A is for Activist

Product Information

A former colleague posted a photo of a children’s book as her Facebook profile picture – A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara. A board book about activism? Yes! I'm so left wing that it hurts sometimes, but I found this book very uncomfortable to read because it is so preachy. It definitely has an "us against them" feel, and comes out of a lot of anger towards racism, sexism, environmental harm, inequality, etc., which is felt in the book. I wish this beautiful and inspiring book was around when my daughter was young, but fortunately there were plenty of cool children around today who will devour what Inno is serving up!" —Dan Zanes, Grammy Award-winning artist of Catch that Train!

Patricia Harris, the deputy mayor of Manhattan, reads The Snowy Day during the fifth annual Jumpstart Read for the Record Day. Photograph: Amy Sussman/WireImageInno got his start as a student activist at UC Davis where he discovered his skills as a designer and photographer were effective contributions to organizing. After graduation he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where he worked as a freelance designer for a range of activist organizations and campaigns until he joined Inkworks Press Collective in 1995. It was during his time at Inkworks that he started developing the Graphic Design for Social Change principles that have guided his work ever since. In 2002 he launched Design Action Collective. Modeled after Inkworks, Design Action was to be a worker-owned collective union design and strategic communications firm dedicated to serving the Movement for Social Change. The following year, Inno proposed what was to become Designs on Democracy: Communication for Liberation—a national convening of design and communications activists aiming to share strategies and build community.

a b "Tom Morello Reading Progressive Children's Book A is for Activist". Loudwire. 2014-12-11 . Retrieved 2017-06-01. We saw a lot of great things come out of this project. A lot of teachable moments arose while we read and translated the text together, practiced signing their translations and filmed the story. For instance, translating English into ASL provided a lot of opportunities to explore the differences and similarities between the two languages.As publisher of several books cited as problematic or inappropriate — such as the gender-inclusive sex education books by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth and social justice-oriented picture books by Innosanto Nagara — we strongly condemn these attempts to censor school libraries.

I love the different topics that are touched upon: co-ops, grassroots, equal rights, LGBTQ, and peace marches. I feel like it could be a great way to introduce a child to these topics which could then lead into a deeper discussion if it piques their curiosity. My son is still too young to understand any of it, but he sees that I enjoy reading it to him and that makes him excited. It truly is a refreshing read! It's fun to read words that resonate and can be spoken passionately. Nagara, Innosanto. "About the Author/Illustrator". Archived from the original on 2017-07-24 . Retrieved 2017-06-01.

Other books by Innosanto Nagara

A is for Activistis an ABC board book written and illustrated for the next generation of progressives: families who want their kids to grow up in a space that is unapologetic about activism, environmental justice, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and everything else that activists believe in and fight for. The questions of representation that have upended Hollywood, television and politics in recent years are now hitting the world of children’s literature hard. Already this year, several young adult (YA) books have been pulled over representation concerns, following high-profile dustups.