So I did a thing. I wrote a book. A children's picture book.
My new hat is not a literal one, but I wanted to officially tell all of you about my newest title- published
author!
Whether you have been supporting Having Our Say for years or if you are new here- your support means the world to me and I wanted to share the news with you first!
As I started to focus more on integrating literacy into my speech and language therapy sessions, I became acutely aware of the lack of diverse representation in children's books. I became more intentional about sharing and reading books with my students that feature characters from different races, cultures, genders, and ability-levels. Most children's picture books are not diverse- less than 25% of all children's books feature Black and Brown children as the main characters. The search has been rewarding as I discover new authors and illustrators and watch my students connect to these stories. *You can find my curated list of diverse books here*
The path to uncovering diverse children's books led to an idea to write my own story. Last year I started drafting the story which has now evolved into my forthcoming book- Liam's First Cut. It is a story about a little Black boy with Autism as he prepares for his first trip to the barbershop. I wanted to write a book about a kid simply being a kid as he prepares to complete a big rite of passage in many children's lives - the first haircut. My book celebrates children of all races and ability levels. It also highlights the bond between a father and son, as well as the significance of the barbershop to local communities.
I invite you to learn more about my journey to becoming a new published author. You can also preorder a signed copy of Liam's First Cut here.
Presale begins Wednesday 7/29/2020 at 3pm.
As always, I appreciate you. Be well and stay safe!