Read This!: SPACE FOR SAFFRON by Rie Neal

Authors You Should Know, Read This, Reviews

Space for SaffronSpace for Saffron by Rie Neal
Summary: Ten-year-old Saffron Sawyer loves science, experimenting, and learning new things. From making homemade slime in the back of her moms’ (Mama and Mimi) coffee shop to adopting tadpoles out of the river to learning how to fix bikes from watching YouTube videos, Saffron is confident she’s prepared for any challenge. But when Mama announces they are moving to Silicon Valley to take over Gran’s café, it’s Saffron’s biggest undertaking yet. Silicon Valley is very different from what Saffron’s used to. The streets are filled with electric cars instead of pick-up trucks, and instead of fixing their bikes, people buy new ones. Even worse, the coffee shop is struggling, and if it closes, Saffron and her moms will move again—leaving Gran behind. The one bright spot is Saffron has started at school just in time for the STEM Expo. Science has always been her favorite subject and she’s excited to present her project…until she sees the elaborate presentations her classmates have planned. Convinced she can never measure up, Saffron decides not to join the expo after all. But when Gran takes Saffron to a space-themed art installation in San Francisco, Saffron has an idea for a STEM Expo project that could help her win over her classmates—and maybe even save Gran’s café for good.

Saffron is a lovable space nerd who sometimes gets so excited to DO SCIENCE that she just can’t get out of her own way. After a particularly embarrassing disaster costs her mom her job, Saffron and her moms relocate to Silicon Valley to take over the ailing family cafe. It’s a whole new world for Saffron as she makes friends with the STEM-forward kids in Silicon Valley. When she figures out how to combine her STEM Expo project with an imaginative plan to save the cafe, she’ll need all hands on deck. Saffron’s deafness and her use of a BAHA (bone-anchored hearing aid) are woven naturally into the story, which is filled with humor, heart, and endearing characters.

SPACE FOR SAFFRON is out now.

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Level Up Your Library Service to Deaf Patrons

American Sign Language, eCourses and Webinars, Professional Development, Resources for Teachers and Librarians, webinars
Hands Up!: Live ASL Practice for Library Staff | Interactive webinar series presented by Kathy MacMillan, NIC, M.L.S. | Hands Up! Live ASL Practice for Library Staff (Beginner) . Intermediate: Wednesdays, April 22 to May 27, 2026, 12-1 PM Eastern/11 AM-12 PM Central/10-11 AM Mountain/9-10 AM Pacific StoriesByHand.com/webinars | Words appear over a drawing of upraised hands in bright pastel colors against a white background.

Hands Up: Live ASL Practice for Library Staff (Intermediate)

Wednesdays, April 22 to May 27, 2026 from 12-1 PM Eastern/11 AM-12 PM Central/10-11 AM Mountain/9-10 AM Pacific

Online sessions via Zoom (6 weeks, 1 hour per week). Includes recording access for all sessions through June 28, 2026.

Practice your ASL for the library setting in these interactive sessions! This series is appropriate for those who have taken Hands Up!: Live ASL Practice for Library Staff (Beginner), or the ASL for Library Staff eCourses through the American Library Association, or anyone who already knows some library vocabulary in ASL and wishes to polish their skills. Join us to reinforce your library signing skills and increase your confidence in your ability to communicate with members of the Deaf community. Certificate of completion available with successful completion of post-test.

Pricing:

  • Individual: 270.00 (includes live webinar and recording access through 30 days after the final session)
  • Group rates available for groups of 10 or more. Contact info@storiesbyhand.com for more information.

Register now!

All upcoming webinars and series

Feedback from Workshop and Webinar Participants

Find out more about booking a private webinar for your group

FAQ: eCourses and Webinars

Purchase recording access to past webinars

Read This!: CALL YOUR FATHER by Tracy C. Gold and Vivian Mineker

Authors You Should Know, picture books, Read This, Reviews

Call Your Father: A Tender Picture Book for DadsCall Your Father: A Tender Picture Book for Dads by Tracy C. Gold
Summary: From life’s highs to life’s lows, there’s one person who is always the first one we call: our father. He’s the one we want to comfort us, to wipe our tears, and to share our triumphs. Whether it’s falling off your bike or building your first crib, you can never have too many reasons to call your father. In this beautiful and relatable picture book, follow a father and son through the years as they face each new stage of life together. Accompanied by gentle rhymes from Tracy C. Gold and tender illustrations from Vivian Mineker, this book delivers the powerful and touching message that you are never too old to need your father. The perfect gift for the fathers or grandfathers in your life who always answer the call, this picture book just might make dad cry.

A poignant companion to Gold and Mineker’s previous collaboration, Call Your Mother, this book is a perfect gift for father figures of all kinds. We follow the protagonist from the time he is a little baby rolling on the rug, babbling “Ba ba ba! Da da da!” through the challenges of growing up, from skinned knees to speaking up for classmates, and on into the college years and ultimately becoming a father himself. At every stage, the refrain is the same: “Call your father”…and he always shows up. Gold’s moving text, accompanied by Mineker’s colorful illustrations, shows how the details of Dad’s support might change over the years, but his caring presence remains constant.

CALL YOUR FATHER is out now.

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Read This!: THE GALLAUDET ELEVEN by Kerry O’Malley Cerra

Authors You Should Know, picture books, Read This, Reviews

The Gallaudet Eleven: The Story of NASA's Deaf BioastronautsThe Gallaudet Eleven: The Story of NASA’s Deaf Bioastronauts by Kerry O’Malley Cerra. Illustrated by Kristina Gehrmann
Summary: Take a look inside one part of the journey to the moon, and meet the Gallaudet Eleven: the brave volunteers who helped make it possible. These hidden figures played an important role in NASA’s research, and it was their shared disability that made them so vital to the plan: their vestibular systems, a part of the inner ear, did not work, meaning they did not get motion sick. The Gallaudet Eleven were the perfect volunteers for NASA’s spinning, whirling tests to learn the effects of space travel on the human body.

In this groundbreaking nonfiction picture book, Deaf author Kerry O’Malley Cerra and Deaf illustrator Kristina Gehrmann bring forth the long-overlooked story of eleven Deaf men who participated in NASA experiments for ten years to help researchers understand motion sickness. The text lays out the hows and whys in an engaging and child-friendly way, incorporating quotes from the bioastronauts themselves and leaning into the humor. Gehrmann’s illustrations capture the joy and humor as well; one memorable spread shows the Deaf bioastronauts, chosen because of their inability to feel motion sickness, gleefully playing cards while the researchers on their ship loll in bed, too sick to work during a churning storm. It’s a readaloud perfect for the classroom, with lots of extension possibilities in the backmatter, including an author’s note, more facts, and a timeline of the Space Race. The book is also an ideal springboard for discussion about who gets to participate in scientific study. Quite simply an essential nonfiction picture book.

THE GALLAUDET ELEVEN is out now.

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New series from Familius Press: SIGN THE SEASONS!

American Sign Language, board books, Resources for Teachers and Librarians, Sign the Seasons series

I am so excited to finally share my new board book series with the world!

Sign the Seasons introduces babies and toddlers to early communication through the sights and traditions of the seasons. Each book features 8 essential American Sign Language signs in a simple, story-driven context.  With warm illustrations by Ekaterina Ladatko and clear signing instructions, children and caregivers can learn and practice together, turning everyday moments into opportunities for connection and language development. Perfect for families and early learning settings, the Sign the Seasons series blends seasonal fun with meaningful skill-building for little learners.

 

cover of Sign the Seasons: Fall

Sign the Seasons: Fall

Coming August 4, 2026

by Kathy MacMillan

Illustrated by Ekaterina Ladatko

ASL/Deaf Culture Advisor: Tanya Daniels

Early Childhood Education Advisor: Louise Rollins

 

“What a beautiful book! The illustrations wrap around the reader like a warm hug after a chilly fall day. This book will be perfect for anyone looking to learn about sign language for fall. I can see this being used and loved in homes, classrooms, libraries, and bookstores for interactive storytimes where children practice their motor skills and celebrate the season.” – Tracy C. Gold, author of Everyone’s Sleepy but the Baby

Preorder now at Deaf Camps, Inc. Bookstore (autographed copies that support a great cause!)  |  Bookshop.org  |  Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble  |  Familius

 

Sign the Seasons: Winter

Coming November 3, 2026.

 

Sign the Seasons: Spring

Coming February 2027.

 

Sign the Seasons: Summer

Coming May 2027.