A New Partnership for SCBWI-MI

By Molly David

The Leadership Team is always looking for new ways to help SCBWI-MI members expand their reach in the community. We are excited to announce a new partnership with Bookstock that will help us promote literacy programs, connections with area teachers, and raise money for future events.

This is the first year SCBWI-MI will partner with Bookstock.

We love books; they love books. It’s a perfect match.

What does that mean for our members?

We are asking members to volunteer to work shifts at Bookstock this year. If you’ve always wanted to volunteer to help SCBWI and raise money for area literacy programs, but only had a few hours to spare, this is the opportunity for you.

Volunteers organize books during the one-week books sale, help customers, and take payments during the event in Livonia. This is a great way for us to raise money so we can provide more benefits to our members. A sign-up sheet will be available on SCBWI-MI’s events page on March 12^th.

Bookstock is also allowing us to set up a few tables where our members can sell their books and/or promote their school visits to Bookstock shoppers. 

Here is how it will work:

Teacher appreciation days are Tuesday, April 29th and Wednesday, April 30th. If you work a shift, you can have a spot at a table to share your author school visit information and sell some signed books. Work a two-hour shift on Tuesday or Wednesday and then have the remaining time to promote your books and school visits. If you would rather volunteer on Sunday April 27th and/or Sunday May 4th that works, too! Both Sundays are also SCBWI volunteer days. The more volunteers the better!

If you just want to sign up to help SCBWI-MI and Bookstop, that’s great, as well. Our chapter will receive a donation for your volunteer hours. If you don’t sign up through us, please be sure to tell Bookstock you are an SCBWI-MI member so we can get credit for your time.

This is a great opportunity for SCBWI-MI to promote literacy programs, promote the amazing talent we have within our organization, and earn money for our chapter. For each of us, it is a great way to give back to our community, promote our work, and raise money for SCBWI-MI.

Bookstock is Detroit’s (and possibly the country’s) biggest used book and media sale. This event collects used books for resale to raise money for education and literacy programs. 2025 is their 21^st year in operation. They have raised over $3 million for literacy initiatives in Detroit and the surrounding areas.

Supporting the need to read

Bookstock is 100% volunteer driven. Last year, over 600 volunteers provided about 6,300 volunteer hours. The storage space, tables, and chairs are all donated.  400,000+ used books and media were for sale, most items were $3 or less.

The opening day of Bookstock is Sunday, April 27. They have a Presale event from 8:15-11:00 am. For an admission of $25, you can get first access to the best used books around. Starting at 11:00 am, Bookstock is open to the public at no charge. They continue to sell books with no admission fee Monday- Saturday 11:00am-7:00pm and Sunday May 4 from 11:00am-6:00pm.

They have special days throughout the week. On Tuesday, April 29^th and Wednesday. April 30^th from 2:00-7:00 pm teachers with a valid id get 50% off books. Thursday, May 1^st is Bookstock Loyalty Day. You can get 20% off your purchase if you bring a Bookstock bag from a previous year. Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3 are Pocket Paperback Palooza where you can get 15 pocket paperbacks for $10. And on the last day, Sunday May 4^th, all books and media are 50% off.

Where do the proceeds go?

The Bookstock Fund uses the money raised to fund many literacy programs in the Detroit area. They provide funding for: Microsoft Office Suite training for Detroit area adults, support book clubs, poetry slams, and classroom libraries. They provide scholarships for students at Wayne State University School of Library Sciences and Detroit Mercy. You can check out their grant guidelines and application here. The organization donates all leftover books to local non-profits.

How do I sign up to volunteer?

Sign up here. 

Molly David is Co-Communications Coordinator for SCBWI-MI. She founded Semper Grata (sempergrata.com) in 2022 to help families and educate communities on disability issues. Kirkus Review recommended her debut children’s picture book, My Mischievous Wheelchair, and featured it in their December 2023 magazine. It won a Firebird award and a Purple Dragonfly award in 2024. Molly understands the importance of all children seeing themselves in books. Molly is a highly regarded speaker on disability issues. Her book Planning for the Future: Protecting a Loved One with a Disability ranked fourth on Amazon. It is a guide for parents and caregivers on how to protect their children’s financial security. You can connect with Molly @mollydavidauthor.

Book Birthday Blog with Molly David

 

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors, illustrators and translators.

 

Congratulations to Molly David on the release of My Mischievous Wheelchair

 

 

Please share a little about this book's journey. How did you come up with the idea?

My oldest daughter has Rett Syndrome and uses a wheelchair for mobility. When we are in the community, a lot of young children stare at her chair. I am not bothered by that, but I am surprised. A wheelchair is so normal in my life that I forget not everyone has that experience. I wanted to share the normalness of disabilities, wheelchair users especially. As a former teacher, I understand this starts with young children.
 
The best part of the book for me is that the chair is alive. In our family, a wheelchair is an essential part of our daughter’s life. She can’t have a full, active life without her chair. So, her chair is “alive” for us. How we can make the world accessible for our daughter is a constant consideration for our family. The chair is an extension of her. I wanted that relationship to come across in the book in a fun way.
 
I am passionate about all kids seeing themselves in books. What kids read should reflect the diversity of our society. At the same time, it was very important to me that the story not be preachy or use a person with a disability as a teachable moment. Nearly 1 in 5 people in the U.S. have a disability, I wanted to show the normalcy of this. 

What was the most difficult part of writing the book? 

The hardest part was starting. There were so many ideas bouncing around in my head it felt overwhelming. I believed I needed to have the story perfectly planned out before beginning to write. This kept me from starting. It’s crazy because when I was teaching, I would tell my students, “Just write anything, get it down on paper, and the ideas will be there. Don’t worry about being perfect.” Easier said than done! Also, I wasn’t sure how to write a story that would be fun for kids to read but also show the normalcy of a wheelchair. Once I had the idea that the chair would be alive, it was easy to write the story. 

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book? 

I hope they see disabilities do not define someone. People with disabilities are people first. They have many of the same experiences, feelings, and concerns that any person has. If they look at someone’s wheelchair and wonder if it comes alive, that would be cool, too.

What are your marketing plans for the book and where can we find it? 

The book is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, and other online retailers. I plan to partner with libraries and schools to tie in the book with a presentation on inclusion. I have visits planned to read my book in a few special education schools. 

What's next for you? 

I started Semper Grata™ (sempergrata.com) when I retired from teaching in 2022. Its purpose is to support families and educate communities about disability life. So, I will continue that work. Through Semper Grata, I write a blog to help parents with issues like education, government benefits, and travel. I published a book for parents, Planning for the Future: Protecting a Loved One with a Disability in July 2023. This had led me to speaking at conferences and school communities about how to ensure children with disabilities are protected as they become adults. I published My Mischievous Wheelchair through Semper Grata to extend the goal of educating communities about disability life.
 
That’s a long way of saying I keep myself busy. I have written a sequel to My Mischievous Wheelchair and hope to publish it late next year. The chair has too much personality for me to be done, yet.

More about the book . . .

Grace is working hard to win the Student of the Month award, but her wheelchair keeps disrupting her day and getting her in trouble. Grace tries to regain control, but her wheelchair won’t behave unless it gets what it wants. Will Grace figure out why her wheelchair is acting up and get it to behave before she loses out on being Student of the Month?



Join Grace and her wheelchair that won’t be ignored for a heartwarming and humorous story that teaches children ages 4-8 about diversity, inclusion and teamwork.

Publisher: Semper Grata

More about the author . . . 

Molly David writes and presents on disability issues. As the mother of a child with a disability, Molly understands the importance of diversity in children’s books. Molly David authored the book Planning for the Future: Protecting a Loved One with a Disability and various news outlets like The Associated Press, NerdWallet and Wealth of Geeks have interviewed her for articles.
 
Molly is a retired teacher who lives in Farmington Hills, MI with her husband, two daughters, and two dogs. She spends too much of her time searching for her phone and watching dog videos online. Molly would love to connect with you through her website, Instagram, or Facebook, especially if you have dog videos.

https://mollydavidauthor.com/
Instagram @mollydavidauthor
Facebook mollydavidauthor
Twitter @AuthorMollyD 

 

Hugs and Hurrahs

 It's time to celebrate our MichKids friends and colleagues!! Welcome to this quarter's edition of Hugs and Hurrahs!

Wendy BooydeGraaff's short story, "The Michigan Triangle" is being published in the  The Haunted States of America, a  middle grade horror anthology with stories from each state in collaboration with SCBWI and illustrated by Solomon Hughes.  It'll be out July 2024. 

Way to represent Michigan, Wendy!

 

Patti Richards recently sold a poem, Snow Quiet, to Highlights High Five Magazine. She's also happy to announce that her picture book manuscript, IDA PLUCK'S CLUCK took 8th place in this year's Writer's Digest Fiction Contest in the Children's/YA category. 

Congratulations, Patti!

Molly David's first picture book, My Mischievous Wheelchair, has just been released and earned a 5-star review from Reader's Favorite.

Well done, Molly!

Joe Kimble has published another Mr. Mouthful book—this one called Mr. Mouthful and the Monkeynappers. The main character is back with his highfalutin talk that creates comical scenes with kids. Then his hotshot monkey, Dupree, goes on a romp and gets into big trouble—only to have kids once again come to the rescue. Joe is hoping, naturally, that this new book receives the same positive reaction that the first one did—from reviewers and readers.

Way to go, Joe!

Lauren Ranalli's fourth children's book, Snow Day at the Zoo is now available!

What happens when the zookeeper's children are snowed in with their favorite animals? Find out in this wonderful winter adventure!

Congratulations, Lauren!

In August, Paulette Sharkey’s picture book, A Doll for Grandma (Beaming Books, 2020), was selected by United Through Reading for their recommended book list. The organization (unitedthroughreading.org) provides deployed military service members with the opportunity to record themselves reading a book of their choice to their child, and the child then receives a free copy of the book to read along with the storytime recording.

That's wonderful, Molly!

Look for the next request for submissions in your email, but please feel free to submit all your KidLit publishing news to Alison Hodgson at aewhodgson@gmail.com any time.  Enjoy the rest of fall here in beautiful Michigan!