Tricky Tooth

Fran Manushkin is the author of many popular picture books, including How Mama Brought the Spring; Baby, Come Out!; Latkes and Applesauce: A Hanukkah Story; and The Tushy Book. There is a real Katie Woo — she's Fran's great-niece — but she never gets in half the trouble of the Katie Woo in the books. Fran writes on her beloved MacBook in New York City. Tammie Lyon, the illustrator of the Katie Woo and Pedro series, says that these characters are two of her favorites. Tammie has illustrated work for Disney, Scholastic, Simon and Schuster, Penguin, HarperCollins, and Amazon Publishing, to name a few. She is also an author/illustrator of her own stories. Her first picture book, Olive and Snowflake, was released to starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal. Tammie lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband Lee and two dogs, Amos and Artie. She spends her days working in her home studio in the woods, surrounded by wildlife and, of course, two mostly-always-sleeping dogs Tammie Lyon, the illustrator of the Katie Woo and Pedro series, says that these characters are two of her favorites. Tammie has illustrated work for Disney, Scholastic, Simon and Schuster, Penguin, HarperCollins, and Amazon Publishing, to name a few. She is also an author/illustrator of her own stories. Her first picture book, Olive and Snowflake, was released to starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal. Tammie lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband Lee and two dogs, Amos and Artie. She spends her days working in her home studio in the woods, surrounded by wildlife and, of course, two mostly-always-sleeping dogs.

Growing up, I was an avid reader. I loved book series because they gave you got to see your favorite characters grow. Today, when I’m observing the books students choose to read and what they check out from their school libraries, I’m struck by a major difference in some of their popular fiction versus what I grew up reading. When I was growing up, it was quite a task to find a book series featuring a female protagonist who was not white. Ramona Quimby, Nancy Drew, the Sweet Valley Twins, 95% of the Babysitter’s Club, etc. were all white. They are wonderful books and children from any race can read and enjoy stories about these characters, but I wondered what young black, Hispanic, Asian, and other races lost when they got few chances to read books about characters that look like them. If any race can read and love Ramona, shouldn’t they all be given the chance to read and relate to a black character, or an Asian one? Why don’t publishers make more of these books? Tough we are aware of the reasons why it’s important for students to read books like this, there is still a paucity of books available that spotlight racially diverse characters. Nevertheless, there are now a lot more options for young readers. I love seeing girls with their noses in books, and I was struck when I saw girls of all races reading two series starring diverse female protagonists: Katie Woo and Dyamonde Daniel . Katie Woo is an award-winning series for young readers. Katie’s series contains short sentences and nice illustrations for students just beginning chapter books. Her covers are as vivid and inviting as her stories! Katie is in first grade and she’s had to deal with the loss of a beloved pet , a bully and lying . I love that likeable series features an Asian protagonist, though it is sadly one of the few I’ve ever seen that does so. http://substitutesftw.blogspot.com/2011/06/diverse-book-series-for-young-readers.html