Cynthia Harmony

First bookish newsletter! Hola, so happy you’re joining me in this journey sharing love and pride for my culture and community through the eyes of beautiful diverse characters who finally get to be protagonists of all kinds of...

First bookish newsletter! 🥳 Short read with updates, links, book recs, discount code and giveaways to come...

#kidlit
open.substack.com/pub/cynthiah...

Dear parents:

You see all this stupidity going around? Please read to your kids. Let them see you reading. Keep books around. Buy them books if you can. Show them how cool the library is. Tell them book banning is bad. Make reading part of their lives. It helps make good people.

“No Kings” demonstration, Ocean Beach, San Francisco

Graphic with a swirling background made up of alternating light pink and dark pink stripes. At the top, in curved yellow letters are the words, “Cover Reveal.” Beneath is a thumbnail image of the book cover for “Apapacho Love,” written by Cynthia Harmony and illustrated by Erika Meza. The cover shows a Latine child embracing their parent in a warm hug, as yellow sparks and squiggles emerge from behind them. At the bottom of the graphic is the book’s release date, which is January 13th, 2026.

Graphic with a swirling background made up of alternating light pink and dark pink stripes. At the center is a pink box with rounded corners containing a brief synopsis for the upcoming picture book, “Apapacho Love,” written by Cynthia Harmony and illustrated by Erika Meza. The summary reads as follows: “Every day for Luna starts and ends with Mami’s apapachos. Her warm cuddles fill Luna's heart, like stars fill the sky. They make her feel safe. They make her feel seen. But, oh no, Mami has to take a trip! What will Luna do without Mami's hugs? Maybe…apapachos can come from other people, too. Like Abue’s, which makes Luna feel brave. And Daddy’s, which makes her giggle. Not to mention her dog, Benito’s wet nuzzle which tells her to rise and shine with a smile. It turns out even when Mami’s far away, her love is all around. Apapacho love is everywhere! A gorgeous picture book featuring a Mexican American family that’s as comforting as a warm embrace – great for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and baby gifts!”

We’re thrilled to share a first look at the beautiful cover for APAPACHO LOVE, written by @cynthiaharmony.bsky.social and illustrated by @erikadraws.bsky.social!

APAPACHO LOVE will be published by FSG Young Readers and released on January 13th, 2025.

📖 Learn more: bit.ly/4kkpl4s

Congrats Karen, looking forward to reading!

thank you for sharing friend! 🧡

Hoping to attend your session on Saturday!

Tucson friends: workshop for children Saturday March 15th 2.30pm Education Room 349 and book signing, see you soon! #kidlit #booksigning #tucsonfestivalofbooks

a cartoon of a hamster with the words hi on the bottom ALT: a cartoon of a hamster with the words hi on the bottom

Happy you're here!

Here’s what I (truly!!!) don’t understand — why? Isn’t? There? Backlash???! Like WHY IS IT ALLOWED??? TO JUST REVERSE??? A CENTURY OF DIPLOMACY??? OFFEND OUR ALLIES??? SIDE WITH OUR ENEMIES??? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS HAPPENING????

Monthly reminder: Many people have a book in them, but it takes a special kind of freak to leave the Land of Laziness, cross the Plains of Procrastination and Insecurity Mountain, find the Blade of No One Made You Do This, and use it to cut your chest open and yank that book out.

Oh so gorgeous!

For the record, do I think a one-day boycott is going to make much of an economic impact? No. Do I think that a sort of "Baby's First Boycott," performative though it is, might be useful to make some folks aware of the impact of their economic power, and how it might be wielded politically? Maybe.

Striking how easily you can get millions of people to vote for a boot on their own face just by lying to them about the boot going on someone else's face.

Thanks so much for sharing!

Congratulations Debbie! 🎉

Congratulations, well deserved! 🎉

Congratulations! 🎉

Because young people dream, hope, and dare. I was one of them when I voted in my first presidential election in Mexico, my generation didn’t listen to the “adults” and ended a 70 yo corrupt regime. Young people hold change and stories can reaffirm and strengthen that truth.

It’s really hard not to see it that way, odd timing

White House Executive Order Risks Pushing Diverse Viewpoints, Identities and Histories Out of Classrooms Nationwide - PEN America The Trump Administration’s Executive Order, ‘Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling’, claims to undo indoctrination, but in fact enforces its own ideological conformity on public education an...

PEN America: Trump Administration’s EO, 'Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,' claims to undo indoctrination, but in fact enforces its own ideological conformity on public education and poses a serious threat to free expression in education. pen.org/press-releas...

“President Trump issued an executive order to find out what education funds he can legally rescind based on curriculum he doesn’t like. Existing law already answers that question — nothing.”
- California Dept. Of Education

What can you do about book banning? How can you support essential public institutions of democracy like public libraries and public schools? Want to understand why "school choice" is an outright lie?

I've got OVER FOUR YEARS of those answers and more in this pinned thread.

🎉 Thank you!

Notable Children's Books - 2025 under construction Each year a committee of ALSC identifies the best of the best in children's books. According to the Notables Criteria, "notable" is defined as: Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outs...

Friends, A Flicker of Hope is an ALA Notable book!! #kidlit
Thank you @wearealsc.bsky.social

@devonholzwarth.bsky.social
@jmcgowanbks.bsky.social
@penguinschoollib.bsky.social

www.ala.org/alsc/awardsg...

Full circle, congratulations!! 🎉

So happy to see this one 🎉congratulations! @cynleitichsmith.bsky.social

Congrats! 🎉

The Authors Against Book Bans statement about the DOE rollback on Book Bans is on our Instagram account now, and will be disseminated to media outlets tomorrow. AUTHORS AGAINST BOOK BANS RESPONSE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S STATEMENT SUPPORTING BOOK BANS IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS Today, the Department of Education announced plans to dismiss eleven outstanding complaints against book bans, and to eliminate the position of Book Ban Coordinator at the Office of Civil Rights (OCR). This distortion of the intended work of the OCR–the protection of civil rights and students’ freedoms in our nation's schools–is negligent, grossly un-American, and in direct conflict with freedom of speech, a bedrock right enshrined in the Constitution. Authors Against Book Bans unequivocally stands against all such attempts at censorship and discrimination. We stand with families, students and educators across the country who exercise free speech every time they open a book, and with the 71% of Americans who are opposed to book bans. Book bans do not protect children; history teaches us that they are a terrifying step toward tyranny.

Authors Against Book Bans responds to the DOE statement supporting book banning in American public schools

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