“As a new mom, raising a wild and beautiful daughter in a bilingual and multicultural home, I felt this message growing within me and needing to come out—I wanted Annalucia to feel a calm sense of self acceptance when the world looked at her with questions in their eyes. They Will Ask: A Story About Embracing Our Differences is that message” — Lexa Duno-Andreu As I flip through the pages of They Will Ask: A Story About Embracing Our Differences for the tenth time, I am still amazed by the artwork and the impactful questions posed to the readers. Author Lexa Duno-Andreu and Illustrator Génesis ..read more

Happy Native American Heritage Month! Each November, we observe National Native American Heritage Month. During this month, we all should be engaging in the history, heritage, and current events of the first people of America. It is important that we do this throughout the whole year but particularly during this month that was advocated for by the community and activities.  Our keiki (children) and haumāna (students) have an innate love to learn about the world around them, including the people and cultures. As a teacher and now a māmā, it is so beautiful to see the energy and love little ..read more

Happy National Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month! Between September 15th and October 15th, our country celebrates National Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month that honors the contributions and cultures of both Hispanic and Latinx people. Yes, Hispanic & Latinx heritage and history should be taught year-round, but it is also important to honor the work of the communities and activists who advocated for these designated National Months. Hopefully, you have already started to observe this month with books, lessons, and discussions with your students and children. There have been some conv ..read more

National Day for Truth & Reconciliation is on September 30, 2022. It is a day that many Indigenous communities and activists advocated for in Canada. Please use the information and resources below to honor this day with your students and children worldwide. The picture books listed below are all written by Indigenous authors and/or Indigenous illustrators to ensure we are listening to Indigenous voices, especially while recognizing the tragedies of Residential and Boarding Schools in the US and Canada. What is the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation? What Can We Do for Truth & ..read more

Happy Back-to-School Time! This used to be one of my favorite times of the year when I taught elementary between setting up the classroom, meeting my students, planning with my colleagues, and talking with my families. I want to honor that we are coming out of a rough 2+ years in Education and Back-to-School will be exciting for some and harrowing to others. However you are feeling in your Back-to-School journey, I see you and I feel for you.  The first few weeks of school are so important to set up a strong classroom community or get your own children ready to tackle the new year! Books ..read more

Happy Back-to-School Time! This used to be one of my favorite times of the year when I taught elementary between setting up the classroom, meeting my students, planning with my colleagues, and talking with my families. I want to honor that we are coming out of a rough 2+ years in Education and Back-to-School will be exciting for some and harrowing to others. However you are feeling in your Back-to-School journey, I see you and I feel for you.  The first few weeks of school are so important to set up a strong classroom community or get your own children ready to tackle the new year! Books ..read more

Happy Back-to-School Time! This used to be one of my favorite times of the year when I taught elementary between setting up the classroom, meeting my students, planning with my colleagues, and talking with my families. I want to honor that we are coming out of a rough 2+ years in Education and Back-to-School will be exciting for some and harrowing to others. However you are feeling in your Back-to-School journey, I see you and I feel for you.  The first few weeks of school are so important to set up a strong classroom community or get your own children ready to tackle the new year! Books ..read more

Hello Colorful Pages Community! It has been a little while since I have posted consistently. Some of you know that this was because I was actually pregnant with my husband’s and my first child. It was an intense pregnancy and birth journey, but we were lucky to have a lot of support from our ohana and communities. And, at the end of June, our son was born! To respect our privacy, you will see me reference him as his nickname (that we’ve had for him since we found out we were pregnant): Bean.  To celebrate and mark his birth, I thought it would be fun for me to do a list of Diverse Board ..read more

Many classrooms are gearing up for the most famous book holiday ever: Read Across America Day. Originally, Read Across America Day, or “Dr. Seuss Day” was created in honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2nd. However, a few years ago, The Conscious Kid published an article titled, “The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti- Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss’s Children’s Books” that enlightened the education community about the explicit racism that Dr. Seuss engaged in. Ever since then, educators and families have put a stop to Dr. Seuss Day and rebranded Read Across America Day ..read more

Happy First Month of School for so many of our Colorful Pages Community! I am feeling a flood of emotions as the first day with my Kindergarteners rapidly approaches. There are so many conflicting rules, instructions, and mandates that I am hearing all around me – “Make sure students are working collaboratively” but “keep them at least three feet apart”; “center social emotional learning” but also “make sure to fill in those ‘gaps’ from the last two years to get them back up to ‘standard’”. It is maddening. With all of this anxiety swarming around me, the clearest thing I am clinging to in my ..read more