Raising Luminaries – Content Archives

This page is where you can find a comprehensive list of all the non-social media articles and resources I’ve created for Raising Luminaries, Books For Littles & The Student Ignition Society.

Book Analysis

Free & accessible for all

How to approach difficult conversations with individual picture books.

• Hooray for She, He, Ze and They! (9/8/2024)
• Exploring Brownface & Saviorism in ‘Mup’ (9/1/2021)
• Exploring Black Futures with ‘Freedom, We Sing’ (10/1/2020)
• Equity, Education, and Validating Frustration with ‘On The Day You Begin’ (9/1/2020)
• Creating An Anti-Racist Manifesto With Zetta Elliott: #FamilyManifesto4BlackLives (8/2/2020)
• Following Indigenous Calls To Action with ‘We Are Water Protectors’ (8/1/2020)
• Unpacking Tokenism & Disclosure In ‘A Boy Called Bat’ (4/7/2020)
• Motivating Kids To Protect Others With ‘Do Not Lick This Book’ (4/1/2020)
• How inspiration porn humiliates women in ‘The Truly Brave Princesses’ (3/1/2020)
• How Kids Find Hope In Hard Times With ‘Simon And the Bear’ (12/1/2019)
• Protecting The World’s Water In Your Own Yard With ‘Luz Makes A Splash’ (8/1/2019)
• What do ALL feminists have in common? A social justice flap book for our youngest activists (3/14/2019)
• How We Reinforce The Model Minority Myth with Polar Bear Island (3/1/2019)
• All My Sons Deserve Respect! Why Complex Black Boy Representation Matters (1/1/2019)
• Wrestling With Insecurity with ‘Escargot’ (12/14/2018)
• Appreciating hand-me-downs with ‘A Fire Truck Named Red’ (12/1/2018)
• Learning About Cultural Erasure with Milo’s Museum (11/1/2018)
• Understanding Autistic Masking With A Tiger Called Tomás (4/1/2018)
• *Updated 2022* Supporting Trans Family With Rachel’s Christmas Boat (12/1/2017)
• Countering Myths about Christopher Columbus with ‘A Coyote Columbus Story’ (10/1/2017)
• Multicultural Book Day 2017 (1/26/2017)
• Overcoming False Scarcity & Xenophobia with ‘Shelter’ (12/14/2016)
• How Kids Look For The Good In Folks with ‘Oskar And The Eight Blessings’ (12/1/2016)
• Keeping Women In The Kitchen with ‘Jimmy Zangwow’ (3/1/2014)
• Using Marginalized Folks As a Faux-Feminist Footstool With ‘Punxsutawney Phyllis’ (1/15/2014)

Public Book Collections

Free & accessible for all

Articles on why you should care about smashing the kyriarchy and how to get started by reading books with your kids.

• Let’s Explore Housing & Access to Shelter (10/15/2023)
• Let’s Explore Truth & Reconciliation (10/4/2023)
• Register To Vote (9/20/2023)
• Faith & Religion (5/11/2023)
• Vaccinations (5/11/2023)
• Radical Generosity (5/11/2023)
• Gregorian New Year (5/11/2023)
• Kwanzaa (5/11/2023)
• Christmas (5/11/2023)
• Hanukkah (5/11/2023)
• Winter Solstice (5/11/2023)
• Latina Equal Pay Day (5/11/2023)
• Mutual Aid (5/11/2023)
• Tricksters & Animal Stories (5/11/2023)
• Indigenous Heritage Month (5/11/2023)
• Indigenous Women’s Equal Pay Day (5/11/2023)
• Giving Tuesday (5/11/2023)
• Indigenous Day of Mourning (5/11/2023)
• National Adoption Day (5/11/2023)
• Celebrating Trans Kids (5/11/2023)
• Danny DeVito Day (5/11/2023)
• Voter Registration & Election Day (5/11/2023)
• Día de los Muertos (5/11/2023)
• Consent & Boundaries (5/11/2023)
• Death Positivity (5/11/2023)
• Italian American Heritage Month (5/11/2023)
• Disability History Month (5/11/2023)
• Halloween (5/11/2023)
• Diwali & Bandhi Chhor Diwas (5/11/2023)
• Coming Out & LGBTQiA2S+ History (5/11/2023)
• Indigenous Peoples Day (5/11/2023)
• Healthy Masculinity (5/11/2023)
• Child-Led Schooling (5/11/2023)
• Let’s Explore the Wealth Gap (5/11/2023)
• Orange Shirt Day (5/11/2023)
• Black Women’s Equal Pay Day (5/11/2023)
• Mid-Autumn Festival (5/11/2023)
• Latinx & Hispanic Heritage Month (5/11/2023)
• Asthma Peak Week (5/11/2023)
• Ganesh Chaturthi (5/11/2023)
• Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur (5/11/2023)
• Labor day (5/11/2023)
• Family Constellations (5/11/2023)
• Back To School (5/11/2023)
• Education Rights (5/11/2023)
• #ABAisAbuse (5/9/2023)
• Slavery Abolition (5/9/2023)
• National Bao Day (5/9/2023)
• Environmentalism & Climate Justice (5/9/2023)
• Think Global, Act Local (5/9/2023)
• Disability Interdependence Day (5/9/2023)
• Nelson Mandela Day (5/9/2023)
• Mad Pride Day (5/9/2023)
• Nonbinary Peoples Day (5/9/2023)
• Let’s Explore Self-Identity (4/27/2023)
• Immigrant Heritage Month (4/27/2023)
• Let’s Explore Assigned Sex, Gender & Sexuality (4/27/2023)
• Stonewall Riots (4/27/2023)
• Father’s Day (4/27/2023)
• Let’s Explore Outdoor Accessibility for the Summer Solstice (4/27/2023)
• Juneteenth (4/27/2023)
• Autistic Pride Day (4/27/2023)
• Gardening As Resistance (4/27/2023)
• Gun Violence (4/27/2023)
• Censorship, Book Bans & Let Freedom Read Day (4/3/2023)
• Asian & Pacifica Peoples Self-Advocacy (3/22/2023)
• Let’s Explore What It Means To Be Courageous With Kids (3/22/2023)
• Let’s Explore Mental Health With Kids (3/22/2023)
• Composting Day (3/22/2023)
• Vincent Chin & The Birth of The Asian American Rights Movement (3/22/2023)
• Famine Commemoration Day (3/22/2023)
• Mothers Day (3/22/2023)
• Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls & Two-Spirit People (3/22/2023)
• National Bird Day (3/22/2023)
• Freedom Of The Press Day (3/22/2023)
• May Day (3/22/2023)
• Let’s Explore Appreciation and Gratitude (2/26/2023)
• Mahavir Jayanti (2/26/2023)
• LGBTQiA2S+ Day of Silence (2/26/2023)
• Earth Day & Arbor day (2/26/2023)
• Festival of Ridván (2/26/2023)
• Velociraptor Awareness Day (2/26/2023)
• Festival of Vaisakhi (2/26/2023)
• Month of Ramadan (2/26/2023)
• Easter (2/26/2023)
• Passover / Pesach (2/26/2023)
• Qingming Festival (2/26/2023)
• Autism Bewareness Day (2/26/2023)
• April Fool’s Day (2/26/2023)
• What does it mean to be an accomplice or ally? (2/8/2023)
• Healthy Anger (2/8/2023)
• Spring Equinox (2/8/2023)
• St. Paddy’s Day & Irish American Heritage Month (2/8/2023)
• International Day of Forests (2/8/2023)
• National Panda Day (2/8/2023)
• International Womens Day & Womens History Month (2/8/2023)
• National Day of Unplugging (2/8/2023)
• St. Brigid’s Day (12/21/2022)
• Valentine’s Day (12/21/2022)
• Galentine’s Day (12/21/2022)
• Rosa Parks Day (12/21/2022)
• Groundhog Day (12/21/2022)
• Lunar New Year (11/25/2022)
• Harm Reduction (8/1/2022)
• Kyriarchy-Smashing Kids Books For 10-Year-Olds (6/10/2022)
• Kyriarchy-Smashing Kids Books For 9-Year-Olds (6/9/2022)
• Kyriarchy-Smashing Kids Books For 8-Year-Olds (6/8/2022)
• Kyriarchy-Smashing Kids Books For 7-Year-Olds (6/7/2022)
• Kyriarchy-Smashing Kids Books For 6-Year-Olds (6/6/2022)
• 2022 Best Kids Books For Littles (3/30/2022)
• 2021 Best Kids Books For Littles (12/30/2021)
• Where Are All The Disabled Caregivers in Kid’s Stories? (8/1/2021)
• 2020 Best Kids Books For Littles (12/30/2020)
• 6 Kids Books For Trans Day of Resilience (11/1/2020)
• July 2020 Good Finds (7/19/2020)
• June 2020 Good Finds (6/19/2020)
• Queer Rainbow Children’s Books By Indigenous, Black & Brown Authors (6/7/2020)
• May 2020 Good Finds (5/23/2020)
• Cooking Is Community Care – Empowering Kids In a Time of Uncertainty (5/1/2020)
• April 2020 Good Finds (4/25/2020)
• Kids Books For Sudden Unschoolers (4/21/2020)
• Raising Sons Who Value Care Work: Healthy Masculinity in Kids Books (3/28/2020)
• March 2020 Good Finds (3/20/2020)
• February 2020 Good Finds (2/23/2020)
• Older Lives Are Worth Living: Ageism & Deathmisia In Children’s Books (1/28/2020)
• Fred Korematsu Day (1/20/2020)
• Problematic Savior Tropes Stigmatizing Older Adults in Kidlit (1/14/2020)
• George Washington Carver Day (1/12/2020)
• Coldest Days of the Year (1/10/2020)
• Believing #OwnVoices Elders (1/7/2020)
• Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (1/5/2020)
• Gregorian New Year (1/1/2020)
• Why Young Activists Depend On The Fight For Elder Rights (1/1/2020)
• 2019 Best Kids Books For Littles (12/30/2019)
• August 2019 Good Finds (8/21/2019)
• July 2019 Good Finds (7/24/2019)
• May 2019 Good Finds (5/24/2019)
• Circumventing White Fragility With Adorable Books by Mango & Marigold Press (5/1/2019)
• April 2019 Good Finds (4/24/2019)
• Books To Reassure Kids During Coronavirus Isolation (4/14/2019)
• March 2019 Good Finds (3/24/2019)
• How to talk to kids about shootings – Picture books that help (1/1/2019)
• 2018 Best Kids Books For Littles (12/30/2018)
• How We Are Connected – Interfaith Books For the Winter Solstice (12/21/2018)
• Understanding equity with kids books on envy & jealousy (12/7/2018)
• Raising Luminaries: Books For The Next Generation Of Kind & Brilliant Leaders (10/16/2018)
• Justice For Labor Day: Provocative Kids Books About The Fight For Workers’ Rights (9/1/2018)
• The Reality of Being Adopted: Validating Stories For Adopted Kids (7/14/2018)
• Anti-Racism 103: How White Supremacy Perpetuates Myths of Racial Purity (7/1/2018)
• Immigrants Belong Here: Books Helping Kids Advocate For Human Rights (3/7/2018)
• Strengthening our communities with kids books about Radical Interdependence (1/7/2018)
• 2017 Best Kids Books For Littles (12/30/2017)
• Where are all the Kwanzaa books for kids? (12/14/2017)
• The Happiest 3-Year-Old’s Bookshelf: Empathy & Independence (12/1/2017)
• Decolonizing Thanksgiving Is An Oxymoron – Kids Books Dismantling The Myth of a ‘First Thanksgiving’ (11/7/2017)
• Our Future Depends On It: Kids Books About Education Rights (9/1/2017)
• Anti-Racism 102: Why Not All Racial Discrimination is ‘Racism’ (7/1/2017)
• Don’t Yuck My Yum: Delicious Kids Books That Dismantle Anti-Asian Racism (5/1/2017)
• When Making Friends Is Hard – Books For Kids Who Feel Left Out (4/7/2017)
• Tenacious Instigators – Kids Books Celebrating Disabled Heroes (4/1/2017)
• Endurance, Tenacity, and Wits – Kids Irish American Pride on St. Paddy’s (3/1/2017)
• Breaking Walls & Building Bridges (2/7/2017)
• Multicultural Book Day 2017 (1/26/2017)
• Why Each Generation Repeats Past Atrocities – Talking With Kids About Japanese Internment (1/1/2017)
• 2016 Best Kids Books For Littles (12/30/2016)
• Galvanizing Kids Books About Poverty Inspiring Kids To Give Back (11/1/2016)
• Talking About Death With Young Kids: A Beginner’s Guide (10/1/2016)
• Birthday Books For Kind & Generous Kids (9/16/2016)
• The Sikh Identity – Saffron Press Maker Spotlight (7/14/2016)
• Anti-Racism For Kids 101: Starting To Talk About Race (7/1/2016)
• Captivating Kids Stories To Recognize Privilege (6/16/2016)
• Microaggressions Against Multiracial Kids – Books Where Kids Can Belong (5/16/2016)
• Siblings Day (5/14/2016)
• Love Is Love Is Love – Diverse Family Constellations In Kids Books (5/7/2016)
• Triumphant Kids Stories Honoring Single Mothers (5/1/2016)
• Influential Kids Books Featuring Capable Disabled Characters (4/21/2016)
• De-Stigmatizing Disability: Stereotype-Smashing Kids Books (4/14/2016)
• Children’s Books For Upstanders: Civil Disobedience & Disrupting Injustice (2/7/2016)
• Children’s Books By Brilliant Black Women: #OwnVoices Authors & Illustrators (2/1/2016)
• 6 Mistakes We Make Raising Sons – Kids Books To Prevent Sexual Assault (1/1/2016)
• Fantastic Kids Stories For Daydreams & Adventure (12/14/2015)
• Cozy Kid’s Books To Warm Up Your Winter (12/1/2015)
• Beyond the Binary: Why We Need Gender Creative Characters In Kidlit (6/1/2015)
• Whining, Tantrums & Outbursts: Books to Help Kids Chill (5/1/2015)
• 5 Things Every Kid Should Know About Disability – Raising Anti-Ableist Kids (4/21/2015)
• Daring Stories Championing Fat Liberation – Adipositive Kids Books (4/14/2015)
• Talking About Consent With Kids – Kids Books About Boundaries (4/7/2015)
• Help Kids Feel Safe – Books About Sexuality, Masturbation & Healthy Boundaries (4/1/2015)
• Stereotype-Free Kids Stories Celebrating the Lunar New Year (2/1/2015)
• Raising Tomorrow’s Fathers – Children’s Books With Feminist Dads (1/1/2015)
• Wordless Picture Books To Buy You A Few Minutes of Quiet (12/1/2014)
• Talking With Kids About The Gender Spectrum – Inclusive Picture Books (6/1/2014)
• Books to help kids process separation Anxiety & Parting Grief (5/1/2014)
• Where Babies Come From – Inclusive Kids Books About Sex & Reproduction (4/21/2014)
• Anatomy & Body Awareness Books for Kids (and their squeamish grown-ups) (4/7/2014)
• No White Saviors: Kids Books About Black Women in US History (2/7/2014)
• Does Your Child’s Bookshelf Pass The Uhura Test? (2/1/2014)

Shenanigans

Free & accessible for all

Seasonal updates on what we’ve accomplished & what we’ve been up to. If you want email notifications when I publish new stuff, join the email list, where I send seasonal recaps on All The New & Updated Stuff. (You don’t have to contribute, and can follow the public posts for free.)

• August Resource Roundup (7/29/2022)
• Creating Brave Space Storytime with The Center for Cognitive Diversity (11/13/2021)
• 4 Ways to Fight Ableism With Kids Books: #LiberatingWebinars (8/28/2021)
• Single Parenting in a Post-Apocalyptic Hellscape with Revolutionary Humans (3/30/2021)
• Different Identities, Different Work: #FamilyManifesto4BlackLives (7/30/2020)
• Wee Chalk The Walk: #FamilyDayOfAction (7/16/2020)
• To Minneapolis, With Love: #LoveLetters4BlackLives (6/16/2020)
• Join The Movement: #FamilySummer4BlackLives (5/30/2020)
• Initiating the Books For Littles Self-Destruct Sequence (11/15/2019)
• When you feel my teeth pierce your jugular (3/26/2019)

Maker Spotlights & Guest Writers

Interviews, special features & highlights, free & accessible for all

• Creating An Anti-Racist Manifesto With Zetta Elliott: #FamilyManifesto4BlackLives (8/2/2020)
• Queer Rainbow Children’s Books By Indigenous, Black & Brown Authors (6/7/2020)
• How to Subvert Racist Gatekeeping Starting With Your Family Bookshelf (3/14/2020)
• Circumventing White Fragility With Adorable Books by Mango & Marigold Press (5/1/2019)
• Dismantling Cissexism In Kidlit – Maker Spotlight with Maya & Matthew of Reflection Press (3/28/2019)
• All My Sons Deserve Respect! Why Complex Black Boy Representation Matters (1/1/2019)
• The Reality of Being Adopted: Validating Stories For Adopted Kids (7/14/2018)
• The Sikh Identity – Saffron Press Maker Spotlight (7/14/2016)
• What Parents of Autistic Kids Need to Know – Neurodivergent Narwhals (4/7/2016)
• Talking about differences – ‘The People You May See’ Maker Spotlight (4/1/2016)

Student Ignition Society Toolkits

Free & accessible for all

Family Action Toolkits created in collaboration with members of the Student Ignition Society

Student Ignition Society Launchpad Home Page

• 3 Elements of a Transformative Curriculum: How to Motivate Little Leaders
• 5 Types of Children’s Books To Combat Bias
• SIS Community
• Student Ignition Society Resources
  • Climate Justice – Family Action Toolkit
  • Ending Police Brutality – Family Action Toolkit
  • Immigrant Solidarity Family Action Toolkit
  • Indigenous Peoples’ Day Toolkit
  • Indigenous Day of Mourning Family Action Toolkit
  • Wampanoag Solidarity Family Action Toolkit – For Newton/Boston Families
• Calls To Action

Podcasts

Unpolished Book Lists

• Unpolished Lists Intro & Guide
  
  • Adoption & Foster Families: Anti-Fairytale
    • Problematic Tropes: Adoption
    • Validating Stories For Adopted Children Who Have Experienced Trauma
  • Community Gardens
  • Disability
    • Allistic-centered stories on Autism
    • Autism: Anti-Ableist Autism Books
    • Autism: Validating Stories for Autistic Kids
    • Blindness & Vision Disabilities
    • Executive Functioning & Time Management
    • Invisible Disabilities Picture Books
    • Sensory Processing Disorder
    • Social Model of Disability
  • Easy Gift Guide: Books & Companion Toys
    • Cookbooks
  • Gay Protagonists
  • Guerilla Gardening
  • History & Biographies
    • Problematic Women’s History Compilations
    • Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
    • Women’s History Biographies
    • Food Sustainability: Cooks, Chefs & Activists
  • Holidays & Events
    • Santa Narratives & Origin Stories
    • Summer: Swimming
  • Immigrants & Refugees
  • Problematic Tropes
    • Problematic Trope: Saviors
    • Problematic Trope: Tokenism
  • Booklists By Age
    • Ages 0-12 months
    • Ages 1 to 3: Breaking Stereotypes
    • Ages 1-3: Toddlers
    • Ages 1.5-2 Interactive Books
    • Ages 2+ Counting, Numbers & Arithmetic
    • Age 5
    • Ages 8+ & Chapter Books
  • Validating Stories for Kids Experiencing Domestic Violence
  • Social & Emotional
    • Food, Connection & Culture
    • Hitting: When your kid is the aggressor
    • Pretty Salma – Preparing Kids To Recognize Grooming and Coercion
    • Rebellion & Demolition
    • Validating frustration with feeling small & powerless
    • Validating Stories for kids with incarcerated family
  • Physical Violence

Good Finds Book Lists

Good Finds Main Page

• Kyriarchy-Smashing Kids Books For 10-Year-Olds (6/10/2022)
• Kyriarchy-Smashing Kids Books For 9-Year-Olds (6/9/2022)
• Kyriarchy-Smashing Kids Books For 8-Year-Olds (6/8/2022)
• Kyriarchy-Smashing Kids Books For 7-Year-Olds (6/7/2022)
• Kyriarchy-Smashing Kids Books For 6-Year-Olds (6/6/2022)
• 2022 Best Kids Books For Littles (3/30/2022)
• 2021 Best Kids Books For Littles (12/30/2021)
• 2020 Best Kids Books For Littles (12/30/2020)
• July 2020 Good Finds (7/19/2020)
• June 2020 Good Finds (6/19/2020)
• May 2020 Good Finds (5/23/2020)
• April 2020 Good Finds (4/25/2020)
• March 2020 Good Finds (3/20/2020)
• February 2020 Good Finds (2/23/2020)
• 2019 Best Kids Books For Littles (12/30/2019)
• August 2019 Good Finds (8/21/2019)
• July 2019 Good Finds (7/24/2019)
• May 2019 Good Finds (5/24/2019)
• April 2019 Good Finds (4/24/2019)
• March 2019 Good Finds (3/24/2019)
• 2018 Best Kids Books For Littles (12/30/2018)
• 2017 Best Kids Books For Littles (12/30/2017)
• 2016 Best Kids Books For Littles (12/30/2016)

Sitemap of Everything Else

• Info
  
  • Overall Awesomeness Score: How We Analyze & Review Books
  • Accessibility
  • Archives
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • About Raising Luminaries
  • Land Acknowledgement
  • Accountability Statement & Guidelines
• Forms
  
• Family Movie Night Reviews
  Accessible for Luminary Brain Trust members only
• Parent Activist Incubator Member Portal
  Accessible for Incubator members only

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Find more details on the Raising Luminaries Mission & Objectives, which lives in our Accountability Statement & Guidelines.

Stay Curious, Stand Brave & Smash the Kyriarchy

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Last updates made March 2022 – AR.