Question: Where was the first reported child abuse case in the United States? Answer: New York, 1874. Her name was Mary Ellen Wilson. For eight of her 10 years, she had been beaten, cut, starved, subject to hard physical labor, deprived of a bed and warm clothes, and generally tortured by her foster mother. A … Continue reading Nicholas Kristof – Call to Action
In 2015, I sat in a darkened auditorium in a hotel in Los Angeles, wanting to throw up. I had word poisoning. What was the source? The messenger's message. In that dark room, Shannon Hale, a keynote speaker at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Conference, was turning the spotlight on gender bias. … Continue reading Who Are You? Gender Bias – #KidLitWomen
STOP THE PRESSES!!! Announcing the first picture book to win both the Caldecott and the Newbery!!!! Well, if the judging were up to me, that is. Seriously, folks. This book gobsmacked me. Dan Santat has created a touching, funny book about overcoming your fears, and in the process transforming your life. "My name is Humpty … Continue reading After the Fall – Perfect Picture Book Friday
Let me introduce you to someone who's soft, brown and fuzzy. You know, a teddy. As in teddy bear. There's also a boy. His name is Errol. "Errol and Thomas the teddy play together every day. They ride their bike in the backyard. They plant vegetables in the garden. They have sandwiches for lunch … Continue reading Introducing Teddy – Perfect Picture Book Friday
In a nation overtaken by arguments about immigration and the building of walls, Shanthi Sekaran's new novel underscores the complexity of the situation. But immigration issues are more than a decorative backdrop in Sekaran's novel. They provide the disturbing context for its premise: two women fighting for the right to raise one child, one of … Continue reading Lucky Boy – Shanthi Sekaran
This is the United States of America: This was the USA during the presidential campaign: This is the USA today: This is my dream for the USA: To get there, this needs to happen: And then we've got to stop doing this: And start doing this: The END
So while I'm frantically revising picture book manuscripts to take to Highlights Summer Camp, Listen To Your Mother released the 2016 videos from shows in 41 cities. As promised, here's my piece in the San Francisco Show! It was a privilege and an honor to be on stage with such amazing women. Cheers! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s145rabK20
I hadn't planned on going to my niece's wedding. She was getting married in Orlando last week and had planned a large party/reception for friends and family in Illinois in early July. In honor of her grandparents (my parents) who had been married 65 years, she had decided to get married on their wedding anniversary, … Continue reading Summer Life Saving
When my son was three, he was fascinated by all things siren-related. One night in the Mission District of San Francisco, an ambulance was parked outside the restaurant where we were eating. No emergency, just hungry paramedics waiting for their "TO GO" order. When we left the restaurant, my son ran to the ambulance and … Continue reading Life, Love, and LTYM Show – San Francisco
The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice. - Martin Luther King, Jr. Laurel Leigh, a dear friend, colleague, and co-founder of the Dogpatch Writer's Collective, has an essay published in the July issue of The Sun literary magazine. It's a devastating story about her nephew who's serving a life sentence for killing … Continue reading Justice For All?
Jilanne Hoffmann 