Our Pod

Here at the Pod, we share thoughts and opinions about the growing need for diversity in
children’s literature. As we get rooted, we will feature stories about Mighty Girls and Gentle Warriors of Change. Please stay a while, and join the conversation.

#WHERESTORIESGROW

July 20, 2024

“Without Community There is No Liberation” – Audre Lorde

Some personal thoughts… In a speech, at “The Personal and the Political Panel” at the Second Sex Conference in New York, September 29, 1979, Audre Lorde implores the  audience […]
July 20, 2024

A Million Kites: Testimonies and Poems from the Children of Gaza

When words are spoken directly from the mouths of children, there are few, if any other words that can compare. Recent reports provide proof of the […]
June 2, 2024
Purple frame with two book covers on the left and text in black on white background on the right that reads: ghallugara (in Panjabi) and underneath, gen-o-cide. First book cover image is from The Valiant by Gurmeet Kaur, with illustrations of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra by Inkquisitive. Second image is The Wheat Fields still Whisper by Mallika Kaur. Alt text available in images.

In Solidarity for Collective Liberation

This June, 2024 is the 40th year of remembrance. Forty years of waiting for justice. Forty years of yearning for the Disappeared. Forty years of collective […]
April 16, 2024

Meet Rifk Ebeid: Giving Palestinian stories a space to exist

ALT TEXT included for all images. Narratives about marginalized communities are often packed into dense textbooks, making them inaccessible to young minds, or the stories are […]
April 12, 2024

An Independent Bookstore in Montreal – MAKTABA: Librairie Bookshop

For literature enthusiasts, a bookshop evokes the kind of emotion that can lift you off the ground and transport you to places familiar and unknown. They […]
December 6, 2023

13 Children’s Books to Talk about Palestine

This is not just another book list. Like you – the people who are raising their voices, condemning through protest, shouting, screaming and/or conveying through art […]
December 6, 2023

Gurpurab

In moments of deep grief and overwhelm, Guru Ji’s hukam guides us. Recently, the katha of Sant Singh Ji Maskeen gave me pause. This moment was […]
April 28, 2022
Lilac frame with black brand tag on the bottom left. In white centre, text on left reads: Riaan Research Initiative Rare Parents Fundraising for a cure. On the right 4 square photos of Riaan in black and white.

Riaan’s Research Initiative: Incubator of Hope and Possibility

SEEDS OF KNOWLEDGE: WARRIORS OF CHANGE Gurjot “Jo” Kaur’s advocacy as a civil rights lawyer was redirected to finding a cure for Cockayne syndrome when her […]
March 4, 2022
Lilac frame with black tag to the left. Tag has white text which gives website address and hashtag Where Stories Grow. In the white centre, an image to the left shows a photo of the book cover of A Lion's Mane placed standing up next to a lion plush toy on a windowsill.

World Book Day 2022

March 3, 2022 is World Book Day. Created by UNESCO on the 23rd April, 1995, World Book Day was designated as a day to celebrate books […]
March 3, 2022
Lilac frame with black tag in bottom left corner. Gold logo and white text on tag reads SEEDS of KNOWLEDGE. In white centre, image on left shows Nav Dhillon, founder of 1iCollective with each hand to each side of her face. She has black hair parted in the centre and adorned with a tikka. She wears antique gold bangles on her write wrist and a blush chunni is draped over her left shoulder. grey background.

Challenging the Stigma of Disability: Meet Nav Dhillon of 1iCollective

SEEDS OF KNOWLEDGE: WARRIORS OF CHANGE Over the last 11 years, our readers have contributed to Seva Canada‘s commitment to offering sight to the over one […]
February 3, 2022
Lilac frame with black tag in the bottom left with website details. Text in centre of frame reads: Featuring Mixed Media Artist + Illustrator: Parmeet Arora Bori. 3 images from the calendar are placed around the text.

Meet Parmeet Arora Bori: Mixed Media Artist + Illustrator

Our stories can be interpreted through all forms of art, which in turn become historical references to moments or movements in time. Art can be found […]
January 17, 2022
Title image with lilac frame and black tag on the bottom left with website details. In the white space an image on the left is an outline map of Panjab illustrated in watercolour hues of orange and purple. Text on map reads Jaagde Raho (Stay Woke) in Panjabi. Text on right reads: Meet the founder of Jaagde Raho: a social change maker

Jaagde Raho: Strengthening a Nation through Collective Intelligence

SEEDS OF KNOWLEDGE SERIES: SOLUTIONARIES   The issues faced by farmers did not end with the repeal of the 3 farm laws. As a larger Sikh […]