We Are Free You and Me by Colin Kaepernick and Nessa Diab

We Are Free You and Me by Colin Kaepernick and Nessa Diab

Not only are Kaepernick’s children’s picture books thought provoking and fun to read aloud, they are an example of social entrepreneurship of the purest kind, as 100% of their proceeds go to Know Your Rights Camp, which provides over $1.75 million in partnerships and collaborative grants to Black and brown communities as well as all-inclusive camps that are conducted nationwide to educate and empower Black and brown youth to be the change they want to see.

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The Importance of Repetition
Children, Education, Published, Children's Books, Essays Melissa Rooney Children, Education, Published, Children's Books, Essays Melissa Rooney

The Importance of Repetition

If you want your kids to digest the information in a book, you have to read it more than once. And it’s always best if you read it *together*. Many teaching styles are based on engaging repetition, including those of well-known Shinichi Suzuki. My hope is that you will approach my children’s books in this way as well.

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The Lion King at DPAC Boasts a Top-Notch Cast and Spectacular Production Values
Published, Arts, Children, Music, Sustainability Melissa Rooney Published, Arts, Children, Music, Sustainability Melissa Rooney

The Lion King at DPAC Boasts a Top-Notch Cast and Spectacular Production Values

Much like "The Festival of the Lion King" performance that comes with tickets to Disney World's Animal Kingdom theme park, the Broadway musical features actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. The Lion King (musical), which has been on Broadway since 1997, is Broadway's third longest-running show in history and the highest-grossing Broadway production of all time. But unlike the movie or amusement-park production, The Lion King (musical) puts its audience in the center of the life-sized animals that are integral to its Hamlet-like plot and message.

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Mix A Pancake by Christina Rossetti and Monique Felix: A Review
Children's Books, Children, Published, Poetry Melissa Rooney Children's Books, Children, Published, Poetry Melissa Rooney

Mix A Pancake by Christina Rossetti and Monique Felix: A Review

Mix a Pancake, the latest book illustrated by Monique Felix for Creative Editions, an imprint of The Creative Company, is a kitten-filled visual feast akin to the Little Golden Books that have lined children’s bookshelves since 1942. This comes as no surprise, given that The Creative Company, itself, was founded just 10 years earlier, in 1932. 

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See This Little Dot by Jane Yolen and Laetitia Devernay: A Review
Children's Books, Children, Published Melissa Rooney Children's Books, Children, Published Melissa Rooney

See This Little Dot by Jane Yolen and Laetitia Devernay: A Review

True to its mission of pairing clear and compelling written content with “the most brilliant illustrations,” Creative Editions—an imprint of The Creative Company, founded in 1932—can be proud of their next thought-provoking and eye-catching creation in Jane Yolen’s and Laetitia Devernay’s newest picture book, See This Little Dot.

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Home Is Where the Heart Is (Emma Dodd's Love You Books)

Home Is Where the Heart Is (Emma Dodd's Love You Books)

“Home Is Where the Heart Is features a mother cat and her young kitten, who live in a house that clearly has human owners. The story uses simple and repetitive words to describe what “home” means to all of us, emphasizing the security that notion provides even when we are far away from our physical house and/or one another.”

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DSA Theatre Troupe 5765's Into the Woods Meets Sold-Out Audience's Expectations
Published, Arts, Relationships, Community, Children Melissa Rooney Published, Arts, Relationships, Community, Children Melissa Rooney

DSA Theatre Troupe 5765's Into the Woods Meets Sold-Out Audience's Expectations

“Director and DSA theatre teacher Douglas Graves can once again hold his head high with DSA’s 2023-24 high school students’ performance of this year’s production of Into the Woods, as should assistant stage managers Clark Beckstrom, Emily Neill, and Sasha Wolfrum, all DSA students. DSA students were responsible for every part of the production, which was sometimes hard to believe given its professional quality.”

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This Book Is Banned: A Hilarious Picture Book about Censorship and Free Speech

This Book Is Banned: A Hilarious Picture Book about Censorship and Free Speech

“Let’s face it. Without their caretakers' insistent input, most children do not know that books are being made unavailable to them at their schools. It’s debatable whether adult caretakers who oppose book bans even want them to. But the adult-child combination who reads This Book Is Banned together will have fun discussing the issue of “banning” in the hypothetical, thanks to the busy and engaging illustrations and text that await them.”

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See the Ghost: Three Stories About Things You Cannot See
Education, Children's Books, Published, Children Melissa Rooney Education, Children's Books, Published, Children Melissa Rooney

See the Ghost: Three Stories About Things You Cannot See

“Though it is meant to be read by early elementary students, middle-grade students will enjoy reading this book to their younger siblings and classmates, thanks to the clever trickery within its pages. For the same reason, See the Ghost makes a good, non-baby-ish picture book to share with reading-challenged students in middle-school and beyond.”

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Mom’s Hugs and Kisses: A Review
Children's Books, Published, Children Melissa Rooney Children's Books, Published, Children Melissa Rooney

Mom’s Hugs and Kisses: A Review

Like Nancy Tafuri’s All Kinds of Kisses and Steven Henry’s picture book by the same name, Loupy’s story describes the different kisses given by numerous animals, in this case through a puppy protagonist who requests and receives others' kisses throughout the day. In the end, of course, “the best kiss of all is the kiss he gets from his mother.”

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Q&A with Amberjack Author Melissa Rooney, Creator of Eddie the Electron
Education, Children's Books, Published, Children Melissa Rooney Education, Children's Books, Published, Children Melissa Rooney

Q&A with Amberjack Author Melissa Rooney, Creator of Eddie the Electron

My Ph.D. advisor urged me to come back to work for him, eventually making me an offer he thought I couldn’t refuse. When I finally admitted that I hated lab work and, by no means, wanted to return to academics, he asked me, insistently, how I was going to put my degree to use. I told him I’ve always wanted to write a children’s book, he gave me a deadline, and Eddie the Electron was born.

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What to do with a Stick, by Jane Yolen: A Book Review
Inspiration, Children's Books, Published, Children Melissa Rooney Inspiration, Children's Books, Published, Children Melissa Rooney

What to do with a Stick, by Jane Yolen: A Book Review

My 1st review for New York Journal of Books is Jane Yolen's What To Do With A Stick. JY’s Owl Moon is one of my absolute favorites - I take it to elementary writing residencies. The story being written by one of my current Winston Salem students centers on a stick, which I is surely no coincidence…

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Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill Earns a Standing Ovation at the Durham Performing Arts Center

Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill Earns a Standing Ovation at the Durham Performing Arts Center

When the musical debuted in 2018, it became the highest-grossing production at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA, which is no surprise, given that Alanis Morissette's album by the same name is considered one of the most important albums of the '90s and of the alternative rock genre in general, selling 33 million copies, topping the charts in 13 countries, and winning five GRAMMYS, including Album of the Year….

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Simple, Proven Self-Care Strategies for Kids

Simple, Proven Self-Care Strategies for Kids

As with other essential disciplines, teaching your child the importance of self care begins with you. You must model healthy habits in your own life and show your child real-life examples of prioritizing them. This is not only good for your child, it’s good for you. With the help of Melissa B. Rooney, we share some simple tips…

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