NEW YORK, June 2, 2016 — In honor of the late children’s author-illustrator Ezra Jack Keats’centenary, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation is planning an “Ezra Jack Keats’ 100th Birthday Blowout Weekend,” …
Nicola Yoon (Everything, Everything) wishes she’d known as an adolescent that “the answers don’t matter as much as the asking“; Rosalind Jana (Notes on Being Teenage) proclaims that “you are enough as …
BOSTON, MA – Heinemann, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, today announced the 2016 class of Heinemann Fellows, a select group of accomplished educators who share the goal of advancing the …
A Stick is an Excellent Thing: Poems Celebrating Outdoor Play by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by LeUyen Pham (Clarion Books/HMH, February 2012). All rights reserved.
NEW YORK, NY — Award-winning actress Dame Helen Mirren will narrate the recently rediscovered Beatrix Potter story THE TALE OF KITTY-IN-BOOTS (on sale September 6, 2016), her first audiobook recording. …
New York, NY — Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the nation’s largest retail bookseller and a leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced the 20th …
June 2, 2016, Boston, MA — The 2016 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners were announced today by The Boston Globe and The Horn Book in a video presentation that was …
New York, NY – Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the nation’s largest retail bookseller and a leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced that it …
The first photos of Harry, Ginny and Albus Potter as they will appear in the London stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two were …
In the second installment of his series, Yang shares the books that are currently on his reading list: Ninja! by Arree Chung, Orbiting Jupiter by Gary Schmidt, and Patsy Walker A.K.A. Hellcat #5 by Kate …
As a Summer Reading Champion, DiCamillo hopes to inspire children of all ages to take advantage of all that their local libraries have to offer. Books give me an understanding …
Los Angeles, CA (May 25, 2016) – Lambda Literary, the global leader advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender literature, today announced a historic partnership with the New York City Department …
From the United States to Israel, thousands of eager students were inspired by this year’s amazing line-up of A4ED authors: Dan Gutman, Linda Crotta Brennan, Jody Feldman, Miri Leshem-Pelly, Peter Lourie, Patricia Newman, Miranda Paul, Jeanie Franz Ransom, Amy …
NEW YORK, NY — Dr. Louise Mirrer, President and CEO of the New-York Historical Society, announced today that author Pam Muñoz Ryan will receive New-York Historical’s 2016 Children’s History Book …
In his third post, Yang discusses some of the different approaches to writing the script for comic books. Unlike in screenwriting, there is no industry-wide format for comic book scripts. Yang follows …
NEW YORK, NY — Global learning company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), announced today that its interactive content service Curious World™ is now available on Apple TV. The service will be …
Titles such as George by Alex Gino and (Scholastic Press) and Lily and Dunkin (Delacorte), which portray transgender youth, are leading the way for mature middle grade fiction. Though issue-driven works sometimes …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — First Book, the nonprofit social enterprise, has launched the next phase of its innovative First Book Marketplace (fbmarketplace.org) and First Book Canada Marketplace (fbmpcanada.org), the award-winning e-commerce sites …
Featured titles include Raymie Nightingale (Candlewick) by former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Kate DiCamillo, and Sherman Alexie’s new picture book Thunder Boy Jr. (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers). Click here …
Cameras are magic. By capturing a moment in time, cameras
give us the ability to explore actions and emotions in a way that we cannot in
another medium. Each time I look through a lens, my perception of the world is
altered. I can see and photograph something large, magnificent, like a sunset
or something smaller, poignant, like a smile. Perception is a funny thing, it
can change big things to become more accessible and alter smaller things to
become more meaningful. In the instant a photograph is taken, a person is at
their most vulnerable because a camera will show only the truth. Every emotion,
from frustration to triumph, sadness to joy, is seen through the lenses of my
camera.
Children in particular express each emotion clearly. I’ve
photographed everything from weddings to landscapes, but working with children
and their families has been the most rewarding. Through previous work, I was
asked to photograph children that have special needs for a Finding My Way Books
series, true stories that highlight inclusion and self-determination. I am
fortunate to use my art to support diversity and literacy.
Once the story has been written, colors and shapes come to
mind for the design and to enhance telling the story. For one book in
particular, that was not the case until I took one of the final photos. The
child was reaching her arms up in excitement, and I knew that feeling was one I
wanted to carry through the design. Not only my perception, but my process was
changed by this vivacious girl.
I hope that my photography supports children and encourages
acceptance of differences. Diversity comes in many forms, and the pictures I
take capture how easy it is for all children to be included, no matter their
ability. Beyond that, images show how beneficial inclusion is for our society.
Inclusion is finally on its way to becoming the norm and not the exception. At
least, that is case in the United States.
Soon my perception will be altered in a very different way. I
was invited to travel to Tanzania to take pictures for more children’s books featuring
kids that have a disability. In the U.S., persons with disabilities have rights
and there is a degree of understanding about their different needs; laws are even
in place to discourage discrimination. But in other parts of the world, I know
this is not the case. Children with disabilities are hidden away and ignored. I
hope to find that this is not always so.
Having never traveled internationally, I know I’m in for a
many surprises. Going to a country that is so vastly different from the United
States will be eye opening in a way that I’m probably unprepared for. Then,
I’ll pick up my camera and my view will become changed again. I hope to see
children who are included with their peers and valued for their differences. I
may not see those things, but whatever I see through the lens of my camera, I
know I will be changed.
Mary Birdsell is a freelance photographer and a former Speech and Theatre teacher. She strives to create images that reflect the strengths of each child. Mary’s background in education, theatre and photography intersect as she visually creates our books. She uses colors and shapes to tell a story. For her each book is like it’s own theatre production. Mary has created eight books for Finding My Way books. Visit https://www.findingmywaybooks.net/ for more information.
