Three New Picture Books About Hair of Black People

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in order to provide honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

Have you ever noticed that the majority of picture books about hair are about Black people? Have you ever wondered why? My guess is the discrimination that happens to Black people around their hair. According to the CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural hair) Coalition's 2023 Workplace Research Study, over 20% of Black women, aged 25-34, have been sent home from work over their hair. And according to the 2021 Dove and CROWN Study for Girls, 45% of all Black girls say they have experienced hair discrimination. When you think about commercials for hair products what race do you see? Hair products are different for different races because hair between races is very different.

Joyful Sunday #1 Joy Journal & Joy Poems

 

As I mentioned previously, my word for 2026 is JOY. I decided to make a Joy Journal. Well actually it is a journal for my words of the year. I picked up a journal with blank pages at Dollar Tree. I also got a bigger sketchbook at Five Below to use for my explorations in joy. When I was reviewing my posts from the past, I found this one sharing the book Joy in Every Moment by Tzvia Gover. I pulled it off my shelf and have started reading it daily and trying some of the mindful exercises in it. I use my journal for this as well as ones I think of. On the first page of the journal, I wrote down all my words of the year with the date. One of the mindfulness exercises was to take time to define what joy means to me. I did this in my journal. It is not a formal definition but words I think of when I think about what joy means.

Celebrating New Year's with Kids Roundup with Crafts, Activities & More for Different Ages

 

New Year's Eve is almost here. To celebrate New Year's Eve one things about a countdown, fireworks and noisemakers, as well as a toast and special food and activities to keep everyone awake and entertained until the ball drops. New Year's Day is full of rest, brunch, resolutions and visiting. How do you celebrate with your kids? Over the years we have found some fun age-appropriate ways to celebrate with Hazel. New Year's is a special holiday for us because of her birthday. But even without her birthday around New Year's, I feel the start of a new year as a special restart for everyone. There are so many different ways it is celebrated around the world and even some different times of the year. Between the many countries that celebrate the lunar new year (this year it begins February 17, 2026) and the Jewish culture that celebrates Rosh Hashanah and of course the teachers who "celebrate" with a new school year. For this New Year's Eve I pulled together old posts, features from Sharing Saturday and asked fellow bloggers for ideas for you! 

Reflection on 2025 and Thoughts for 2026 -- Word of the Year

 

Each year I take time to reflect on the past year and look towards the new one. I reflect on my word for the year and pick one for the new year. My word for 2025 is hope. I knew with the change of the president I was going to need some hope to survive the year. I will say that our country is in total chaos, but it is not as bad as I worried it would be. It saddens me to see the history he has destroyed with his upgrades but that is for another time. I picked hope for 2025 so I could keep my hope and try to focus on the positive sides of things and the positive that I hoped for. 

A Wrinkle in Time Graphic Novel & Stranger Things

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Are you a Stranger Things fan? I haven't watched it yet. It is on Hazel's and my list of shows to watch but with her at boarding school we don't have enough time to watch everything on the list! However, it is all the radio morning show I listen to has been talking about for a couple of months. They are on Season 5, and it is the final season. The second volume of Season 5 dropped last night! Apparently in the first episode of Season 5, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle is the center of the plot, and Episode 6 is called "Escape from Camazotz." Camazotz is a planet that is controlled by IT in A Wrinkle in Time. When copies of A Wrinkle in Time or A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel were offered for review as well as sharing as part of the Stranger Things drop, I jumped at the offer. I loved A Wrinkle in Time when I was younger and bought the entire boxed set for Hazel when she was younger. One of my favorite devotionals was written by Madeline L'Engle or at least it consisted of pieces of her writing. Needless to say, I am a fan! Today we are sharing A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Madeline L'Engle and adapted and illustrated by Hope Larson. It is recommended for ages 8 to 11.