Podcast appearances and mentions of Todd Parr

Welcome back to another episode of School Counseling Simplified. Throughout April, we're featuring guest sessions with experts in the field, and today's episode is especially exciting. I'm joined by Laura Filtness, M.Ed., a seasoned school counselor with over 15 years of experience and a passion for using picture books to support young minds in elementary settings. Laura's belief in the power of storytelling shines through her work, and she's also the author of the upcoming book My Brain Is Like a Puppy, inspired by her beloved therapy dog, Boss. In addition to counseling, Laura teaches yoga and Pilates, assists clients in home organization through Help You Dwell, and enjoys tackling renovation projects at home. She currently lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with her two dogs, Brooklyn and Bindu. In this episode, Laura shares why picture books are such an effective tool in school counseling, both for proactive lesson planning and reactive student support. She talks about how a sticky note with a book title and a few theme ideas often serves as her simple yet flexible lesson plan. Having two or three potential discussion directions in mind allows her to pivot based on how students respond. This approach gives students space to take ownership of the conversation while making lessons feel natural and engaging. Laura also opens up about the organization system in her counseling office. For years, she used topic-based book bins and included printed companion resources stored in large Ziploc bags. After relocating to a smaller portable office, she adapted by placing hardcover books on a bookshelf and keeping thinner paperbacks in bins. Her adaptable system ensures that everything is accessible and categorized by topic for ease of use during lessons. We also dive into the logistics and philosophy behind running book clubs. While Laura prefers not to hold small groups during lunch, she makes exceptions depending on the group's purpose. For example, a community-building group might work well during a “lunch bunch,” but more skills-based work is best saved for a designated small group time. Laura uses both chapter books and picture books and recommends series like those by Jory John, Todd Parr, Brenda Miles, Michael Ian Black, and the Way Past series. She shares that Scholastic is a great source for ordering multiple copies of books and encourages creativity, like using different titles in a picture book series. Laura also supports teachers through book clubs at the grade level. She often gifts teachers with books, especially ones she finds at thrift stores, and partners with the school librarian to display themed books during staff meetings. Her collaborative approach promotes a school-wide culture of literacy and social-emotional learning. When it comes to building your book collection, Laura suggests tapping into your librarian's expertise by submitting a wishlist at the beginning of the year. She encourages the use of public libraries, which often allow you to request specific books. Other great sources include thrift stores, your counselor network, and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which offers families one free book per month for a year. While YouTube read-alouds are a decent backup, she stresses that nothing beats reading a book aloud in person. To keep track of her extensive book collection, Laura uses a cataloging system in Airtable. Inspired by Laura Driscoll, she created a searchable database of over 700 books organized by grade, topic, and type. This makes lesson planning more efficient and ensures she's covering a wide range of student needs. You can find links to her Airtable in the show notes! For new counselors who are just beginning to integrate books into their lessons, Laura offers encouraging advice: don't overthink it—just bring a book into your lesson and start asking questions. Prompt students with things like, “Have you ever felt this way?” or “What do you think the character learned?” Let students guide the discussion and make personal connections. If you've inherited a library, take inventory so you can assess which topics are covered and where you may need to grow your collection. Toward the end of the episode, Laura shares her journey of becoming a published author. She discusses the publishing process and the inspiration behind her new book My Brain Is Like a Puppy, a heartfelt project born from her experiences with her late therapy dog. She offers insight into what it's like to submit to literary agencies and the steps it takes to bring a story to life. Picture books, she notes, are typically around 600 words and should be thoughtful, concise, and meaningful. This episode is full of practical takeaways and encouragement for counselors looking to bring more creativity and connection into their lessons through books. Laura's insights make it clear that picture books aren't just for young children—they're powerful tools for every age. Connect with Rachel: TpT Store Blog Instagram Facebook Page Facebook Group Pinterest Youtube Connect with Laura: pawsitiveschoolcounselor.com  Big Book Database - Airtable Instagram  More About School Counseling Simplified: School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica. You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!    

Send us a textHAPPY NATIONAL CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOK DAY!As you probably can tell, your papa is pretty excited about this one. Knowing personally the hard work and dedication it takes to create a children's book really helps me appreciate this day. When I wrote our books, I wanted to literally shrink down to the size of a kid and create a conversation with them, allowing them to create their own questions; giving them the control  to hopefully allow light bulbs to turn on for both child and parent at the time when their bedroom lights turn off and night lights brighten the room right before bed. For this show, I really wanted to showcase happiness and nostalgia. Who better to have than the sensational Todd Parr and the ICONIC Highlights Magazine?!?First up, I welcome back New York Times Best Seller, Todd Parr! You probably will recognize MANY of his books from everywhere. Todd Parr is the author and illustrator of more than 60 books for children, including the New York Times bestselling The I Love You Book, The Earth Book, and The Thankful Book. He has inspired, empowered, and entertained millions of children around the world with his bold images, unique sense of humor, and inclusive storytelling. His books have received numerous awards and are available in 20 languages. He is the co-creator of the popular Daytime Emmy®-nominated animated TV series ToddWorld with Gerry Renert of SupperTime Entertainment, and several short films for Sesame Street have been based on Todd's work. Todd has partnered with Target, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, Stouffer's, People magazine, and other companies and organizations to help people and animals, and to promote literacy. He lives in California with his adopted pit bulls.To find more about ALL OF HIS AMAZING books go to: www.toddparr.com_____________________________________________________________________________________________Then later I welcome back my friends at the one and only HIGHLIGHTS Magazine!!We had SUCH a good time last time with national puzzle day I thought who better than Highlights to tell me their TEAMS ALL TIME FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOKS GROWING UP! For generations, this team has produced the most inspiring bundle of freshly smelling papers that ignite the deepest parts of ourselves at the earliest of times in our lives. Who better to hear their most beloved stories they remember from their own bedtimes. Hearing this teared me up, I won't lie. It's so sweet and I hope each of us really cherish those early moments we had growing up. Not only because the book was fantastic, but because the person that read it to us also loved us with all of their hearts. To learn more about Highlights Magazine go to www.highlights.comThank you to our family of amazing sponsors! Ochsner Hospital for ChildrenWww.ochsner.orgRouses MarkersWww.rousesmarkets.comSandpiper VacationsWww..sandpipervacations.comCafe Du Monde www.shop.cafedumonde.com The Law Firm of Forrest Cressy & James Www.forrestcressyjames.comComfort Cases Www.comfortcases.orgNew Orleans Ice Cream CompanyWww.neworleansicecream.comERA TOP REALTY: Pamela BreauxAudubon Institute www.auduboninstitute.orgUrban South Brewery www.urbansouthbrewery.com

Welcome!

Mother in the Wild and some of her Playschool friends read "The Feelings Book" by Todd Parr.You can support us and the author by purchasing your very own copy here: https://amzn.to/4cqLKKnAs Amazon Influencers we are eligible to earn on qualifying orders.Become a Premium Monthly Subscriber to get* a 20% discount on Requests + Dedications *OPT-IN for EMAILS!* have your child greeted in the other episodes we publish* be invited to attend a monthly livestream Storytime on zoom with Mother in the Wild *OPT-IN for EMAILS! (These have been such beautiful, connective events…a wonderful way for listeners to meet us one-one-one!) Your support means the WORLD to us!)Click on the link below being sure to "opt-in" for emails so we can contact you to learn your children's names, offer you the discount code + send you the zoom link.https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mother-in-the-wild/subscribeWe appreciate you so much!

In this special bonus episode, host Todd Loyd interviews another Todd — the legendary author/illustrator of more than 50 children's books TODD PARR. Todd Parr is a three-time New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of more than 50 books for children, including The Thankful Book, The Earth Book and The I LOVE YOU Book, as well as The Kindness Book and the recently released The Spring Book and The Activity Book, all from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. He has inspired and empowered children around the world with simple, hopeful and powerful messages such as “be kind,” “love yourself,” and “be who you are,” all set with vibrant images utilizing eye-catching primary colors. His books have received numerous awards and are available in nearly 20 languages. He also is the co-creator of the popular three-time Daytime Emmy©-nominated animated TV series, ToddWorld with Gerry Renert of SupperTime Entertainment. Several shortfilms for Sesame Street have been based on Todd's work.A flight attendant before becoming a full-time author/illustrator, Todd's first book, The Okay Book, was published in 1999. Todd devotes time to numerous philanthropic causes supporting pet adoption, children's hunger, health, and literacy. He is a frequent reader and fund-raiser for The Ronald McDonald House, and he also currently serves on the board of directors for the Virginia Children's Book Festival.This interview — which follows the "Magic of Stories" episode of the Little Kids, Big Hearts podcast — helps parents/caregivers learn from one of the most influential author/illustrators of children's books of our time. They discuss what inspires his books — as well as how his books make an impact on young children around the world.Learn more at playpsarkler.org/podcast#interview #bonus

My guest today is Claire Uncapher.Claire is an intuitive and transformational life coach, energy healer, and speaker.  She is on a mission to help people understand their symptoms don't always mean there's something wrong with them and the traditional model of medicine isn't the only tool at their disposal for emotional healing.Claire's first career was as a nurse and during that time she realized that people didn't always get the real and lasting change they were seeking in the traditional medical setting.  In her work now, she uses a holistic and intuitive approach to go deeper and equip her clients with tools to experience lasting change.  She combines root cause and subconscious work, emotional release, and conversational energy work to help people overcome their inner obstacles and become the best version of themselves.In our conversation today, Claire shares pieces of her own story and journey that lead her to healing, caring for herself, learning to choose and push the easy button sometimes, and more.Claire, thank you for sharing these pieces of your story.  Thank you for the wisdom and thoughtfulness you embody and thank you for the work you do to make the world a more beautiful and peace-filled place!You'll find links below if you'd like to connect with Claire, as well as links to some books we mention, quotes, and a free root cause healing meditation. Resources:· "It's Not Always Depression" by Hilary Jacobs Hendel· "It's Okay To Be Different" by Todd Parr (children's book)· Quote that we discussed: https://www.instagram.com/p/C7UsCutOwdq/· Free Root Cause Healing Meditation: https://claireuncapher.myflodesk.com/bodyspeakmeditation· Or, you can use this link (copy and paste) if you'd like: CLICK HERE to download a free root cause healing meditationConnect with Claire on Instagram @claire.uncapher or through her website at https://claireuncapher.com Make Life Less Difficult

Tim Yerxa ​j​oined us with a Playhouse preview of "It's Okay to be Different"​, three plays by Mermaid Theatre based on children's books by Todd Parr.

A book about feeling scared and how we all feel scared about different things.

In this heartwarming episode of "What the Fundraising," Mallory invites her four-year-old daughter, Emmie Erickson, to share a special moment with the audience on GivingTuesday. Embracing the idea that cuteness releases feel-good chemicals, Mallory and Emmie present a delightful conversation filled with wisdom and positivity. They discuss the challenges fundraisers face on this crucial day, offering endearing advice and affirmations from a children's book titled "It's Okay to Make Mistakes" by Todd Parr. Emmie's innocent perspective provides a refreshing break for impact leaders and changemakers, reminding them to embrace bravery, give love, and find joy. This unique and heartening episode aims to boost spirits and spread smiles on a day when fundraisers could use some extra encouragement. So, tune in, let Emmie's charm brighten your day, and receive a dose of inspiration and motivation to continue making a positive impact in the world. Happy Giving Tuesday! Get all the resources from today's episode here.  Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthefundraising_ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthefundraising YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@malloryerickson7946 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mallory-erickson-bressler/ Website: malloryerickson.com/podcast Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-fundraising/id1575421652 If you haven't already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link. If you're looking to raise more from the right funders, then you'll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point

Join us for this wonderful conversation with the one and only Todd Parr as we chat about his latest book, The Monster Mac and Cheese Party!***Find out more about Todd here:  Website: https://www.toddparr.com/ Instagram: @toddparr***Follow us here:Twitter: @pb_look Instagram: @picturebook_look Facebook: Picture Book Look Podcast  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Welcome to Season 5 of Fostering Change! For those of you who are new to us: “Welcome!” And for our returning friends, “Welcome Back!”Fostering Change is hosted by Rob Scheer, the founder of Comfort Cases, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote hope and dignity to youth in foster care.We will post new episodes of Fostering Change every Tuesday on all of your favorite podcast channels, YouTube and on our Comfort Cases page (www.comfortcases/podcast). On the Comfort Cases page you can also find all of our previously aired episodes.If you have comments about today's amazing episode, or a suggestion for a guest, please email us at info@comfortcases.org. We look forward to hearing from you!Now, here's a bit more background on Rob's first interview this season, with Todd Parr:Todd Parr is an international and New York Times best selling author. He's written and illustrated more than 60 beautiful books for children. In fact, Rob has been reading Todd's books to his children for years. A family favorite is It's Okay to be Different : targeted to young children first beginning to read, this book will inspire kids to celebrate their individuality through acceptance of others and self-confidence–and it's never too early to develop a healthy self-esteem.As you'll hear in the interview, Todd's book The Family Book has been listed as, for some reason, one of the “most banned books” in the United States. “Whether you have two moms or two dads, a big family or a small family, a clean family or a messy one, Todd Parr assures readers that no matter what kind of family you have, every family is special in its own unique way.”Todd's latest book is The Monster Mac and Cheese Party. His books have received numerous awards and are available in 20 languages. He is the co-creator of the popular Daytime Emmy®-nominated animated TV series ToddWorld with Gerry Renert of SupperTime Entertainment, and several short films for Sesame Street have been based on Todd's work. Todd has partnered with Target, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, Stouffer's, People magazine, and other companies and organizations to help people and animals, and to promote literacy. He lives in California with his adopted pit bulls. Here's where you can find more information about Todd Parr and his books:Website: https://www.toddparr.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToddParrBooks/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toddparr/Twitter: https://twitter.com/toddparrFor more information about Comfort Cases, please visit: https://comfortcases.org/Comments? Questions? Guest Suggestions? Please send them to: info@comfortcases.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Todd Parr shares his journey to becoming an author and illustrator, inspired by his struggles in school and desire to help kids feel better about themselves. His books have clear messages of inclusivity and kindness, and the new book, The Monster Mac and Cheese Party, featuring monsters and macaroni and cheese, adds humor while reinforcing the joys that come from sharing a meal together. The conversation emphasizes the importance of kindness, self-confidence, and creating memories for families through children's books. Todd Parr has inspired and empowered millions of children around the world with his bold images and positive messages. He is the bestselling author of more than sixty books, including The Goodbye Book, The Family Book, The I Love You Book, and It's Okay to be Different. He lives in California. Transcription: You can read the transcription on ⁠The Children's Book Review⁠. Order copies: The Monster Mac and Cheese Party: Amazon⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠. Resources: You can visit Todd Parr at https://www.toddparr.com/. Discussion Topics: Becoming an author and illustrator Being discovered by an editor at a licensing show in New York City Creating children's books based on inclusivity and kindness How struggling in school with dyslexia and family issues has led to writing books that help kids feel better about themselves Creating self-help books for kids with clear messages rather than character-driven stories Addressing social-emotional issues with kids is more important now than ever Staying true to the idea of empowering kids leads to endless possibilities for future books The inspiration behind the picture book, The Monster Mac and Cheese Party, and how it fits into the overall approach of creating inclusive books The importance of kindness, self-confidence, and being who you are --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thechildrensbookreview/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thechildrensbookreview/support

news birthdays/events where is your "third place" word of the day news game: just over $1,000 pyramid signs someone has their life together most dangerous outdoor activity news game: prison commissary price is right what do dads want for father's day most embarassing thing you buy on a regular basis news how often do you use cc? game: do you want to be a fake millionaire "goodbye/fun facts....world pet memorial day...a time for pet owners to remember the furry companions that have passed away. It's also a day to do something kind for those who have recently lost their beloved pet.  These wonderful creatures provide companionship, emotional support, and lots of joy.  While some pet owners prefer either dogs or cats, some like to have both...but whatever kind of pet you have...losing them is very difficult.  take some time today to remember your pets that have crossed over the rainbow bridge.  Create a memorial stone for your pet and place it in your garden or walkway. Plant a tree or flower in memory of your pet. Donate to your local humane society or animal rescue group in honor of your pet...just to name a few things. If you are helping your child cope with the loss of a pet, you may want to read them The Goodbye Book by Todd Parr or I'll Always Love You by Hans Wilhelm.  "

What happens in the moment you discover your ex-partner has died? How do you tell your young children? How do you parent your children, through the grief and loss of their father?In this episode, I speak with Laura about the moment her former partner and father of her two children died.Laura was so generous in sharing a very challenging experience, going into detail about her parenting journey, in the aftermath of her ex-partner and father of her two children dying suddenly. We then talk about the layered complexity of grief and how she told her two children. To finish, we celebrate the village of support Laura receives daily from her closest family and friends.As mentioned in the episode, here are some books that Laura read to her children:Beginning and Endings with Lifetimes In Between. Written by Bryan Mellonie, and Robert Ingpen.Something Very Sad Happened (A Toddler's Guide to Understanding Death). Written by Bonnie Zucker, Illustrated by Kim Fleming.The Goodbye Book. Written by Todd Parr.The Invisible String. Written by Patrice Karst.When Dinosaurs Die. Written by Laurie Krasny Brown.If you are in Australia and are seeking support for family violence, please contact 1800-RESPECT (1800 737 732) or if you are in Victoria, you can also contact The Orange Door, who were instrumental in assisting Laura during her separation.If you are in Australia and are seeking support for alcohol misuse, contact Lifeline or the Alcohol and  Drug Information Service. Love what you hear? The best way to support this podcast is by subscribing, sharing and/or leaving a review. Tag us on your Insta stories @themoment.podcast!Thanks in advance for your support.Do you want to discover more from me and my work with Safe Hands Early Parenting? Check out my website www.safehandsparenting.com.au or Insta @safehandsparenting.See you next time for another episode of The Moment.Created, edited and produced by Claire from Safe Hands Early Parenting. Follow on insta @safehandsparenting

Welcome to the latest episode of our podcast, where we feature inspiring stories and conversations with people who are making a positive impact on the world. Today, we are honored to have Rob Sheer, the founder of global nonprofit Comfort Cases, join us.Comfort Cases is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing comfort and support to children in foster care. Through their programs and initiatives, they aim to ensure that no child has to endure the upheaval of moving from home to home with nothing but a trash bag to hold their belongings. Rob Sheer, a former foster child himself, founded Comfort Cases with the goal of improving the foster care experience for children everywhere.In this episode, we'll hear Rob's personal story and the inspiration behind the creation of Comfort Cases. We'll also learn about the impact Comfort Cases has had on children and families around the world and what they have in store for the future as we introduce our new amazing segment with our friends at Comfort Cases! Next up, Todd Parr is an American author and illustrator of children's books. His books are known for their vibrant illustrations, positive messages, and themes of diversity and inclusivity.Parr has written and illustrated over 50 books, including "It's Okay to be Different," "The Family Book," and "The Goodbye Book." His books cover a wide range of topics, from celebrating differences and promoting self-acceptance to dealing with loss and saying goodbye.Parr's work has been praised for its ability to help children feel seen and valued, no matter their differences or challenges. He has won numerous awards for his books, including the Parents' Choice Gold Award and the National Parenting Publications Gold Award.In addition to his work as an author and illustrator, Parr is also a philanthropist and activist. He has donated millions of dollars to children's charities and is a strong advocate for causes such as children's education, animal welfare, and LGBTQ+ rights.Whether through his books or his activism, Todd Parr's work has touched the lives of countless children and families, promoting love, kindness, and acceptance for all.Thank you to our family of amazing sponsors! Ochsner Hospital for ChildrenRouses MarkersWww.rousesmarkets.comKid's Dream Dress ShopWww.kidsdreamus.comSandpiper VacationsWww.sandpipiervactions.comPinxav Diaper Rash CreamWww.pinxav.comComfort Cases Www.comfortcases.orgNew Orleans Ice Cream Company

Support the author by purchasing this book --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storytimewithchris/support

Support the author here: https://www.amazon.com/Okay-Different-Todd-Parr-Classics/dp/0316043478 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storytimewithchris/support

Zibby is joined by Todd Parr, bestselling author of 60+ children's books best known for their bright colors, silly scenes, and heart-warming, encouraging messages. Todd describes his elementary school reading troubles and finally getting diagnosed with dyslexia and ADD, his first job as a flight attendant, and how he finally turned his love of doodling into a career helping children through books! Then, he talks about his mother's drug addiction and his best friend's suicide, tragedies he survived in high school that later inspired his motto: “life is for living, not for surviving”.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: bit.ly/3GBRFymBookshop: bit.ly/3Es8DwtSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here.Purchase Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books merch here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Week of 10/9/22 at the Library - Desktop Shortcuts - 'It's Okay To Be Different' | Hosts Dylan Posa and Barb Leitschuh go over upcoming events, talk about the shortcuts on our public computers, and lastly, return to 'Barb the Bookie' to recommend 'It's Okay To Be Different' by Todd Parr.

Today I read, “The I'M NOT SCARED Book” by Todd Parr! I hope you enjoy it! If you have any questions, email me at; gumdropreaders@gmail.com. If you haven't already, don't forget to subscribe to the Gumdrop Readers Youtube channel! All you have to do is search “Gumdrop Readers” on YouTube. Now you guys get to see the pictures! If you would like to support the podcast, you can donate at, https://anchor.fm/trinity-love-rocho/support Also, don't forget to follow Gumdrop Readers on Instagram and Facebook! (Instagram @gumdrop_readers and FaceBook @ Gumdrop Readers) Thanks for listening! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/trinity-love-rocho/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/trinity-love-rocho/support

Today we talk with Kim as part of our mini-series on family dynamics. Thirteen years ago Kim decided she wanted to have a baby and chose to take the donor route and do it on her own. Like many Gen X women, Kim was raised believing she would have it all; a career of her choosing AND a happy marriage and kids. Her Midwestern upbringing gave her a great foundation, but she was curious about life beyond the cornfields, so moved to LA in her early 20's. Kim assumed it would be a short (and hopefully exciting!) chapter, before settling down. The early years of a fast paced media career were great fun, full of unexpected experiences and opportunities, but dating in my 20's & 30's did not deliver the spectacular guy she always thought would appear. Kim's parents gave her their best life example, which was how to build a family with someone you truly loved, but she had to write my own revised edition. So after a LOT of soul searching--and some tough conversations with medical experts who deal in statistics NOT romantic dreams!--Kim decided to take the steps to become a single mom by choice. She still believes her guy is out there, and she'll meet him exactly when she's supposed to, but is 100% certain that this path was the one destined for her. With the support of her biological family, and incredible chosen family of true blue friends, Kim is building a life she could have never could have imagined. Most important of all, helping her son understand that having him was, and still is, the very best decision she has ever made. You can reach Kim at kim@chapter3productions.com or at Chapter3Productions. Resources: Books: It's NOT the Stork! and The Family Book by Todd Parr. Dr's: Dr. Sam Najmabadi, at the Center for Reproductive Health & Gynocology. (There are clearly an increasing numbers of fertility options. It's really important to find the right doctor/practice to guide you through this process, especially those equipped to help guide single parents or alternative families.) and Dr. Sheryl Ross, OB/GYN, women's health expert/advocate and published author (she-ology & she-ology, the she-quel). Kim also recommends looking into, Cord Blood Registry for storing cord blood stem cells and the advances made in medicine.

Autism Expert and pioneer in the field of Autism, Psychologist and BCBA, Dr. Doreen Granpeesheh is answering viewer questions! In this episode, Dr. Doreen answers questions about dealing with anger issues, handling the holidays, and language skills! Shannon also works in reviews of all of the best book winners in the autism live gift and toy guide! #AutismExpert #BCBA #Autism   https://www.autismnetwork.com/toy-guide/ https://www.autismnetwork.com/category/ask-dr-doreen/ https://www.tiktok.com/@askdrdoreen?   3:45 Question 1 "Please god, help me. I'm not a parent, but I'm the youngest child in the family (20). My mom (59) has scoliosis, has extreme back pain, arthritis, one working eye, upon other issues, including depression. My sister (25), has autism. She talks and makes noises constantly, repeating things she's heard over and over and over again. I'm not sure if echolalia is the right term for it, but it's close enough. This happens every day, all day. Even when she's eating and trying to fall asleep. I've put up with it for my 20 years of living with her. I'm more or less numb to it now, but sometimes one of her noises or sayings really gets to me. I used to be the one most upset by her, but now it seems that my mom can't take it anymore. The past few months, she has been increasingly more and more stressed, at her wits end at trying to ease my sister's constant rambling. She keeps saying that she can't take it anymore, and at one point, gestured a motion of strangulation towards her, while her back was turned. We've tried everything, but it seems like we're too far gone to control her. Ignoring her does nothing, she will keep doing whatever she's doing. Yelling at her does nothing either, she will think it's funny and laugh at you. Taking her belongings away from her makes it worse. My mom tried to take her iPad (the only thing she plays on all day) away, and she grabbed hold of my mom's arm very tightly. She hurt her. There's a huge bruise near her elbow now. I just don't know what to do anymore. Mom being stressed directly affects me, as she will usually be unable to control her anger and take it out on me by yelling. Mom says she can't help it, sister can't help being autistic, and I can't help being so f'ing done with the situation. I'm so tired. I just want peace. We don't have a car, we live in an apartment, there's no other options. We can't do anything. Every solution that we've come up with ends up with us being too poor to go through with it. I feel like someone is going to snap one of these days. It could be any of us. Please, God, help me."   15:05 Best Book Winners in the 2021 Autism Live Gift & Toy Guide!   15:51 Best Book Winner Review Baby/Toddler: Where's the Bear? Board Book from Discovery Toys https://www.discoverytoys.us/collections/birth-to-5-month-toys/products/where-s-the-bear   17:00 Best Book Winner Review - Preschool: The Don't Worry Book by Todd Parr  @Todd Parr  https://www.toddparr.com/todd-parr/dont-worry-author-lets-kids-access-books-during-shutdown/   17:45 Best Book Winner Review - School-Aged: Balloons by Rainbow Mosho https://autismhappykingdom.com/   18:20 Best Book Winner Review - Tween/Teen: A Wrinkle in Time By Madeleine L'Engle https://www.madeleinelengle.com/books/   20:35 Best Book Winner Review - Adult: We're Not Broken by By Eric Garcia https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/were-not-broken/9781328587848   21:25 Best Book Winner Review - Caregiver: Navigating Autism By Dr. Temple Grandin and Dr. Debra Moore https://www.templegrandin.com/templegrandinbooks.html   22:15 Question 2 My son do ask many questions abt his daily life activites. but he is lacking this skill in his academics. we are using SKILLS. Currently working on his lang, cognitive &social skills. He is high functioning.   24:41 Question 3  here is my last question of the year. since the holidays are in a few days. A lot of people are anxious, myself included about the holidays. Any advice on handling the holidays like a pro?   31:01 The 2021 Autism Network Autism Advocate of the year!   34:37 Ask Dr. Doreen on TikTok!   37:50 Question 4  "Help for a 32 year old on the autism spectrum with anger issues"   40:23 Question 5 Can anyone give advice to this for me: I am 17 and my brother is 3 and has autism. He is starting to speak but he screams and shouts all the time whether he is sad or rlly happy. It is a proper loud shout though and goes straight to my head and it hurts.   49:37 My ABA consultant uses PEAK curriculum and I wanted to know what's your opinion about this curriculum. Any pros and cons please. Thank you   51:04 my 4 yo ASD son will answer questions about facts or his environment, but doesn't answer at all about his day/life unless its something very emotional/important to him-then he recounts in detail. why?   57:45 Wrapping up Live Shows for the year  

Autism Expert and pioneer in the field of Autism, Psychologist and BCBA, Dr. Doreen Granpeesheh is answering viewer questions! In this episode, Dr. Doreen answers questions about dealing with anger issues, handling the holidays, and language skills! Shannon also works in reviews of all of the best book winners in the autism live gift and toy guide! Recorded Live 10am PT December 22, 2021 #AutismExpert #BCBA #Autism   https://www.autismnetwork.com/toy-guide/ https://www.autismnetwork.com/category/ask-dr-doreen/ https://www.tiktok.com/@askdrdoreen?   3:45 Question 1 "Please god, help me. I'm not a parent, but I'm the youngest child in the family (20). My mom (59) has scoliosis, has extreme back pain, arthritis, one working eye, upon other issues, including depression. My sister (25), has autism. She talks and makes noises constantly, repeating things she's heard over and over and over again. I'm not sure if echolalia is the right term for it, but it's close enough. This happens every day, all day. Even when she's eating and trying to fall asleep. I've put up with it for my 20 years of living with her. I'm more or less numb to it now, but sometimes one of her noises or sayings really gets to me. I used to be the one most upset by her, but now it seems that my mom can't take it anymore. The past few months, she has been increasingly more and more stressed, at her wits end at trying to ease my sister's constant rambling. She keeps saying that she can't take it anymore, and at one point, gestured a motion of strangulation towards her, while her back was turned. We've tried everything, but it seems like we're too far gone to control her. Ignoring her does nothing, she will keep doing whatever she's doing. Yelling at her does nothing either, she will think it's funny and laugh at you. Taking her belongings away from her makes it worse. My mom tried to take her iPad (the only thing she plays on all day) away, and she grabbed hold of my mom's arm very tightly. She hurt her. There's a huge bruise near her elbow now. I just don't know what to do anymore. Mom being stressed directly affects me, as she will usually be unable to control her anger and take it out on me by yelling. Mom says she can't help it, sister can't help being autistic, and I can't help being so f'ing done with the situation. I'm so tired. I just want peace. We don't have a car, we live in an apartment, there's no other options. We can't do anything. Every solution that we've come up with ends up with us being too poor to go through with it. I feel like someone is going to snap one of these days. It could be any of us. Please, God, help me."   15:05 Best Book Winners in the 2021 Autism Live Gift & Toy Guide!   15:51 Best Book Winner Review Baby/Toddler: Where's the Bear? Board Book from Discovery Toys https://www.discoverytoys.us/collections/birth-to-5-month-toys/products/where-s-the-bear   17:00 Best Book Winner Review - Preschool: The Don't Worry Book by Todd Parr  @Todd Parr  https://www.toddparr.com/todd-parr/dont-worry-author-lets-kids-access-books-during-shutdown/   17:45 Best Book Winner Review - School-Aged: Balloons by Rainbow Mosho https://autismhappykingdom.com/   18:20 Best Book Winner Review - Tween/Teen: A Wrinkle in Time By Madeleine L'Engle https://www.madeleinelengle.com/books/   20:35 Best Book Winner Review - Adult: We're Not Broken by By Eric Garcia https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/were-not-broken/9781328587848   21:25 Best Book Winner Review - Caregiver: Navigating Autism By Dr. Temple Grandin and Dr. Debra Moore https://www.templegrandin.com/templegrandinbooks.html   22:15 Question 2 My son do ask many questions abt his daily life activites. but he is lacking this skill in his academics. we are using SKILLS. Currently working on his lang, cognitive &social skills. He is high functioning.   24:41 Question 3  here is my last question of the year. since the holidays are in a few days. A lot of people are anxious, myself included about the holidays. Any advice on handling the holidays like a pro?   31:01 The 2021 Autism Network Autism Advocate of the year!   34:37 Ask Dr. Doreen on TikTok!   37:50 Question 4  "Help for a 32 year old on the autism spectrum with anger issues"   40:23 Question 5 Can anyone give advice to this for me: I am 17 and my brother is 3 and has autism. He is starting to speak but he screams and shouts all the time whether he is sad or rlly happy. It is a proper loud shout though and goes straight to my head and it hurts.   49:37 My ABA consultant uses PEAK curriculum and I wanted to know what's your opinion about this curriculum. Any pros and cons please. Thank you   51:04 my 4 yo ASD son will answer questions about facts or his environment, but doesn't answer at all about his day/life unless its something very emotional/important to him-then he recounts in detail. why?   57:45 Wrapping up Live Shows for the year  

This time on The Children's Hour, it's a full hour of stories and story-songs with authors Todd Parr and Michelle Adam, and many more.

The topic every parent has wondered about… how to teach your kids to live with an attitude of gratitude. Listen in as director and TBRI educator, April Bordeau, and fellow counselor and TBRI educator, Mike Spencer, address how to parent kids in a way to fosters real gratitude. It might not be what you think! Mike outlines 4 specific steps that include noticing what you're grateful for and asking thoughtful questions about it, thinking about it, feeling the appreciation, and returning acts of kindness to solidify a grateful heart. Resources: ·       Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts , ·       The Thankful Book by Todd Parr , Text us your thoughts or questions at our Care Line: 317-979-7133For more information about Care to Change visit www.caretochange.org Follow Care to Change on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CaretoChange.org/Follow Care to Change on Instagram or Twitter @care_to_change If you would like someone to come speak to your group about anxiety, depression or mental health, contact us for more details. If you are struggling and ready to take a step toward freedom, schedule an appt today. 

We review the book "Doggy Kisses 123" by Todd Parr.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Fullbird)

It seems like only yesterday our moms were nagging us to read, read, read! Now, here we are, moms of two and finding ourselves doing the same.  Why is reading so important, and how do we get our kids to start reading and maybe even enjoy it? Join us as we talk to Kelly Hiltz, kindergarten teacher and mom of two. Kelly will give all the details on why reading is important, how to inspire reading amongst our kids, and some book recommendations that might entice our young ones to "pick up a book already"! Patreon | Love what you're hearing? Help fund ongoing episodes through donations as little as $1/month. Learn more here! Leave a review | When you leave a five star iTunes review, it helps others with similar interests and passions find us when they're looking for new content. Thank you in advance! Resources and Show Notes Kelly's Interviews with The Mom Hour: Kindergarten Readiness & Parent Teacher Relationships (voices episode 23) Freaking Out Less about Kindergarten, COVID Learning Loss & Elementary School Academics (voices episode 60). You can find her on Instagram @askateachermom or on her blog @askateachermom (Instagram)   Book Recommendations By Grade:  Preschool Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney Corduroy by Don Freeman Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin and James Dean (series) Press Here by Herve Tullet Good Morning Superman by Michael Dahl (series) Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems (series) Anything by Todd Parr or Eric Carle Read Alouds Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry and Vashi Harrison The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins The Book with No Pictures by BJ Novak Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed Shark Lady by Jess Keating The Alien Next Door by AI Newton (series) Beginning Readers/Early Chapter Books Let's Go For a Drive by Mo Willems (Elephant and Piggie series) Hi Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold (series) Hi Jack by Mac Barnett (series) The Doghouse by Jan Thomas (series) Meet Yasmin by Saadia Faruqi (series) Ling and Ting Not Exactly the Same by Grace Lin (series) Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride by Kate DiCamillo (series) Second and Third Grade *Continue to read to them if they are still into it, choose books you both enjoy *Allow them to fully choose their own independent books Lola Levine is Not Mean by Moncia Brown (series) Zoey and Sassafras: Dragons and Marshmallows by Asia Citro (series) Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot by Dav Pilkey (series) (great for reluctant readers but some reviewers think it's violent so look through it first if you are sensitive to those kind of things) Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon (series) Humphrey's Really Wheely Racing Day by Betty Birney and Priscilla Burris (series) Fourth and Fifth Grade *thanks Amber for the recommendations @IowaAmberReads on instagram, lots of good middle grade and adult recommendations Babysitters Club Graphic Novels by Gale Galligan, Raina Telgemeier, Ann M. Martin (series) Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd New Kid by Jerry Craft (and the sequel Class Act) Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (series) The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (and the sequel The One and Only Bob) From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks Front Desk by Kelly Yang The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart (recommend this author) Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan Audiobooks Overdrive or Libby App to get audiobooks from the library Scribd (9.99 a month for unlimited audiobooks and they have lots of great kids ones, also 1 month free trial) Audiobooks my almost 2nd grader has enjoyed: Ma...

New York Times Bestselling and award winning author and illustrator Todd Parr has created a bright and beautiful world with his art and books with kindness and empathy at the forefront. He makes the world a kinder place with the words he writes in his books and the way he shares his writing and brings his cheerful art into the world. His books send reassuring messages to readers include love, acceptance, individuality, inclusivity, helping others, and celebrating the differences that makes each unique. Children and their families will leave his books feeling they never need to feel unlovable or alone. He’s written over 50 children’s books including the "I Love You Book" and "The Earth Book". His books have been translated in eighteen languages and are available all over the world. His animations have also appeared on Sesame Street. See the full article on www.clarekindness.com or visit Todd's website. www.toddparr.com. This episode is sponsored by Volumes of Pleasure Book Shoppe. http://www.volumesofpleasurebookshoppe.com/

Join us for the second episode in which Elizabeth is joined by guest Sarah R. to discuss fiction with a focus on the relationship between mothers and daughters, just in time for Mother's Day. Also, our new Nonfiction book club is starting in June, so don't forget to register! Books discussed in this episode include: Saturday by Oge Mora, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, The Mommy Book by Todd Parr, Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda, The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick, The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain, Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage, Send for Me by Lauren Fox and The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Love The World by Todd Parr

Today Seth is joined by parent and director of digital content for PJ Library, Alli Thresher as well as Shelby Zikeli in a conversation about how to talk to kids about divorce. This episode is appropriate for families experiencing divorce and those who aren’t as it’s important to talk to our kids about the experiences of others. Show Notes: 0:45- native-land.ca 1:50- PJ Library 2:10- Story Time with Drag Kings, Queens, and Friends 5:50- My Maddy, by Gale Pittman 14:38- When Aiden Became a Brother, by Kyle Lukoff 49:10- The Family Book, by Todd Parr 49:30- The Spot Series 50:39- Pete the Cat series 53:20- Divorce Book Giveaway 53:45 @radchildpodcast on the socials 54:00- Patreon 56:30- upfordnetwork.com 56:35- Upford Network indiegogo Campaign 57:09- akidsbookabout.com discount code 2021RADCHILD 57:45- Contact Us: radchildpodcast@gmail.com or www.radchildpodcast.com 58:20- Shift Book Box coupon code RADCHILD 1:33:50- Steven Universe   Follow Today’s Guests: Alli: Have I Got A Story For You podcast gotastorypodcast.com @justbuyaghosttown on instagram Shelby: 1@lostmygenius on instagram and twitter @revivifydice on instagram Queer Adventuring D&D Podcast   Find us on the web! Website Facebook Twitter Instagram Contact us: radchildpodcast@gmail.com Be a guest Donate Buy Rad Merch

This week we’ve got an all new format! Seth is joined by parent (and editor of this podcast) Tom Zalatnai, and Tracy Tanoff in conversation about how to talk to kids about blended families. This is both for families with step-parents and siblings, as well as those without!   Show Notes: 1:50- native-land.ca 16:45- Modern Family 41:35- Families Families Families by Suzanne & Max Lang 42:20- The Family Book by Todd Parr 49:45- improvcollege.ca 50:30- Life In Pieces 55:00- Rad Child Kickstarter 55:45- akidsbookabout.com discount code 2021RADCHILD 56:15- www.upfordnetwork.com 57:45- Shiftbookbox 1:02:25- care.com 1:10:00- Falsettos 1:30:30- The Fosters 1:37:30- The Babysitters Club 1:40:00- Rugrats 1:44:30- Just Ask by Sonia Sotomayor 1:45:50- Salma the Syrian Chef 1:47:20- Podchaser   Follow This Week’s Guests: Tom: @tomzalatnai on Twitter & Instagram www.upfordnetwork.com Up For Discussion food podcast Natural Toonie D&D podcast Indiegogo campaign! igg.me/at/upfordnetwork Tracy: @trai.all.day on Instagram   Find us on the web! Facebook Twitter Instagram Contact us: radchildpodcast@gmail.com Be a guest Donate Buy Rad Merch

I enjoy reading this book to my son and teaching him to recognize his feelings.

This week Seth and Rebecca discuss their favorite books about foster care. Show Notes: 2:37- Maybe Days, by Jennifer Wilgocki and Marcia Kahn Wright 19:29- We Belong Together: A Book About Adoption and Families, by Todd Parr 23:58- Families Change, by Julie Nelson 39:38- Coming On Home Soon, by Jacqueline Woodson 57:37- Elliot, by Julie Pearson   Find us on the web! Rad Child Podcast: www.radchildpodcast.com Facebook Twitter Instagram Contact us: radchildpodcast@gmail.com Be a guest Donate Buy Rad Merch Shift Book Box: https://www.shiftbookbox.com/ Facebook Instagram Twitter  

This week Seth is joined by guests Nicole Molinari, Julie Napear, and Kim Felsenthal for a discussion about how to talk to kids about adoption.   Show Notes: 13:55 The Every Body Book by Rachel E Simon 52:00- A Kids Book About 1:14:45- Cheryl Clyne writer 1:19:15- adoptimist.com 1:35:41- A Mother For Choco 1:36:15- Todd Parr books 1:36:40- Horace, by Holly Keller 1:36:56- Todd Parr’s "The Family Book" and "We Belong Together" 1:37:10 -All Are Welcome Here by Alexandra Penfold 1:38:15- Philadelphia Family Pride 1:38:55- Foster The Family   Follow Today’s Guests: Julie julienapearphotography.com Nicole Nicole Molinari on Facebook   Find us on the web! www.radchildpodcast.com Facebook Twitter Instagram Contact us: radchildpodcast@gmail.com Be a guest Donate Buy Rad Merch

Buy this book: t.ly/DlH8 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tellmeastoryboy/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tellmeastoryboy/support

Today we are reading “The Feelings Book” by Todd Parr.

The how to of peace!! Read by Hope --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hope-newkirt/support

This week Seth is joined by parents Beash Kanaan, and Alisha Joy as they discuss how to talk to kids about death and grief. Show Notes: 23:01- I Love You Always 43:28- Crochet Dolls 45:03- The Memory Box, by Joanna Rowland 1:01:58- The Invisible String, by Patrice Karst 1:02:24- The Heart In the Bottle, by Oliver Jeffers 1:03:10- A Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion 1:04:55- Free Lego Feelings Sheet 1:05:50- The Goodbye Book, Todd Parr 1:06:59- I Miss You, by Pat Thomas   Find us on the web! www.radchildpodcast.com Facebook Twitter Instagram Contact us: radchildpodcast@gmail.com Be a guest Donate Buy Rad Merch

História do livro "Tudo Bem Ser Diferente" do escritor norte-americano Todd Parr contada por Yuri de Francco. Realização Cia. Teatro InComum.

The third sermon in the series on Grief and Loss through the book of Lamentations, this one asks the question, “how do we go through grief in constructive ways?” The primary answer given in the sermon is that we grieve best in community as opposed to isolation. Among other things, this sermon connects to the Christian practice of communion and footwashing, along with encouragement to connect with one another.Pastor Kristopher Loewen preaches this and many of his sermons from the pulpit at the Redlands Adventist Church in Redlands, California. Each episode of Behind the Sermon features audio of the sermon as it was, along with commentary and reflections on how it came to be.—The model for Isolation in grief and loss that I developed - click here to see the pictureYoutube video about Consent and Cups of teaLearn more about Todd Parr and his children’s books - including his book about loss. Check out Tear Soup and the related project at their website, Grief WatchLearn more about the exercise and ritual of footwashing in Christianity hereLearn more about suicide and despair in many places, including at the website for the national suicide hotline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ - 800-273-TALK (8255) Learn more about Pastor Kristopher at: www.krisloewen.comRead the text from the book of Lamentations here.

The third sermon in the series on Grief and Loss through the book of Lamentations, this one asks the question, “how do we go through grief in constructive ways?” The primary answer given in the sermon is that we grieve best in community as opposed to isolation. Among other things, this sermon connects to the Christian practice of communion and footwashing, along with encouragement to connect with one another.Pastor Kristopher Loewen preaches this and many of his sermons from the pulpit at the Redlands Adventist Church in Redlands, California. Each episode of Behind the Sermon features audio of the sermon as it was, along with commentary and reflections on how it came to be.—The model for Isolation in grief and loss that I developed - click here to see the pictureYoutube video about Consent and Cups of teaLearn more about Todd Parr and his children’s books - including his book about loss. Check out Tear Soup and the related project at their website, Grief WatchLearn more about the exercise and ritual of footwashing in Christianity hereLearn more about suicide and despair in many places, including at the website for the national suicide hotline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ - 800-273-TALK (8255) Learn more about Pastor Kristopher at: www.krisloewen.comRead the text from the book of Lamentations here.

New York Times best-selling children's author and illustrator Todd Parr on connection, perseverance, and creating a successful life's work.

Todd Parr is love, and we LOVE Todd Parr. In this podcast he discusses his book, Teachers Rock! Check out everything Todd Parr here: https://www.toddparr.com/

Todd Parr is a hero. An artist, a New York Times Bestselling author with fifty titles to his credit, and one of the kindest and most generous souls I've ever encountered. It was an absolute joy to share time, my new Tesla, and his new book, The Don't Worry Book. Now, it's my privilege to share it with you. You can order Todd's books here.Here's what Todd writes about himself:I like the fog. I like sea lions. I love animals.I love the ocean. I love to cook. My favorite color is Blue.My favorite food is macaroni and cheese.Here's Todd's official Bio:Todd Parr is the author and illustrator of more than 40 books for children, including the New York Times bestselling The I Love You Book, The Earth Book, and The Thankful Book. His books are available in over fifteen languages throughout the world. He is the co-creator of the popular children's television show ToddWorld as well as short films for Sesame Street. Todd has partnered with Target, SF-MARIN Food Bank, Stouffer's, People Magazine and several companies and organizations to help people, animals, and promote literacy. Todd's books have won several awards and his TV show, ToddWorld, was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards. Todd lives in Berkeley, California with his three adopted Pit bulls. ABOUT WILL PEMBLEWill Pemble, when not appearing on Netflix, FaceBook Watch and YouTube, is the CEO of GOAL BOSS: Experts in communication, delegation and time management coaching for high performing teams. Will is the author of GOAL BOSS: The Art and Science of Getting Stuff Done. His book is a practical guide to business and leadership that gives leaders and employees the tools, strategies, and techniques to stop wasting time and start making money.Will built and sold Web.com, one of the most successful web host and domain name companies in the world.For Business + Press Inquiries, or if you'd like to work with Will and the GOAL BOSS Team, please contact info [at] GoalBoss [dot] com.If you'd like a free copy of Will's Book, Goal Boss: The Art & Science of Getting Stuff Done, click here.  ABOUT WILL'S TESLAThe car in this podcast is a red 2019 Tesla Model 3 Performance with dual motors and full self-driving capability. My favorite part is how it goes from zero to sixty miles per hour in just 3.2 seconds. The car requires zero scheduled maintenance... ever. If you'd like to get your very own Tesla, click this link to get 1,000 free Supercharger Miles. 

Todd Parr is a hero. An artist, a New York Times Bestselling author with fifty titles to his credit, and one of the kindest and most generous souls I've ever encountered. It was an absolute joy to share time, my new Tesla, and his new book, The Don't Worry Book. Now, it's my privilege to share it with you. You can order Todd's books here.Here's what Todd writes about himself:I like the fog. I like sea lions. I love animals.I love the ocean. I love to cook. My favorite color is Blue.My favorite food is macaroni and cheese.Here's Todd's official Bio:Todd Parr is the author and illustrator of more than 40 books for children, including the New York Times bestselling The I Love You Book, The Earth Book, and The Thankful Book. His books are available in over fifteen languages throughout the world. He is the co-creator of the popular children's television show ToddWorld as well as short films for Sesame Street. Todd has partnered with Target, SF-MARIN Food Bank, Stouffer's, People Magazine and several companies and organizations to help people, animals, and promote literacy. Todd's books have won several awards and his TV show, ToddWorld, was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards. Todd lives in Berkeley, California with his three adopted Pit bulls. ABOUT WILL PEMBLEWill Pemble, when not appearing on Netflix, FaceBook Watch and YouTube, is the CEO of GOAL BOSS: Experts in communication, delegation and time management coaching for high performing teams. Will is the author of GOAL BOSS: The Art and Science of Getting Stuff Done. His book is a practical guide to business and leadership that gives leaders and employees the tools, strategies, and techniques to stop wasting time and start making money.Will built and sold Web.com, one of the most successful web host and domain name companies in the world.For Business + Press Inquiries, or if you'd like to work with Will and the GOAL BOSS Team, please contact info [at] GoalBoss [dot] com.If you'd like a free copy of Will's Book, Goal Boss: The Art & Science of Getting Stuff Done, click here.  ABOUT WILL'S TESLAThe car in this podcast is a red 2019 Tesla Model 3 Performance with dual motors and full self-driving capability. My favorite part is how it goes from zero to sixty miles per hour in just 3.2 seconds. The car requires zero scheduled maintenance... ever. If you'd like to get your very own Tesla, click this link to get 1,000 free Supercharger Miles. 

Todd Parr is an award-winning Children's Book Author (and illustrator!) He has authored more than 50 books for kids that have been translated into 15 languages! Four of which were published just this year! (which in book land, is just CRAZY PANTS unheard of!) Many of his books are about hard situations like losing a loved one, feeling different & why being unique is awesome. Which is obviously up my alley! I was super stoked to have Todd on the podcast. We talk about how he got started in this crazy book journey, why we need kindness in this world, & how not knowing what you're doing can help you get to where you want to go! If you're an aspiring children's illustrator, this episode will inspire you by the serendipitous way Todd started his career. From books to working with incredible brands like FAO Schwartz & Sesame Street! (ahh!) Even if you're not an illustrator, you'll love Todd's exuberant spirit! Mentionables: Dealing with Dyslexia. Going outside the box. Dealing with people who don't understand you. Serendipity. Head to www.jenipherlyn.com/blog/39 to read the show notes, and see Todd's amazing FAO Schwartz windows! Eep! And be sure to pop in on Instagram to say hello! www.instagram.com/rainydaydiariespod

How do we talk to kids about things like conception, surrogacy, IVF, adoption, blended families, and more? Host Seth Day leads a discussion about how to talk to kids about all the different ways there are to add kids to a family. With guests Teffer Adjemian, Amy Saucier, and Robbie Samuels. 4:11- (Robbie's Podcast) www.OntheSchmooze.com 12:42- What Makes a Baby, by Cory Silverburg 12:48- Who Are You? The Kid’s Guide to Gender Identity, by Brooke Pessin-Whedbee 15:54- How to Be a Girl (Podcast) 29:10- www.citydadsgroup.com (Robbie's Article) https://citydadsgroup.com/blog/boys-playing-with-dolls/ 39:27- https://www.mazzonicenter.org/trans-wellness 41:14- www.shiftbookbox.com 56:46- Princess Puffybottom & Daryl, by Susin Nielsen 57:30- 4th Trimester Bodies Project (Instagram) 1:04- Prince & Knight, by Daniel Haack 1:05- Gilbert the Ghost, by Guido Van Genechten 1:08- The Family Book, by Todd Parr 10:10- Tell Me About Sex Grandma, by Anastasia Higgenbotham 1:20:54- She-Ra (Cartoon) To learn more about this episode’s guests and what they do, follow them here! Teffer Adjemian: @yapodcast Robbie Samuels:www.RobbieSamuels.com

It's the final week of Pride Month 2019. The guys wish everyone celebrating World Pride in NYC a wonderful time. Jeff talks about being homesick for New York and missing playing hockey. Pose's early season 3 renewal is praised. Will talks about the special Masterwork Experiment happening on The Story Grid Podcast where they are breaking down and analyzing the story structure of Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain. Jeff and author/blogger Lee Wind have an extended interview in which Lee discusses his debut YA novel, Queer as a Five Dollar Bill and how he's become engaged in discovering queer history. They also talk about the YA book blog I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell Do I Read? that Lee began over a decade ago. Lee also recommends a couple of his favorite YA books and the queer history project he's trying to jump start on Instagram. Complete shownotes for episode 194 along with a transcript of the interview are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com. Interview Transcript - Lee Wind This transcript was made possible by our community on Patreon. You can get information on how to join them at patreon.com/biggayfictionpodcast. Jeff: Lee, welcome to the podcast. It is so great to have you here. Lee: Thank you so much. I'm really excited to be here, Jeff. Jeff: Now, I recently read your debut novel, "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill". In fact, I reviewed it back in Episode 189. And absolutely love it. Now, tell people in your own words what this YA novel is about. Lee: So it's all about the fact that I don't have a time machine. When I went...in 2011, I went to a game in summer camp kind of weekend. And there was a guy talking about the letters that Abraham Lincoln wrote Joshua Fry Speed that convinced him that Abraham was in love with Joshua. And I just thought he was full of it. Like how could that have been possibly been true? It's the first time I heard about it. And I went to the library, and I got the letters and I read them and because the emotions Lincoln speaks about are the same emotions I experienced when I was closeted in dating girls and sort of judging it the right thing to do, but not feeling it, I had this moment of sort of goosebumps, and I was like, "Oh my gosh, I think maybe Lincoln was in love with speed." And I thought, "Oh, if I had a time machine and go back and tell my 15-year-old self that the guy on Mount Rushmore, the guy on the $5 bill, the guy on the penny, was maybe in love with another guy, I think it would have changed my whole life. I don't think it would have taken me until I was 25 years old to fully come out. I think it would have been a game changer. But I don't have a time machine. So "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill" is my paying it forward. I'm a writer, I wanted to write the story about a 15-year-old who's closeted and bullied and dating a girl because he kind of judges it's the right thing to do, but he doesn't feel it. And then he's assigned a book report on Lincoln and he gets the same book that I got from the library, he reads the actual letter, where Lincoln is asking his best friend, after the best friend has gotten married to a woman, "Are you now, in feeling as well as judgment, glad you're married as you are? From anybody but me, this would be an impudent question not to be tolerated, but I know you'll tolerate it for me." And he ends the letter saying, "Please tell me quickly, I feel very impatient to know." And we don't have Joshua's answer, because Mary Todd burned all the letters on that side of the correspondence. But we do know it was only four weeks later that Abraham had married Mary. So to me, it felt like wow, that, like what would happen if a kid today found that out and decided that he wants the world to know? Because everyone loves Abraham Lincoln in our country. And he thought, "Well, okay, so if he tells - the main character, Wyatt - if he tells the whole world that Abraham Lincoln was in love with another guy, he thinks it's going to change how everyone feels about gay people, cue the songbirds and the rainbow and happy ending." I do think if in our culture today if someone was to go really viral with the information that Abraham Lincoln was, wrote these letters and was in love with Joshua Fry Speed, I think there would be a huge conservative backlash and media firestorm. And that's really that what I wanted to show in the novel, how this Wyatt, how Wyatt, this main character makes his way through this incredible maelstrom of fury that he's ignited by just sharing what actually is part of American history. And then to kind of ratchet the stakes up even further, I wanted to make it, like, how was it important for a teenager today? Why is Abraham Lincoln important? So I kind of situated him in Lincolnville, Oregon, a town I kind of made up. His parents own the Lincoln Slept Here Bed & Breakfast. And when the economy of the town kind of starts to tank and they're threatened with losing their business, they bring in a civil rights attorney to help and she has an openly gay son and sparks fly between the two teens. But the main character Wyatt can't do anything about it. Because gay kids saying Lincoln is gay is really different than a straight kid saying Lincoln is gay. And he's faced with his choice, does he follow his heart and see if something might be happening with this guy, Martin? But the cost of that is letting this secret fade back into history, and nothing will ever change in our world. Or does he sort of sacrifice himself and his own happiness, and persist with the story that Lincoln was indeed in love with another guy and see if he can change the world a little bit, even though it won't change for him? So that's the story of "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill". Jeff: And I feel like even before I read this book that I had heard, you know, some of the rumblings that Lincoln may have had a relationship, may have been gay. So I think it kind of dances around the edge of what some people know, because I can't even begin to tell you where I heard it or anything else, just that it had been kind of back there somewhere in the memory of I don't know, something. Does that even make sense? Lee: Well, it's been a big thing on "Will & Grace", the revived series. They've been doing a whole run on jokes about Jack doing a one-man play called Gaybraham Lincoln, which is sort of all about Lincoln being gay, which I think has been good on the one hand, because it's letting more people know that this is something that people are talking about, but it's also doing so as if it's a farce, as if it's not true at all, and completely made up in a complete flight of fancy on the part of this bigger than life character. When in fact, if you read the letters, it is remarkable how to me it feels so clear that Lincoln was in love with Joshua. Jeff: What was your process for researching the history? Because there's more in here than just the letters themselves. There's a lot of Lincoln history, there's comparisons drawn between Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. In my review, you know, I kind of likened it a little bit, you know, you go see "Hamilton" and you get this big infusion of history, while you're wildly entertained. What was kind of your process around gathering all the pieces you needed? Lee: Well, first of all, thank you for comparing it to "Hamilton." That is like the best compliment ever. I need to embroider that on a pillow or something. I did a lot of research. I started out with the letters and then I realized that I just didn't know enough. I looked around and I live in Southern California. And it turns out in Redlands, California, there is an Abraham Lincoln Memorial shrine and museum. And it's like a three-room edifice that has display cases and a gift shop. And so many of the things that ended up being part of the bed and breakfast that Wyatt's parents own were kind of taken from that real-world experience of going to this place and seeing that they actually had, you know, civil war chess sets. And they had, you know, little teddy bears that were gray or blue. And they had, you know, Confederate Flag and a Union Flag. And that was hugely helpful. And then just starting to dig in deeper to some of the things I discovered there, there's a whole sort of subplot about how Wyatt feels that there's no one he can actually talk to. And so he's developed this strange internal dialogue with this image of a soldier in the background of one of their display cases. And I actually have a photo of it from when I went to this Lincoln shrine. And it was there, it was behind all these ammunitions. And I don't know that my gaydar works 150 some years later, but definitely, there's somebody in that, they're one of the soldiers in that photo does look like he could be gay. And I thought, "Wow, what if this was the only way that Wyatt felt that he could have somebody that recognized who he was, and how sad that was that he didn't really have a friend?" And that was why I was excited to create the character of Martin so he had somebody. Jeff: Were you a history buff all along? Lee: No, I hated history. And I'm sure that they're all these teachers that are like hitting their foreheads in shame right now. But like, honestly, I never had a history teacher that kind of got me excited about the stories of history, because I really feel like the way we teach history today, and my daughter's in 10th grade right now and her history textbook could have been my history textbook from the 1980s, where basically, it's the stories of rich, white, straight, cis-gendered, able-bodied men from Europe. And, you know, history is more than that. There are the stories of disabled people and people of color and women and men who loved men and women who loved women and people who looked outside gender boundaries in history. And I kind of feel like, we have to crack that facade of that false facade of history and let people know that that there's all this amazing light and you can see yourself in history. And, you know, Lincoln and Joshua are just sort of like the tip of the iceberg. There's, you know, Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok, there's Mahatma Gandhi and his love for this German Jewish architect, Hermann Kallenbach. There's the pharaoh Hatshepsut in Egypt, there is Safa, there's so many stories that impact us today. But we don't really know them because they don't get taught, or when they are taught, they're not taught in a sort of, queer inclusive or respectful manner. So I kind of feel like now I love history. And in fact, I wrote this novel, but as I was writing the novel, there was so much history, there was so many things that came up, so many more pieces of evidence, so many more pieces of the pie, things that made me surprised, like, I didn't really know that Lincoln was sort of a racist, even though he's credited with freeing all the slaves, he had this whole plan that he signed off on with Congress at that time to sort of, you know, explore shipping all black people back to Africa. And I didn't know that. And the deeper I dug, when I found a piece of information that kind of contradicted what I knew, I really wanted to find a way to include it in the story. Because I feel like that's what we should be doing when we find things that show that history is complex, and that people are not black and white, that it just makes it all so much more real and so much more relatable. And if we can see reflections of ourselves in the past, like if we know that there were men who love men in the past, then we can believe that we have a place at the table today. And if we know that we have a place at the table today, we can envision a future that is sort of limitless. And I want that for everyone that doesn't feel like their history is included. I want it for all the women and all the people of color and the disabled people and the women who love women and the people who lived outside gender boundaries, too. Because that's, you know, we call it LGBTQAI+ or QUILTBAG or whatever. But really, the job is about being an ally to other people. And me as a gay man, I have to think, "Well, how can I be an ally to everybody else?" And hopefully, they're thinking the same thing. And that's how we start to create societal change. Jeff:: That is wildly profound. And especially, given that this episode of the podcast is dropping in the last week of June, as you know, the queer community celebrates Stonewall 50. Lee: Oh, yeah. Well, you know, I love that we're celebrating Stonewall, I love that the gender non-conforming people that were there, the transgender people, the drag queens are getting some respect now that they were part of that and they were in fact, the leaders of standing up to the police finally. But for many, many years, Stonewall had a banner, the Stonewall Inn had a banner outside that read "Where Pride Began". And I think that's really misleading. And we talk in the queer community in America as if that's where pride began, right. Like, pride, "Hey, we're celebrating 50 years of Stonewall, Hooray." But wait a minute, Karl-Maria Kertbeny came up with the word homosexual 100 years before Stonewall. Right? Like Lincoln and Speed were writing these letters to each other 20 years before that. You know, you can go back thousands and thousands of years and there's this beautiful story from China before China was unified, where the State of Wey that the guy that ruled it, his name was Duke Ling and he had a guy he loved his name is Mizi Xia. And they were walking through the orchard one day and Mizi Xia picks a peach off a tree and starts to eat it. And halfway through, he stops because it's so delicious. He wants to share it and he gives the half eaten peach to the Duke and the Duke makes a really big deal out of it. Like, "I can't believe your love for me is so profound that you would sacrifice your own happiness to give me the peach." And something about that moment captured the imagination of people in that pre-unified China. And for over 1,000 years, the way in Chinese that they said gay love was love of the half-eaten peach. Like we have this amazing, amazing history. And we just need to kind of breakthrough that facade and let all this amazing rainbow light shine through. So that's kind of what I feel my mission is to kind of let people know that we have all this amazing history, and we can start to dive into it. Jeff: Is this all history? Because you mentioned earlier that you're not, you weren't a history buff and you hated history. Have you gathered up all of this new knowledge since you were researching to write "Queer as Five-Dollar Bill"? Lee: Yeah. So while I was writing "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill," like I mentioned, there was just so much stuff that came up, so much evidence that I was like, "I can't really cram all this into a novel, because at the end of the day, the novel is really about a kid today." And I didn't want it to feel like a historical novel. I wanted it to be this page-turner. So I realized that maybe it was two books, maybe there was the novel. But what if there's a nonfiction book as well that presents the primary source materials, like a popup video thing on MTV or VH1, whatever it was, helps interpret, or at least how I interpret the thing? So like, there's all this talk about Shakespeare's Sonnets, and how, while they're very rarely taught, over 100 of the sonnets, Shakespeare wrote to another guy. And these are love sonnets that include really, really famous lines that we all recognize, like, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day. Thou art more worthy, yet more temperate." That's a line that Shakespeare wrote to another guy. For hundreds of years, they had changed the pronouns of that in one of the folios. So it ended up being that for hundreds of years, people thought that Shakespeare wrote all those poems to a woman, to the Dark Lady. But when "The Riverside Shakespeare" came out, the editor of that section, he talked about how, "Well, we've restored the sonnets to their original, you know, pronouns, but you shouldn't mistake that, you know, the affection men felt for each other in the 1500s was nothing like the homosexual attraction today." He wrote this in 1970s. And I'm like, "Really? Really?" Because, you know, "A man in hue all hues in his controlling, Which steals men's eyes and women's souls amazeth," it sounds pretty romantic to me. So what I realized what I wanted to do is to create a book that wouldn't be just a book about Lincoln and Speed, but it would be a book about the broader thing, about men who love men and women who love women and people who lived outside gender boundaries. So there's 15 chapters. One is about Lincoln and Speed, one is about Shakespeare. And then there's, like, you know, a bunch of other amazing people in history, and it really presents the primary source material. And I'm really excited because today - that we're recording this - is the day that I'm signing the contract for that book with a publisher. Jeff: Oh, that is exciting. Congratulations. Lee: Thank you. It's been a long journey, long and crazy journey. Because the book originally was set up at one of the big five publishers, and I worked on it for a year and a half with them. It was approved, we were talking cover design. And then two weeks after our current president was elected, they canceled the book. I think they were concerned that it was going to be too controversial. They just didn't have the courage to proceed. And that was really devastating. And it took a long time to find a new home for it. There were a lot of shenanigans, a lot of plot twists. The agent I had had at the time turned out to be a criminal who, well, she was telling all her clients she was submitting things and that they were having all these pending book deals. She was lying. And the book was never submitted anywhere. Even after it was returned, the rights were returned to me. And the novel, "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill" ended up getting crowdfunded because I thought that I was being, well, stonewalled by the children's book industry and they didn't want word to get out about Lincoln and Speed so much so that no one would even respond to the submissions. So I crowdfunded it. I have a blog, I think we're talking about that a little bit later. But I have a bunch of people that know who I am and what I was trying to do, and they all supported me to not just publish the book professionally, but also, what I wanted to do is raise enough money to donate at least 400 copies of the novel to LGBTQ and allied teens, and the Kickstarter funded in six days, it was amazing. And then it went on for another 24 days. So we ultimately raised enough money to give away 910 copies. So that's been really, really gratifying. Jeff: That's incredible. I mean, it's really one of the great things about publishing today is that there's really no more gatekeepers out there. Anybody can publish, get it on Amazon, get an audiobook done, etc, and get their messages out there. Lee: There still is the thing, though, that being with a traditional publisher, you generally can reach more, especially when we're talking about like middle grade, you know, or books, where you go into libraries, which I think that this nonfiction book really is a, you know, hopefully, it'll sell like hotcakes. But also, I do think that to get it adopted more broadly into schools and into libraries, I think that coming from an established publisher is really useful and really helpful. So I'm excited about that. I do think that yeah, that there are many, many fewer boundaries than there used to be - or barriers than there used to be. But at the same time, we have the additional challenge that while access to the marketplace has never been easier, the marketplace has never been bigger. So getting noticed in a marketplace, where there's over a million books that are published every year now in the U.S., is a challenge. And that's why it's so important to have safe places to find out about these things, like your podcast, and my blog. Jeff: Yes, absolutely. To spin back on "Five-Dollar Bill" a little bit and talk a little bit more about it. What were your inspirations for both Wyatt and Martin and the type of teenagers they would be? Lee: When I was growing up, or when I was coming out, I think it felt like you couldn't be gay if you lived anywhere except for one of the big cities like San Francisco or New York. And I really wanted to have a character that felt connected to nature. And that one of the thematic subplots would be, 'Could he be himself where he was? Could he be himself in small town America, in a rural community, was there a way through for him to be successfully himself and authentic?' I feel like I spent so much of my life being inauthentic, that I want to do everything I can to help teens be authentic now. So on the one hand, Wyatt was the study of a kid that was on a journey to be authentic and Martin was the flip side of that. Martin was the character that already was authentic, and was already reaping the benefits of that level of confidence. And you know, as soon as you, for me, when I came out, it was like this huge burden off of me. And suddenly, I realized the weight of it was on everyone else, right? Like, if they had a problem with it, that was their problem. But it wasn't me hiding or holding back, or pretending or acting, which I did for so long. My husband and I have a joke, where when you go to a Starbucks or something, they're always like, "What's your name?" And every time my husband changes his name. Like he just makes up different names every single time. And they ask me and I'm always Lee because it took me 25 years to even start to like myself and to accept myself. And I finally got here. And I'm like, "Yeah, I'm not anybody else. I am me. I am Lee." It's funny. I take a spin class and as a motivational thing the spin instructor does, "Who do you want to be today?" I'm always like, "Me, I want to be me." I spent so long being other people. And then also, it was really cool when I was creating Martin's character, to think about him being African American. And that being an opportunity for me to talk about the complexity of Abraham Lincoln and him not being so perfect and explore those themes a little more. And it's funny because I hear from a lot of people how much they love Martin. And yeah, he's pretty lovable. Jeff: Yeah, I really liked them both in their individual ways. For sure Wyatt...I grew up, I spent like middle school, high school, college in Alabama. So I could totally relate to where Wyatt was in his journey like he knows, but there's no way he's telling anybody. And I didn't have a Martin for a best friend. So I also loved Martin, because he was the ideal friend to have for Wyatt in the moment to show him what could be. Lee: Yeah, exactly. Jeff: What do you hope the audience takes away from this kind of history/fiction mashup? Lee: So I think a lot about words, you know, being a writer, and I think that the word homosexual isn't helping us. I think that if we, because we're so reactive and weird in our culture, in America about sex, and we are obsessed with it, and we don't want to acknowledge it. And especially we don't want to talk about it to teens. So when we talk about homosexual rights and homosexual history, all straight people are hearing, you know, to paint with a broad brush, is they're thinking about sex and that we have sex differently than they do and how do we have sex. And I just don't think that's particularly helpful. And I think that if we talked about love as sort of the binding element that makes me and my husband and our teenage daughter a family, or the love between you and your husband, if we talked about HomoLOVEual rights and HomoLOVEual history, I think we'd have a very different cultural conversation. So what the tagline of my book is, "What if you knew a secret from history that could change the world?" And I love this because it gets a little meta. But it's the challenge that Wyatt faces, right? He finds out the secret about Abraham Lincoln writing these letters and maybe being in love with Joshua Fry Speed. And he decides that he's going to tell the world because it could change the world. And then it's the same challenge that I faced because I knew the secret from history and I thought this drumming sense of responsibility, like I had to share it, I had to get it out in the world. And because I wasn't getting anywhere with traditional publishing, I thought, "Okay, well, I'm going to crowdfund it, I'm going to get it out in the world, myself." And then what I am really excited about is that it's also the challenge that the reader faces. Because when you've read the book, or you even heard me talk about the book, you know that there is something more to the story of Abraham Lincoln that has been taught to you. And it's that first crack in that facade of history. And it makes you think, "Well, wait a minute, when you see the picture of Mount Rushmore, or when you pick your kid up at the Lincoln middle school, or you're driving on Lincoln Boulevard, you know, does it occur to you that, you know, our culture has not shared that part of who Lincoln is? And does it make you feel a little more pride about the fact that you know what, we do have history, queer people, and we need to lean into it? And we have the opportunity to because there are hundreds of years of historians that are going to argue with us and that are going to say, "Yeah, yeah, it's not true. It was very typical for men to share beds on the frontier." Not that Springfield, Illinois was the frontier. But for four years, you know, Abraham and Joshua shared a bed long after Abraham could afford his own bed. "Well, it was cold." Okay, yeah. But they shared a bed for four years. It's not proof. But it's interesting. And I think that as all those things add up, we can all make our own determination of what we think, you know. Is it important for me that I convince the world that Abraham Lincoln was in love with Joshua Fry Speed? No. I think a lot about Anne Lamott, she's a writer, and she writes about writing. She has a beautiful book called "Bird by Bird". And in that book, she talks about lighthouses, and how they don't run all over an island looking for boats to save, they just sort of stand there and they shine. And I think a lot about that. Like, I need to be a lighthouse. Like I found out this amazing, cool stuff about history, and how it relates to today, and how empowering it is. And I just want to shine. And if people are interested, they can come closer to the light. And if they're not interested, no worries, you know, watch out, there's some rocks over there. Jeff: Any chance of a sequel? Because I know I would love to see more of Wyatt and Martin at some point Lee: I haven't really come up with a good angle on a sequel, I had this funny idea for...one of the other pieces of history that really struck me was Mahatma Gandhi and the story of his love for Hermann Kallenbach. And we talk a lot about Gandhi having this sort of breakthrough where he talked about it doesn't matter whether you pray facing left and I pray facing right - I may have that reversed. We're all praying to the same God. Like he had this huge breakthrough, not just in terms of, you know, a peaceful protest, Satyagraha. He changed our world in such profound ways. And at the same time, he was in love with this German Jewish architect named Hermann Kallenbach. And if he was in love with a Jewish guy, like that's actually really interesting and really germane. Like maybe that's why he had that inspiration, that insight about it doesn't matter who you're praying to, because it's, we're all sort of bonded by this sense of spiritual connection. Like, that's really exciting. And I feel like there's so many stories like that, like Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok. Eleanor Roosevelt was the woman that after, you know, her husband died, she went to the UN and became this advocate for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And would she had done that if she didn't have this experience of being in love with another woman, and feeling that sort of outsider status, while at the same time being this empowered woman in our world? History starts to open up like a flower. So I don't have an exact idea for a sequel for Wyatt and Martin, but I will put it in the hopper as ideas. Reason I brought up Hermann Kallenbach and Mahatma Gandhi was that I thought, that would be an interesting thing to talk about a kid finding out about that, and how that would have changed their life. And then about, "Wait, that's the exact same story over again, I don't need to do that. I already wrote that." So for now, I'm going to focus on the nonfiction piece and some other fiction writing that I want to get to that, actually, I'm very inspired by your book too, by the "Codename: Winger" series, because I love the idea of mashing up a gay teen with a sort of spy thriller. Jeff: And I can't wait to read what you might do with that. So please, bring that to the marketplace. Lee: Thank you. I keep thinking, "Is there a way I can get gay history in here somehow?" I haven't figured that either yet. But, you know, I'll work on it. Jeff: You'd mentioned earlier that you've got your blog, which I was so excited to find right around the same time as finding the book. You've been a YA blogger for more than a decade now. I believe you said it'll be 12 years in September. And the blog is called "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?" What led you to starting that? Lee: Thanks. Yeah, there was no safe space to find out what were the books with queer characters for kids and teens. And I remember, there was a review on Amazon for a really sweet picture book called "The Family Book" by Todd Parr. And it's sort of a cartoon-y book. And there's like one page, it says, "Some families look alike." And it's a bunch of dogs that they all have similar features. "Some families look different." And it's a tree with all these different kind of animals in it. "Some families adopt children." And it's a bunch of ducks. And on the back of one duck is a penguin. And then you turn the page and it's, "Some families have two moms or two dads." And it's a picture of two women and two men. And then it continues, and there was a review, pretty high up that said, "If you tear out the page with the two moms and dads, then this is a lovely book on diversity." And I thought, "Wow, way to miss the entire point of what diversity is." And I got so upset and so hurt, you know, because I'm a gay dad. And I thought this was an amazing book for my daughter, but also for all of my daughter's classmates to see and recognize, "Yeah, yeah, you know, some families do have two moms and two dads." And to Amazon, that wasn't hate speech, it didn't violate their terms of service, it was just somebody's opinion. Albeit kind of, you know, nasty, or at least I interpreted as nasty. And it got me thinking about how there really needed to be a safe place online, where a kid could go and find out what are the books that were out there. And when I started, there were maybe 30 books total that were inclusive of LGBTQ characters and themes for kids and teens. And what's happened over the years is that by keeping this curated safe space, where I'm not vetting all the books, but I'm making sure that no nastiness is happening on the site. We have over 500 books now in many, many categories. And it's been really exciting to see that sort of explosion of content. And yet, it's that sort of similar problem again. Like now, suddenly, there's so much content, how do you make your way through it? How do you find the things that you want? So the idea behind it was to post about the books, what's queer about the books, and then let readers add their own reviews. There hasn't been a lot of review, there's just too many places for people to leave reviews these days. So I don't see a lot of that. But I also didn't want to make it, you know, "Lee's favorite book site" because I think that that has a limited value, I thought that there was more value in it being a site that felt really comprehensive. And that's what I aim for. And then it just became a place where I could talk about the stuff that I really care about, that I want queer and allied teens to know about. And over the years, what I've discovered is that the readership is split into thirds. There's about a third, queer teens and queer and allied teens on it. There about a third of librarians and teachers and people that work with LGBTQ teens. And then there's a whole bunch of adults that are sort of reading the books for themselves and sort of healing their inner teen. And I think that there is a healing that happens. Every time I read a queer book that has a happy or even a hopeful ending, there's a healing that happens. And I think maybe that's part of why romance as a genre is so popular. I know Will was saying in a previous episode that people get on his case for like ruining the ending, but it's all romance, you know it's going to be a good ending. And I think maybe that's why people turn to it. So I know how empowering it is for me when I read something where I see a reflection of myself, and it's a positive thing. Because when I was growing up, there was nothing to read, nothing positive. The only queer characters were like evil pedophile villains, it wasn't particularly helpful. Jeff: Yeah, that's, unfortunately, the case in the history that you and I have from that era when we were growing up. In the decade-plus that you've been running the site, other than just more YA, how have you seen it all evolve? Lee: There's more, and there's better and there's deeper, and there's less preachy and there's room for it all. It's funny, there was a kind of push a few years back for...well, maybe we're beyond the coming out story. And I kind of got my dander up a little bit on that. And I felt like, "Well, we're never going to be beyond the first love story when it's, you know, a straight romance. So, Andrew Solomon has this great book that he wrote called "Far From the Tree" and it's a nonfiction piece. And he talks about how, you know, when your identity is...where you're the apple that does fall far from the tree, or falls from the tree and rolls across the, you know, down the hill and across the orchard, when you're queer, most likely your parents were not. And so you have this moment where you have to find your sense of community outside of the family that you grew up in. A lot of other identities, you share that. Like, usually, like me, I was raised Jewish and so I would, you know, my parents were Jewish. So I sort of shared that identity. For all of our identities, we sort of are either sort of close to the tree or far from the tree. And when you're far from the tree, there's more work involved. So coming out, I think is going to continue to be this universal thing. Because just like, you know, my daughter has two dads, but she's straight. So in a funny way, she's going to have to, you know, she had a bit of a coming out where she had to tell us, sort of, you know, abashed, hoping that we'd be okay with it, that she was straight. And we had a good laugh about it. Because it's not that big a deal for us. We just want her to be her authentic self and to be happy. So we do want to have coming out books, and we also want to have books where being gay, like your character Winger, Theo, where it's the least interesting thing about him. I loved when you said that in your interview. Because yeah, we want those stories, too. It's like in acting, right? In improv, the rule is yes/and. So we want these books, and we want those books. We want the fantasy, we want the romance, we want the science fiction, we want all of it because truly, if you look at the numbers of books that are published - traditionally there about 5,000 books published a year for kids and teens. And then, if you look at the world of self-publishing, let's say that 5,000 are doing it really beautifully. And the books are indistinguishable with the quality of that from traditional publishing. That's 10,000 books a year, a year. And you have all those years going back too. So what we want is the opportunity to sort of have all of those books and right now we still only have like 500. So we have a long way to go. We need lots more books, we need lots more voices, we need people writing their own voices, stories, we need more diversity included in everybody's stories because truly, you're not going to have a classroom today that doesn't include someone that's LGBTQ, we need it all. Jeff: That's very true. Given that you had the blog, did you always see yourself eventually writing the YA novel that you did? Or did that just kind of manifest itself because you have the story to tell? Lee: I've always been a writer. I've written...I remember one summer when I was like between 9th and 10th Grade in high school, I was like, "I'm going to write a novel." I sometimes think of those poor characters still trapped in the broken space station that was orbiting the Earth. And I'm like, "Oh man, I have to do something with that someday." I don't think I will. I've always written. I think that for the last 14 years, I've really focused on writing for kids and teens. I also write picture books and middle grade. And when I found out this thing about Lincoln and Speed, it really inspired me to focus on writing that as a novel. I think that the blog has been a way to have my voice heard in a more direct way, and not wait for somebody to tap me on the shoulder and say, "Okay Lee, we're ready for what you have to share." So that's been really empowering. I remember, when I started the blog, there were very few people reading it, and I would get all excited, I'd be like, and I'd tell my husband, "Hey, 15, people went to my blog today." And I was so, so excited. And now, all these years later, we passed 2.6 million page loads. I get between, you know, 15,000 to 25,000 page views a month. It's remarkable, and humbling, and also a really cool responsibility to continue to maintain this safe place. And at the same time, I'm trying to keep writing and work on the new stuff, which has been really a good thing, because balancing the day job and the blogging, there's a lot but I have stories I want to tell. And I'm going to keep trying to tell them. Jeff: Good. Yeah, keep putting it out there. Because we always need more, to be sure. For people who haven't seen the site yet, and we're certainly going to link to it in the show notes. It has an amazing hero image across the top of the superhero. Where did that come from? And where did the name come from? For folks who might question the name too, because I have a pretty good idea where the name came from. But let's hear it from you. Lee: Sure. So "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I read?" is a play on words of something we chanted in Act Up in the '80s and '90s. The chant was "We're here. We're queer. Get used to it." And I thought, well, my issue is a little more "What the hell do I read?" Because I felt so starved for any books that included somebody like me. I mean, you know, I grew up and I really and truly thought I was the only person in the world that felt the way I felt about other guys. And which was super ironic, because I have an older brother, who's five and a half years older, and he's gay too, but we never spoke about it. We are the children of immigrants and when my parents came from Israel, they sort of brought all their homophobia with them. And the American culture at the time was super homophobic, especially where we lived outside Philadelphia. It was not a safe place. And it's so amazing to think that you can grow up and feel like you're the only person and everything I read, I was obsessed with the series by Anne McCaffrey called the Dragonrider series. And there was this super between the lines, sort of thematic thing that you could maybe interpret that there was gay stuff happening in that world, but you had to really stretch for it. And looking back, I think, well, maybe that's why I was so obsessed with that book, with that series, because there was some faint, not even mirror reflection, but like the gleam of a tarnished piece of silverware. I was like, "Wait, wait, maybe that's me." So that's where "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I read?" came from. The image happened a few years later. I had been running the site for about two years, it had been doing really well. And I realized I wanted to have a customized image. And yet, it's a pretty wordy title. So I realized I needed an image that didn't have any additional words to it. So I contacted someone I knew, an artist I knew, Jim DeBartolo. And, I said, "Look, I need an image that says empowerment." And he came up with this sort of superhero moment of like ripping the denim shirt off. And there's this sort of T-shirt underneath with the sort of superhero logo, which is the website, which is leewind.org. And it was funny. We tried to play with the sort of partial face that you see, we tried to, you know, could we make it a person of color? Could we do some things with you, know, the physique? But ultimately, it was sort of an avatar of me, and it took me years to admit it that's sort of what of course it is, it's an avatar of me, but I don't have that good a jawline. But at least in my mind, I think that it's been this sort of symbol of empowerment. And that's really what I hope that people get from visiting the site, from reading anything I write. I want them to feel empowered. Jeff: I like that. That's a great story behind that. Lee: Thanks. Jeff: So relying on your...I'm going to call it a YA expertise because of the site that you run. What are three or four titles of current YA that you would recommend our audience to take a stab at? Lee: Sure. So I have to start with "Carry On" by Rainbow Rowell. I know it's not super recent. But this is the gay Harry Potter book that I wanted so badly. And I was so frustrated that JK Rowling didn't include Dumbledore as being gay in the canon. It sort of was outside the books that that revelation happened and you can go back and sort of, you know, read subtexts and stuff. But I really was hoping that there would be some sort of, you know, on the page, queer love or something, and it didn't happen, there was really nothing. And, you know, Rainbow Rowell, she wrote two books, one about the girl that writes the fan fiction, which is called "Fangirl", which is really good. And then there was this book, which was the fan fiction, that ended up being a huge success on its own, called "Carry On". And I don't want to say too much, but it is absolutely brilliant. And if you are queer, or love queer stories, and you had any connection to Harry Potter, and that sort of world of magic, you've got to go read this. It's just wonderful. Jeff: Excellent. Her books have been on my TBR forever. And I actually need to take the leap and read them. Lee: Read this one first. It's just you will be so happy you did. Jeff: So you mentioned the nonfiction that you've just signed the contract on and other stuff noodling around in your head... anything else you want to shout out that's coming up soon for you? Lee: So there are a bunch of things percolating. But nothing has come to full boil yet. So I will let you all know when it does. Jeff: That is fair. I can't wait to hear what they are. Because I think that, yeah, having read the one book from you, I'm looking forward to reading so much more. So where can people keep up with you? There's leewind.org as we talked about, which is the "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I read?" site. Anyplace else people should be looking for updates? Lee: Yeah. I mean, I'm playing around with Instagram. I'm trying to do this thing. I had the idea that we could do a #queerhistoryiseverywhere. And I wanted people to upload photos of Abraham Lincoln or the word Lincoln wherever they saw it and just start posting it on Instagram. It hasn't exactly caught on yet. But I still like that idea. Jeff: Maybe our podcast listeners will play along with that. Lee: Oh, yeah, that would be really fun. And also, I mean, as, you know, more queer history happens. I was speaking at the Bay Area Book Festival recently and someone came up after my panel and they said, "Did you know that Bābur from the Bāburnāma when he was a teen he was in love with another boy?" I was like, "Really?" Totally, I have sitting on my desk right next to me right now the "Bāburnāma" and indeed, when he was 18, he was in love with this other boy. And it's so exciting to find out this stuff. So I feel like because it's been hidden, the more we can crowdsource this information and share it and then all amplify each other. I think it's very, very exciting. Jeff: Very cool. So we will link to all that stuff, the books we talked about - everything else - in our show notes. And Lee, I'm so glad we got the opportunity to talk, spread the word a little bit more about this book and the website and thank you for all you're doing to get more out there about YA literature too. Lee: Thank you, Jeff. I really want to say thank you to you and to Will. I'm really a fan of the podcast and getting to be on it as a real thrill. So thanks.

Author/illustrator Todd Parr takes us behind the scenes of his latest, THE DON'T WORRY BOOK.

Chloe, from Ms Nagle's 2nd grade class, gives a book recommendation of "The Family Book" by Todd Parr. There is a message for everyone!

The very first episode of Latina Readers !

Todd Parr is the author and illustrator of more than 40 books for children, including the New York Times bestselling The I Love You Book, The Earth Book, and The Thankful Book. His books are available in over fifteen languages throughout the world. He is the co-creator of the popular children's television show ToddWorld as well as short films for Sesame Street. Todd has partnered with Target, SF-MARIN Food Bank, Stouffer's, People Magazine and several companies and organizations to help people, animals, and promote literacy. Todd's books have won several awards and his TV show, ToddWorld, was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards. Todd lives in Berkeley, California with his three adopted Pit bulls.

Jill Aller is an adoption consultant for A Step Ahead Adoption Services and is an adoptive mom of two children, ages 6 and 4.  Jill has a B.A. in Psychology, a Master’s degree in Teaching and an Ed.S. degree in Counseling. She adopted her two children through the help of A Step Ahead adoption services and had such a great experience with them that she went to work for them four years ago. Both children have very open adoptions, where they are still in touch with their biological families. Jill has lived all over the U.S. but is now happily settled in Florida with her extended family. Jill is passionate about helping others navigate their adoption journeys in a mindful, balanced way. The language that we use helps shape the way we think about adoption. The feeling that the language reflects becomes our children’s inner voice. “She gave up the baby for adoption” sounds like a rejection.  “She placed the baby for adoption” or she made an adoption plan” is a much better way to phrase it.  This sounds helpful and intentional.  It feels loving and nurturing. Jill talks to her children in an active voice about adoption with phrases such as “we adopted then” to put the focus on her putting the effort into making them a part of her family. More positive phrases include “birth family, tummy mommy, first family” instead of “the real mom”.  It evolves as they get over.   Since all of the people connected by adoption are connected by love.  It is a pain entered into willingly connected by love. Others my say things such as “she’s so lucky to have you” out of good intention, but it can be construed as the biological family not being good.  It’s important to be mindful of the message that is conveyed and make sure it is focused more on the love shared. Statements such as “it’s so great to see you as a family” is ideal.   It’s important to honor the birth family with your words.  Being mindful of the language used to communicate about adoption is important for children and adults.  It’s important to allow the adoptee to voice their feelings.  Asking open ended questions can be so helpful.   Many of the baby boomers are just finding out they are adopted.  This environment harbors pain and shame. Talking about it openly can be really supportive.  There’s a continuum between closed and open adoption.  Closed adoption is where the parents may not know anymore than their names.  A semi-open is where they communicate through a 3rd party. An open adoption, often best for the mental health of the child and the birth family, is when theirs open connection. It’s important to note that open adoption isn’t always best for all families  Child Connect is a site that links families together. When therapists work with adoptees, its important to allow space for grief and loss. Adoption triad – birth family, adopted family, and the child. Jill recommends the book 20 Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Know by Sherrie Eldridge. Family therapy can be really beneficial to help the entire family. Support groups can be incredibly helpful. Online support, consulting, and other connections can be really helpful.  Connecting through groups can provide support and healing that can be found elsewhere. Jill recommends “The Family Book” by Todd Parr . It’s about adoption, but not soley about adoption.  Another book that she recommends is “It’s Okay to be Different” also by Todd Parr. Jill really likes the “Adoptive Families” magazine. https://www.adoptivefamilies.com The Center for Adoption Support Education, CASE, is a great education resource.  http://adoptionsupport.org Adoption Counsel is a great resource at https://www.adoptioncouncil.orgA Step Ahead Adoption is a nationwide agency that helps people build their family in a healthy way.. There’s a focus on helping the birth family.  http://astepaheadadoption.com There’s many great children’s books such as “A Mother for Choco”, “Tell Me a Real Adoption Storyadop”, “ABC: Adoption and Me”, and the “Tummy Mummy”.  https://www.facebook.com/PLAYTHERAPYCOMMUNITY/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/parentingintherain/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/1130971706932394/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolcounselors/ https://www.facebook.com/counselinginbrevard/ www.counselinginbrevard.com www.playtherapycommunity.com www.parentingintherain.com www.jackieflynnconsulting.com https://twitter.com/jackieflynnrpt  

Featuring Tom Cipullo (moderator and podcast editor), Caitlin Brisson,Diane Briel,Alena GeidelThe podcast guests talk about library programs for the month of November: the 14th Annual Families Reading Together at the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium. The book this year is “The Peace Book,” by Todd Parr; Camille Aubray’s book, “Cooking for Picasso”, Laurie Albrecht from PBC Cooperative Extension presents a program on native plants; multiple turkey informational programs; events on how to handle "holiday stress"; "Tellabration" a celebration of Storytelling; and MORE! Remember to check each event for age appropriateness or limits.CLICK HERE to listen or right-click to save the podcast. Length: 16:29. PLAY If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element www.pbclibrary.org "Connect Communities, Inspire Thought, and Enrich Lives"

Featuring John Campbell (moderator and sound engineer), with Caitlin Brisson, Jayme Bosio, Tiffany Snell The podcast guests talk about library programs for the month of October: “The EARTH Book” by Todd Parr and the book "Invisible Cities" by Italo Calvino and Julie Mehretu's "Epigraph, Damascus." Story Salsa With Liz Mangual: a bilingual story celebration at multiple locations; The Genealogical Society of PBC will host a genealogy fair; Dungeons & Dragons gaming, and MORE! Remember to check each event for age appropriateness or limits.CLICK HERE to listen or right-click to save the podcast. Length: 12:01. PLAY If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element www.pbclibrary.org "Connect Communities, Inspire Thought, and Enrich Lives"

Todd Parr (@toddparr), author illustrator of Love The World, stops by the podcast to talk about confidence, denial, and never forgetting what it means to need someone.

12/18/16 What Were You Hoping To Find - Todd Parr by First Baptist Church Broken Arrow

This week on Mom Talk Radio, Kevin Pryslak, author of THE F**K IT LIST: All The Things You Can Skip Before You Die, shares his favorite things not to try. Spotlight on Moms features Maria Hunt of UnicornMoms.com. Sandra Reich, M.ED, founder  and clinical director of The Montreal Center for Anxiety and Depression, shares tips for keeping anxiety at bay during the holidays. Author of Overcoming Toxic Parenting: How to be a GOOD Parent When Yours Wasn’t, Rick Johnson, shares how our past affects our own parenting. Todd Parr, author of more than thirty children’s books, shares how his latest book helps kids cope with loss.

O papo desta é semana é com o pai da Laura e da Mônica, o Daniel Salles de Araújo, conhecido também como Daniel Anand.Desde 2010 trabalhando no YouTube e há um ano morando na Califórnia, EUA, ele se reuniu hoje com a gente para contar sua experiência como pai de gêmeas, em outro país. Falou também sobre o desenvolvimento do YouTube Kids, um aplicativo voltado para "pequenas mentes curiosas" e que vem fazendo sucesso no Brasil.  Comentado neste programa:American Sign Language - LAS (Língua Americana de Sinais)Baby Signing Time (Língua Americana de Sinais para Bebês)Produtos da 'Two Little Hands' para ensinar LAS.Para Casa:Daniel: Jogo - No Thank You, EvilMarcelo: Livro - Tromba Tromba, David MckeeRodrigo: Livro - Tudo Bem Ser Diferente, de Todd ParrFale conosco:E-mail: contato@entrefraldas.com.brFacebook: facebook.com/entrefraldaspodcastTwitter: @marcelocafieroTwitter: @rodrigocornelio

9/18/16 One Great Problem - Todd Parr by First Baptist Church Broken Arrow

7/3/16 - Todd Parr by First Baptist Church Broken Arrow

Podcast Ep 23 | Todd Parr  In this episode of KidLit Podcast you’ll venture into the world of New York... Read more » The post KidLit Podcast: Todd Parr appeared first on KidLit TV.

This week on Mom Talk Radio, Jenny Long, author of Expect a Miracle, shares how her life experiences inspired her to write this memoir. Noah Lomax, Product Marketing Manager at Hewlett-Packard, shares how to save time and money on printing with HP Instant Ink. Digital lifestyle enthusiast, Kelly Wonderlin shares 4 tips for teaching kids healthy boundaries for screen time. Steve Reedy, author of Tales for Your Monkey’s Mind, shares his inspiration for the book. Todd Parr, author of more than thirty children’s books, shares how his latest book helps kids cope with loss.

11/01/15 - The One About Comfort - Todd Parr by First Baptist Church Broken Arrow