jakvmx.blogg.se

A delightful celebration.” -Kirkus Reviews, starred review “This lovely celebration of African American culture, featuring a Muslim family, offers a fresh way to look at the tradition of creating new names. Discussing writing identity and representation as a children’s book author.Teaching the craft and process of becoming a children’s book author.Read aloud of her books as if the adults were young children and then answering questions about them (this has been requested a number of times!).Presenting principles for making writing workshop spaces inclusive for all children.Discussing the social justice implications and uses of children’s books (with a focus on anti-racism).Some representative adult programs she has done includes: She also worked as a lead instructional designer and fellow for Muslim Anti-Racist Collaborative, writing antiracist curricula for all age groups in Muslim-centered spaces and creating foundational learning frameworks for use for future curricular design.

Through her work as a nonprofit program director, she trained staff and volunteers in teaching writing to youth and developed a wide variety of writing units and workshops. As an educator, she taught middle and high school English for over ten years and then directed programs at a nonprofit writing center for children ages 2-17. She has an M.Ed in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S.Ed in Secondary English from Temple University and is certified to teach secondary English and secondary social studies.

In addition to being an accomplished author, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow is an experienced ELA professional development provider and antiracist educator who loves to speak on these topics. Her picture books and middle grade fiction, which feature young Black and Muslim protagonists, have been recognized as the best in children’s literature by Time Magazine, NCTE, and NPR, and she is a 2021 Irma Black Award Honor author.Ī former teacher and forever educator at heart, she is probably most proud that her picture book Your Name Is a Song was named a NEA Read Across America book and that it is included in the standardized curriculums of major school districts throughout the United States. In addition to producing children’s literature, she invests her time in the mentorship of aspiring children’s book authors through multiple programs including We Need Diverse Books and the Muslim Storytellers Fellowship of the Highlights Foundation where she is also a program committee member. As an inaugural fellow with the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC), she also developed foundational curricular frameworks for youth and adult anti-racist programming and this work continues to influence her writing. A former English teacher, she educated children and teens in traditional and alternative learning settings for more than 15 years. Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, M.S.Ed, is a Philadelphia-based, award-winning children’s book author.