NITA’S FIRST SIGNS is a 2018 Foreword INDIES Silver Winner!

American Sign Language, Awards, board books, Little Hands Signing series, Nita's First Signs

Nita’s First Signs has been named a winner in the 21st annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards.

Foreword Reviews, a book review journal focusing on independently published books, announced the winners of its INDIES Book of the Year Awards earlier this month. The INDIES recognize the best books published in 2018 from small, indie, and university presses, as well as self-published authors. You can view all of the winners here.

“Being surrounded by the year’s best books from independent writers and publishers is a humbling and invigorating experience that we take seriously at every step of the judging process,” says Managing Editor Michelle Anne Schingler. “As the INDIES progress, our editors, and our librarian and bookseller judges, have the honor and the privilege of discovering and rediscovering independent titles that give us hope about the future of publishing and that, at their best, make us consider the world around us anew.”

Nita’s First Signs, written by Kathy MacMillan, illustrated by Sara Brezzi, published by Familius Press is the 2018 Silver Winner in the category Picture Books, Early Reader.

Over 2,000 entries were submitted in 56 categories, with Foreword’s editors choosing approximately 10 finalists per genre. Those finalists were then mailed to individual librarians and booksellers charged with picking the Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners.

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Founded in 1998, Foreword Magazine, Inc. is the publisher of the only review journal completely devoted to independent publishing: Foreword Reviews, a Folio: award-winning bimonthly print review journal. Foreword exclusively covers university and independent (non “Big 5”) publishers, the books they publish, and their authors. Foreword is based in Traverse City, Michigan, with staff based worldwide.

SHE SPOKE on Book Q and As with Deborah Kalb

Authors You Should Know, Interviews, She Spoke

Thank you to Deborah Kalb – author of The President and Me: John Adams and the Magic Bobblehead (Schiffer, 2018), The President and Me: George Washington and the Magic Hat (Schiffer, 2016), and co-author of Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama (Brookings, 2011) – for hosting me and my She Spoke co-author Manuela Bernardi for an interview at her website! Check it out here.

SHE SPOKE on The Children’s Book Podcast

Interviews, She Spoke

She Spoke: 14 Women Who Raised Their Voices and Changed the World was featured on Episode #511 of The Children’s Book Podcast with Matthew Winner!  Check it out for a freewheeling discussion spanning three continents: me in the USA, my co-author Manuela Bernardi in Brazil, and illustrator Kathrin Honesta in Indonesia! We delve into the inspirations and processes behind the book, and Matthew shares how he has used it with his students. Listen now!

Know Your Value: She Spoke and more!

Reviews, She Spoke

So honored to have She Spoke: 14 Women Who Raised Their Voices and Changed the World included in this terrific roundup of “books to inspire young girls to know their value” over at nbcnews.com! List curator Ciarra Chavarria of @girlsreadtheworld says: “Having access to these women’s voices, to literally hear them saying their iconic and critical words creates a magical connection between readers and these women, and I’ve never seen (well, heard) anything else like it.”

Check out the complete list here!

 

Speak Up! Listen Up!: Strategies for Using SHE SPOKE in the Classroom

Guest Posts, Resources for Teachers and Librarians, She Spoke

Thank you to the folks over at Pencil Tips Writing Workshop for hosting my recent guest post full of ideas for teacher on how to use my new book She Spoke: 14 Women Who Raised Their Voices and Changed the World in the classroom! If you aren’t familiar with Pencil Tips, you’ll definitely want to check it out – it’s a treasure trove of resources for teachers, featuring the work of authors Karen Leggett Abouraya, Laura Gehl, Laura Krauss Melmed, Mary Amato, Mary Quattlebaum, and many more!