Random Acts of Reading: RoAR Indie Author Series

Anneke saw a gap in diverse books and sought to fill it in 2005 and Language Lizard was born. The mission is to supply diverse and multicultural content to students, their families, and teachers. With over 60 languages, the reach of Language Lizard has grown but the mission remains: multicultural literacy is a keystone. Anneke shares her journey, the books associated with Random Acts of Reading, and why she's passionate about d...

Rita Bhandari is a Canadian-based educator who never thought she would be an author. But her experiences growing up biracial and watching her students interact prompted her to understand how society perceives and teaches race, especially to children. The Ace Compeers: The Secrets of Skin Tone is a book series that discusses the science behind skin tone and racial differences, a journey of inquisitive characters on a mission to lear...

Alejandra Domenzain has always been an avid reader... and thus a writer, filling dozens of journals throughout her life. As her path unfolded, she found herself advocating for immigrants' rights, noticing there were very few stories about this topic available to children. So, she turned her experience and her passion into a book for kids, not only to educate but also, in hope, to ignite a spark for them to discover their own in...

As a child, Kristian was intrigued by monsters and horror stories, even terrifying classmates with his gory own tales. As time has passed, Kristian now desires to share this passion for monsters and creepy things in a fun and lighthearted way. Essentially, his goal is to depict these scary creatures as approachable beings and flip the script on their terrorizing legacies. We discuss his writing process, why he wanted to stop scarin...

As an educator, Alva Sachs has a passion for literacy and a knack for engaging with children. Her devotion to students has led her to be President of Reading Is Fundamental of Southern California for over a decade and her books have garnered numerous awards. In our conversation, she highlights how her classroom life impacted her author's journey and how involving kids with creativity can be the key to success and confidence.

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As a leader in education, Analiza Wolf likes a good book. But when she was seeking stories with characters from Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander descent, she came up empty-handed. Ever the innovator, Analiza took matters into her own hands, writing a book entitled Asian Americans who inspire. This first book showcases the incredible talents and intelligence of numerous role models, all from Asian heritage. We discuss her journe...

After her young daughter was dismayed by the trash scattered on the beach, a family trip to the water turned in to a clean-up effort. Maritza Mejia scribbled the tale and saved it. Nearly 20 years later she surprised her daughter by publishing it. The Purple Shell is a book about ecological awareness, a topic dear to Maritza's heart. But it also holds another passion: bilingual proficiency. After visiting the USA, Maritza was d...

With over 30 books in print, Sheri initially began her career in illustrating and education, drawing for scientific resources. Her passion for sharing information exploded into various nonfiction books about nature and critters. Sheri continues to write and educate, specializing in books for elementary children. In our conversation, she shares her background, motivation for her work, and why she creepy crawling creatures incredibly...

As a mom of a multi-faith family, Lauren was seeking holiday tales about Judaism to complement the plethora of Christmas books on her shelves. Only, to her surprise, she couldn't find any stories highlighting cherished family traditions she was searching for. Thus, she penned "The Great Latke Cook Off;" a story of family, food and friendly competition. In our conversation, Lauren shares what inspired her to ...

An accomplished songwriter and musician, Tracey found solace walking the gardens of Sea World.Watching the majestic animals move about their narrowed aquatic life, Tracey was inspired to tell the tale of one of the most famous captive orcas, Tilikum.Her book, Tilikum's Dream, highlights the story of this magnificent and complicated creature and how perhaps in his controversy he was only seeking one thing: to be free. Random A...

Bonnie Morris has spent her life dedicated to studying and defining Women's History. While a quick Google search will list her many contributions and accolades, she deviated from academia work to pen a children's book influenced by her career. "Big and Strong, I Belong" is designed to encourage young girls to embrace their attributes and unapologetically take up space in the world. This book is also a great for p...

As a Brazilian native, Marta Magellan fell in love with language and literature when she immigrated to the USA as a young girl. By the age of nine, she knew she wanted to be an author. Marta spent her career as a creative writing educator at Miami Dade College while also penning nonfiction children's books. In our conversation, we discuss her journey as a writer and why it's important to tell stories about certain creatures...

After struggling to find books with Chinese culture and language, Eugenia began to create tales for her young son. Eventually, Eugenia wrote the tales down, but never planned to share them with the world.  As years went by and still there was a lack of Chinese culture in children's books, Eugenia was motivated to published stories. Now, she has multiple tales focusing on Chinese culture and customs, all inspired by her desire ...

Podcast host Brianna Carter shares her book and motivation for creating a differently abled character. Like many of the authors in Random Acts of Reading, it was her son who ignited her desire to finally author a book and some incredible loved ones who showed her what true strength looked like. Listen now!  More about Positively Penelope: www.positivelypenelope.com  Random Acts of Reading: https://randomactsofreading.org/...

Ajanta Chakraborty, founder of Bollywood Groove and Culture Groove noticed a lack of South Asian books and characters, particularly those depicting customs from India. She decided to create them herself, crafting a series of stories to connect people with different aspects of Indian culture, cuisine, customs, and places. From song and dance to food and dress, Ajanta is committed to sharing the distinct nuances in India's dynamic re...

For Dr. Eleanor Wint, becoming an author was a process that began through her work in academia. While working on a separate book, it was her granddaughter, Lois, who was inspired to create a story about her penguin, Tweet Tweet. Lois was struggling with school bullies and her Tweet Tweet adventures not only mirrored her frustrations, but they also held the answers to her own dilemmas. Listen now to hear how "Gogo" supported her gra...

Superheroes don't always wear capes, some where noise canceling headphones. Led Bradshaw was always intrigued by comic books and superheroes, ever since he was a child. When is own son, Jake, was diagnosed with Autism, he turned to art therapy to support Jake's educational path. And then, things changed. Art therapy was the link that made things click, and suddenly the father and son duo were crafting stories, and Jake Jetpulse was...

Melissa-Sue John had noticed there was a lack of diversity in children's books. After some powerful words from her then 7-year-old daughter, she decided to be the solution, forging her own publishing house and crafting tales inspired by her daughters. Seeking to answer questions swirling in curious young minds, Melissa-Sue shares everything from occupations to explaining cultural clothing items in her Olivia Lauren series.  &n...

Athletes. Doctors. Actors. Child designers owning fashion week. In the middle of America's social justice crisis, Crystel looked around and saw an overflow of inspirational individuals. Determined to change the narrative and infuse children's literature with positive Black stories and tales that embrace differences, she began her mission, empowered by her own young sons. Now, she has penned multiple books with protagonists all chil...