The picture book Ice in the Jungle (Child’s Play-International) is the story of a polar bear family that emigrates to the jungle. There, a young bear named Ice must learn a new language and find her way in a culture very different from her own. Author/illustrator Ariane Hofmann-Maniyar created the book to honor her in-laws,… Read more »
I’m Your Neighbor Books is a infinitely proud to again partner with Indigo Arts Alliance and Diverse BookFinder for their annual production of The Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival. The team is hard at work at planning the August 2021 festival and I’m Your Neighbor Books will continue to bring the Black immigrant voice to… Read more »
I’m Your Neighbor Books is proud to have been profiled by Amjambo Africa. We had a wide-ranging conversation about the powers of telling the “many voices” of our African neighbors through books. Amjambo Africa! is a news service that helps New Mainers thrive and helps Maine welcome and benefit from our new neighbors. The print… Read more »
New in Paperback I’m Your Neighbor Books is delighted to announce that Katherine Marsh’s acclaimed Syrian refugee novel Nowhere Boy (MacKids) is now available in paperback. Many educators and community groups have been eager to use the book in community-wide, school-wide, and full classroom reads to create conversations on immigration and allyship. The release of… Read more »
“What do immigrant kids think of the program?” —Curry College Student This was the final question that was asked of Welcoming Library co-founder Kate Cutko and Executive Director Kirsten Cappy. They were speaking to Kathy McDonough‘s Children’s Literature: Gateway to the World class about the founding of I’m Your Neighbor Books and the Welcoming Library…. Read more »
In 2012, I’m Your Neighbor Books began as a a book blog to share books set in our New Arrival and New American communities. In 2017, we added the Welcoming Library, a touring collection of acclaimed picture books and discussion materials to start conversations on immigration, welcoming, and belonging. In 2019, we became a national… Read more »
The children’s literature community — authors, illustrators, publishers, librarians, educators, reviewers, and readers — stunned I’m Your Neighbor Books with their overwhelming support this fall. With their support of the fundraisers Turning the Page: Children’s Literature Trivia Night and the KidLit Raffle to Support Immigrant Welcoming, we were gifted with over $10,000 in in-kind and… Read more »
I’m Your Neighbor Books is a proud member of the The Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center. The GPIWC serves as a hub of collaboration to strengthen the Maine immigrant community through language acquisition, economic integration and civic engagement through four pillar programs: 1) A co-working hub for immigrant run organizations and aligned community groups (like… Read more »
KidLit Raffle to Support Immigrant Welcoming Over 750 tickets were sold for the chance to win 1 of 55 prizes! Did you get lucky?! Author/illustrator Melissa Sweet & Kirsten Cappy of I’m Your Neighbor Books are extremely grateful to the donors, raffle ticket buyers, and the astonishing children’s literature creators that contributed to this raffle…. Read more »
Kenton County in Kentucky is bringing conversations on welcoming and belonging to its neighborhoods. Erlanger, Kentucky Mayor Jessica Fette and Kenton County Public Library Executive Director Dave Schroeder cut the ribbon on six neighborhood Little Free Libraries. The initial book collection for the libraries was funded by a $1000 grant from Save the Children, an… Read more »