Hello dear readers, once again I have a wonderful new guest blogger to introduce to all of you. She leads many lives, all of which sound, as we New Englanders say, wicked fun. She’s immensely talented and has the honor of being my boss at Speakaboos (that’s how much of a pleasure it is to work with me folks). But enough out me, here’s some stuff about the lovely and talented Christina, this week’s guest blogger! Christina Zagarino is a content producer for Speakaboos by day, secretary for CMA by night, and fan of Mister Rogers for life. Prior to working in children’s media, Christina studied educational theater at NYU and was an arts education administrator and teaching artist at the New Victory Theater on 42nd Street, where she honed her juggling skills and developed a deep love for circus arts. Christina received her Master’s degree from Tufts University in Child Development in 2011, and was a 2010 recipient of the Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship which allowed her to produce a series of five interstitials that used circus arts to promote physical activity (www.bigtopfitness.com). Stay tuned for the upcoming Speakaboos app, available in the AppStore this month! Take it away, Christina!
Matthew Shepherd. Does that name ring a bell? Lesléa Newman described at Books of Wonder on the evening of Wednesday, April 17th, that some young people she has met don’t know who Matthew Shepherd was. That’s one reason why her book is so important and timely.
Lesléa Newman is the author of October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepherd, a collection of poems in honor of Shepherd through the voice of inanimate objects, or “silent witnesses,” that surrounded the events of his death in 1998. When Lesléa began speaking about her new book, I wondered what her connection to Shepherd (or “Matt”) was and why she was so inspired to write the collection of poems. http://www.amazon.com/October-Mourning-Song-Matthew-Shepard/dp/0763658073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366399401&sr=8-1&keywords=october+mourning
Lesléa’s progress as an author is creatively inspiring. When she decided to write Heather Has Two Mommies, she couldn’t find a publisher that was willing to take the project on. So, with a friend’s help, she fundraised the book herself and self-published. It reminded me of what might now happen on Kickstarter. The book launched her into a mix of praise and controversy, and ultimately, success, making her a modern pioneer in children’s literature. Her personal success story reminded me that some of my favorite picture books such as And Tango Makes Three are now published and welcomed into families’ homes because of Lesléa.
