Reflection Press Crowdfund- The Gender & Infinity Book

 

Hey, my folks Maya and Matthew of "Reflection Press" just launched a new kids book project! It's called the Gender & Infinity Book and it's a story/guide for all children.

Go to the campaign with THIS LINK

All the good info you need to know about the project is on their site, but I';; just say that these two have been doing pioneering work to develop stories, art, books, curriculum, and games for all people to enjoy, but especially for gender fluid and Queer kids and those who support them. Feel me? 

Right now you got mayors, governors, etc actively trying to criminalize young people who identify outside of Boy or Girl, or who are Queer. For no more than fear and ignorance. So this work is serious for those kids and families who are going through it and looking for more tools to reflect with and to share. 

Again, check out their project HERE and spread the word to open minded people.

Dig this? Check out this organization that is putting more Lgbtq/Queer stories into schools

Video: Interviews @ the "Social Justice Children's Book Holiday Fair"

 

Video link

This is some video footage featuring interviews from book creators, organizations, the organizers of the event, and the owner of Teance. Can we give it up for Peter Limata and Lydia Yamaguchi though? They just bring SO MUCH vibrancy, love, and care to what they capture and who they spoke to at the event!  Please watch and enjoy. If you did not get a chance to attend the fair in person you can still get books from the creators who were there and many others using our website 

LINK to the website

Video link 2

Here is more interviews Peter did leading up to the fair that morning. In this he speaks to Jill Guerra (We are Yoga/Somos Yoga), Christina Newhard of Sari Sari Books (KaliPay, Melo the Umang Boy), Breanna McDaniels (Hands Up), and John Casselberry (Konscious Kids).

Dig this? Check out the virtual 2020 Social Justice Children's Book Fair

Bobbito Garcia - Aim high little giant, aim high!

 

Man, shout out to Bobbito Garcia. The OG has a new picture book out called "Aim High Little Giant, Aim High!" published by We Are Little Giants. In this book he touches on self confidence, basketball history, gender, mathematics, and more. Check it out HERE.

I first came across Bob through his pioneering radio show with DJ Stretch Armstrong. I would hear little bits about them and their show but never actually hearing it since it aired in NYC. But, I know they inspired folks like Kevvy Kev at KZSU Stanford and Sway and Tech on the Wake Up Show who I definitely listened to. I would see Bob in Vibe magazine, music videos, on records (Fondle Em) and more. And when i started seeing his documentaries it all came together. Support this dude!

Dig this? Check out this feature of "Alejandria Fights Back" on Social Justice Books

6th Annual "Social Justice Children's Book Holiday Fair

 

Hey fam, it's that time of year! The 6th annual "Social Justice Children's Book Holiday Fair" is upon us. As one of 5 organizers (Laura Atkins, Alejandra Domenzain, Peter Limata, Janine Macbeth, Innosanto Nagara, and me)  I'm excited to invite local kids book makers to share their latest and greatest books with local families, librarians, book sellers, teachers, organizers, and more. While some cringe at the title I know we're proud to bring together authors and illustrators who are progressive minded to one spot so the folks who actually search for their kind of books can find them all in one event. Board books, picture books, middle grade, YA, comics, and more. Check out the flyer I did :)

For this fair we encourage Bipoc, Queer, and Social justice minded kids book creators to table, sometimes read, or perform., and meet their community. This year it will be held again outside in Berkeley Ca. Please invite your folks to this event and check out these links for more info.

FACEBOOK Invite
EVENTBRITE Invite

Dig this? If you've never been check out some photos from previous years or the online fair we did during the pandemic w/ the help of Lydia and Peter of "Storytime w/ Mr Limata"!

Furqan's First -over 3k sold independently!!

Wow, I'm excited to announce that "Furqan's First Flat Top/ El Primer Corte de Mesita de Furqan" has officially sold out of its 2nd print run. That makes over 3000 books sold hand to hand, at events, or sent to folks all over the US and the world. 

Some day I'll do a video about what it took to do this independently without the help of a publisher or marketing team. At the time I decided to do it I was getting little to no love from the industry. I've since learned that this is partially what it means to be a beginning author/illustrator and that there is and was a huge problem with the diversity of kids books!

Here's the post I did about the book release at EastSide Arts Alliance w/ Kati Cepeda and Aya de Leon.  And the trailer for the book got over 5k views! Holy smokes.Never expected it to reach so many people but it has and folks are still learning about it today!

It all started with one or two books. Now I've worked on over 10 children's books as an illustrator and/or author with more on the way. Furqan is temporarily sold out but you can cop the latest book I illustrated for Jill Guerra "We Are Yoga/ Somos Yoga".

And if you missed my kickstarter you can cop my first book of art including 130 pages of sketch book art, character designs, tutorials, and more Art of Rob LINK.

PDF - Curious about how to make a kids bk?

 

So, you've always wanted to get into kids books but you're not sure where to start? 

1. Read this free post I made about the start of my journey.

2. Purchase this downloadable pdf which details some of the key things I talk to newbies about when they ask me for advice.

If you'd like to get to know me a bit better you can check out some of the press and interviews I've done here. Peace!

-Rob

School visit: Alejandria Fights back

 

This is an image from a school visit to a school in Oakland. Organizer Heather Appel (masked and standing in the rear) and myself read to this huge group of students wearing our masks and it is never not fun to share stories like Alejandria Fights Back with kids. 

If you haven't seen the book trailer , check it out here:

If you are a school teacher who would like to get a copy of the book or some resources for it check out the website: www.alejandriafightsback.com/

Reading at Greenlight Books

 

Coming up later on August 28th, I'll be reading with Leticia Hernandez-Linares and organizer/Rise Home Stories team member Heather Appel. We'll be doing a virtual reading for Brooklyn's Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene and Prospect Lefferts Garden. Wanna tune in? Register HERE.

Stay tuned to Brookline Smith Bookstore's YouTube to see the reading we did with them.

Booklandia Coloring sheets

Big shout out to bilingual book box "Booklandia" for including some of my artwork as a coloring sheet for kids in their recent book boxes. Booklandia was founded by Maceo Cabrera-Estevez in Oakland California to send picture books, middle grade, and young adult kids books to parents and educators across the world. This company is very special because it seeks to share books that feature children of all colors in English and Spanish. Check them out. Here is some more artwork.

And the original image from my bookplate!

Bookplates here