kate DiCamillo that's captivated the imaginations of hu…
As we reflect back on all that has happened this year, it's clear that so many people are seeing -- and honoring -- all the work that Black women are doing to effect change. And all the work that Black women have always done. It's a lega…
This is a sponsored message from Candlewick Press There are some books for a child's library. that are must-haves: An alphabet book, a counting book, a shape book. They can be straightforward...or they can be fun. That difference matters…
This morning I woke up to the study that's making the rounds on Twitter: Nearly 2/3 of US young adults are unaware that 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust -- some get the numbers wrong, some didn't know at all. Dig deeper into the surv…
This year, even though we haven't been able to go to actual movie theaters, we're still seeing plenty of great movies from home. Yay for film companies adapting! And yay for me spending less than $50 to get everyone popcorn! If you're bi…
It's official: Kamala Harris is Joe Biden's pick for Democratic VP candidate and (speaking for all of us here, honestly), we couldn't be more excited about this historic choice. While many of our kids are already fans of hers, a lot of c…
When I first saw Antiracist Baby , the new board book everyone's talking about right now, I thought, O h, cute, a very cool companion to Feminist Baby ! But whereas Feminist Baby was full of punny jokes about napping, Antiracist Baby act…