Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids
By Kip Fulbeck. Foreword by Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng. Afterword by Cher

Excerpt – “I have a personal stake in this. For starters, as an artist, I’ve created work exploring personal identity for the better part of two decades. In many ways, I’ve bet my career on the fact that we all have a need to tell our own stories, to define ourselves, and I’ve been fortunate enough to share this work with audiences of all ages all over the world. But this book is something more significant. On March 21, 2009, I became a father. My son, Jack, was born—named after my own father. And in this one moment, my life, and the meaning behind my entire work as an artist, shifted significantly. After two decades making art that questions the very idea of race, that explores the complications and consequences of choosing sides or affiliations (or worse, having them chosen for you), that argues against the concepts of compartmentalization, categorization, and conceptual laziness, my stakes have suddenly been raised.”

Photos from the book Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids are currently on exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, California (March 20, 2010 to September 26th, 2010)

via Chronicle Books

The Heart and the Bottle, a new book by Oliver Jeffers – via swiss-miss.com – thank you Tina for the heads up, I am just as excited as you and Ella!

“Project Zero, a research group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has investigated the development of learning processes in children, adults, and organizations since 1967. Today, Project Zero is building on this research to help create communities of reflective, independent learners; to enhance deep understanding within disciplines; and to promote critical and creative thinking. Project Zero’s mission is to understand and enhance learning, thinking, and creativity in the arts, as well as humanistic and scientific disciplines, at the individual and institutional levels.”

I first discovered Howard Gardner and Project Zero during a conference in Reggio Emila (February 2007) – I was browsing through the conference book store and decided to purchase a collaboration between the Reggio schools and Project Zero, titled “Make Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners”

“Films for Change is a bilingual National Film Board program designed to integrate documentary films on the environment into secondary level education.” Don’t be intimidated by “secondary level education” as these resources are valuable for children of all ages, as you know, it all depends on how you use them. “A comprehensive Teacher’s Guide is available to help students develop media literacy and environmental skills as well as to create an opportunity for students to implement environmental action projects in the classroom.

“As a fan of typography, the work of Herb Lubalin and Avant Garde Magazine, I wanted to share what I had learned about the colorful past of the magazine’s namesake font. Many of the people associated in the tale are personal heroes of mine, but if you are a bit of a design geek, I think you’ll find it’s quite an amazing story.” by Duane King…Read more @thinkforaliving.org…

The Suitcase Series Volume 1: Camilla Engman

It has been a while since I have checked in with Camilla… glad I came across this project before they completely sold out …

“Artist Camilla Engman may live in Gothenburg, Sweden, but her appeal is international. A professional illustrator and exhibiting artist, her images are whimsical, poignant, humourous and insightful. With her keen eye for finding the extraordinary in the everyday, Camilla documents her inspirations and endeavors on her popular blog – camillaengman.blogspot.com

“The Suitcase Series presents in glorious detail the lives of select artists and designers. The books are image-based, full of artwork, sketchbook pages, beautiful photographs and artifacts from where the artists live and work. The book becomes a precious souvenir of a creative journey shared between the reader and the artist.

Camilla’s book also includes a mini booklet about Morran, the little Swedish dog with a big imagination, a glassine envelope containing 4 postcards, and a baggage tag/bookmark: all held together with a custom-printed band. Preorders will ship with a two-colour art print and assorted swedish papers (limited quantity).” - Uppercase – on sale in the Uppercase Shop…

I have always been troubled by the ‘bean sitting in a damp paper towel on the window sill in a clear plastic cup’. It is easy, mess-free and rather quick to reward – parents expect it, but is it a true learning experience? I think it is time we scrap this yearly ritual and look into what other options we have for ‘growing’ in the classroom. Grow Great Grub is a book I would like to see being used by teachers and children to explore the possibilities that may exist around them.

“Your patio, balcony, rooftop, front stoop, windowsill, or planter box is a potential fresh food garden waiting to happen. In this book, Gayla Trail, the founder of the leading online gardening community You Grow Girl, shows you how to grow your own delicious, affordable, organic edibles virtually anywhere.”

Congratulations Gayla! Your drive and accomplishments never cease to amaze me.

Coming Soon… well, not really. April 2010.

The Children’s Museum of the Arts is celebrating the innovative artwork of Menena Cottin and Rosana Faria with an exhibition dedicated to their children’s book The Black Book of Colors. Winner of the 2007 New Horizons Award at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the book teaches sighted children how people without sight can experience colors through sound, smell, touch and taste. As part of the educational programming inspired by the exhibition, CMA has partnered with Lighthouse International, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing critically needed vision and rehabilitation services, to explore art projects with their Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten students. The original artwork created by the children will also be displayed at CMA.”

via minordetails

“A first of its kind, this book portrays the growing sustainability movement in American K-12 education. It showcases inspiring stories of public, independent, and charter schools across the country. It offers hope, inspiration, and expert advice, while documenting a rising trend that is good news for education and the environment.

Smart by Nature is beautifully written by our senior editor, Michael K. Stone, who has covered education for sustainable living for nearly a decade. It features a foreword by Daniel Goleman, author of Ecological Intelligence, and has already been endorsed by the National Wildlife Federation, David W. Orr, Alice Waters, and others.

Since many of you have already asked, here are a few ways you can help:

* Write a short review on Amazon.com
* Send this message to all your friends and all the educators you know
* Become a fan on our new Facebook page and share your thoughts
* Blog about it
* Ask your local bookseller to carry it
* Buy copies for the schools you care about

We encourage you to purchase your copy from University of California Press. Smart by Nature is also available from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

Thank you for your support and for being a part of this vital community.”

Warmly,
Zenobia Barlow
Cofounder and Executive Director