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I am honored to have been invited to be a judge for the Young Muslim Writers Awards.   The young writers are age five to sixteen.  The mission of the organization based in the UK is to "raise standards of child literacy and creative writing.  To enable young people to be confident communicators to help build a vibrant society.The top five entries for both Poetry and Short Stories will be chosen for the award. They will be published in the anthology of the Young Muslim Writers Awards. I look forward to reading the shortlisted entries and [...]

My Little Sangoel has been paired with Americanah by Chimamanda Ngoci Adiche for the Greenwich Connecticut Read Together Celebration this October.  WOW!  What an honor for Sangoel, for me.I might even get to go to Greenwich.  Not far from where I grew up, another connection.  stay tuned to this blog for more about that.Just when an author least expects it her books make new friends and connections in unexpected places.See more about Americanah, a story about race, immigration and identity and the Greenwich reading Celebration here:http://www.greenwichlibrary.org/GreenwichReadsTogetherAdichie.aspxAnd a big shout out to Greenwich teachers, librarians, [...]

Thirty years ago my husband, Steve and I were at the beach in New England with our son Peter who was five.  We told him he could play in the sand but he could not go in the water without one of us.We settled back on the beach blanket to watch him build castles and throw rocks into the ocean.  And we saw the exact moment when he looked back to find us and then the sudden moment when he panicked and began running wildly down the beach.  From his vantage point all [...]

I went too.Thanks to the Wisconsin International Outreach Consortium.Two great events.  A workshop for teachers,  “Exploring Global Stories Locally: Migration Histories, Children’s Literature, and Wisconsin Experiences” And Story Hour with some jellyfish inspired by A Beach Tail.Here's a shout out to Wisconsin!  Doing great work for children, literature, teachers and immigrants and more.

From this to that:Found wire recycled intothis:  sharing, working together, imagination, creativity, ingenuity and perseverance.

HAPPY BEACH READING!Look what Read On Wisconsin has selected for their summer reading list.A Beach Tail by Karen Lynn Williams. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Boyds Mills Press, 2010.“Swish-swoosh.” The sound of waves washing the shore repeats throughout an engaging picture book in which a young African American boy is the architect of his own adventure. After Gregory draws “a Sandy lion” in the sand at the beach, his dad cautions, “Don’t go in the water, and don’t leave Sandy.” And Gregory doesn’t, but as the tail he draws on Sandy gets longer and longer, it [...]