If the pandemic and the Trump-era taught me anything, it’s that we need to be conscious citizens. In fact, we can’t afford to be unconscious. Democracy and the assurance of justice require us to remain woke, vigilant, and engaged in the way our society runs itself. Because of this, parenting includes a responsibility to raise our kids to be conscious citizens, too.

Because I’ve been thinking through this concept of kids and activism so much lately, I decided to put it all down into a book. After talking to all you parents about your children for so long, I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to speak directly to the kids. In this episode, I’m talking all about the book with my illustrator, Lynnor Bontigao. This was a collaboration effort, with Lynnor being just as, if not more, important to the content of the story as I was. Tune in to hear the story behind You Are Revolutionary and the process of publishing it.

Show Highlights:

• How a passion for advocating for the rights of kids to make an impact on policy and a short poem inspired me to write a children’s book.
• Lynnor’s background in drawing.
• Her experience working as a programmer for 15 years.
• How she became an illustrator through social media.
• The process she goes through when drawing for her followers or herself versus the process she goes through when drawing for someone else’s work.
• Listening to and nurturing the creative voice inside of us.
• Why Lynnor chose to illustrate an Asian kid with freckles for the book cover.
• How she balances logic and creativity when she’s drawing.
• The joy of working on children’s books.
• How we have both been impacted by marginalization and hoped for better representation.

Links (affiliates included):

Preorder YOU ARE REVOLUTIONARY here: https://www.beamingbooks.com/store/product/9781506478302/You-Are-Revolutionary

Lynnor’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/lbontigao/

Parenting After Purity Culture Conference – https://www.parentingforwardconference.com

Join us at the Parenting Forward Patreon Team – https://www.patreon.com/cindywangbrandt

Parenting Forward, the Book – https://amzn.to/3g0LJPn