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 […]
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 […]
September 21, 2021
Lilac frame with black tag on the bottom left. Tag includes website details for Saffron Press. In the centre there is an image on the left with the numbers 1907 in a square format in white on a yellow background. On the right, text reads: Featuring Project 1907: a grassroots group made up of Asian women on a white background.

Meet the Humans Behind Project 1907: Anti-Asian Racism

Whether in the aftermath of 9/11, or a global pandemic, Asian communities have continued to face countless acts of hate and violence. As a Canadian election […]
September 3, 2021
Lilac frame with black tag at the bottom left. Text in gold reads: Seeds of Knowledge. In the centre, there is white space with an image of Dr. Zetta Elliott on the left - a Black feminist writer - wearing a dark pink blouse and beaded necklace. To the right, text reads: Featuring the author of over 30 books for children, Zetta Elliott, PhD

Meet Dr. Zetta Elliott: writer of poetry, plays, essays, novels and stories for children

A few years ago, while living in Surrey, British Columbia, I came across the story of Barbara Howard – one of the fastest female sprinters in […]
June 7, 2021
Purple border with white space in centre. On left is a piece of art showing 204 pairs of golden footprints on 23 ct. gold on indigo dyed hemp paper. Text reads: The Power of Silence

The Power of Silence

More recently, I have felt that silence (on social media) has offered more dignity to human life than responding to the horrors taking place in our world. […]
March 29, 2021
Lilac border with black tag in bottom left that reads: Seeds of Knowledge. Saffron Press logo in gold. In white space above, photo of Kyo Maclear on the left with short black hair, wearing a blue top. Book cover of Spork beside her. On right, text reads: Featuring children's book author, novelist + essayist Kyo Maclear.

Meet Children’s Book Author, Novelist and Essayist: Kyo Maclear

Spork was one of the first picture books we shared with our little one. I had recently launched Saffron Press and was thrilled to find a […]
March 13, 2021
Lilac border with illustration by Gurleen Rai of herself on the left. A south-Asian young woman with two braids, wearing a yellow top with red collars and oversized eyeglasses. Text reads: Featuring storyteller and animator Gurleen Rai

Meet Gurleen Rai: A ‘Seed of Hope’ In Response to the Farmer Protests

News cycles can often leave us immune to the ongoing struggles and oppression of peoples around the world. It is not that we don’t care, but […]