Shall we call it “Reset Sunday?”

Well, tomorrow is Cyber Monday and the day after that is Giving Tuesday and yesterday was Small Business Saturday but I’m not sure what today is. Reset Sunday, maybe? It will be for me, anyway. Since we only JUST came back on Thanksgiving Day from our big vacation, we’re still unpacking and catching up. And I woke up with a head cold so my primary goal today is rest.

I brought a lot fewer books on our vacation than I usually do. Stuff for me to read, yes, obvi. And the girls packed the books they’re reading independently right now (Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dogman). But not much else. Lo and behold, after our first couple of nights in Mexico, when I was putting the girls to sleep, I was trying to think of a bedtime story to tell them and Julia said, “Wait! Sparky!”

“Who?” I asked? And she pulled this book out of her backpack. I’m so proud that when Julia packed, she packed a picture book for us to read together.

We had an absolutely fantastic time on our vacay - being with family, visiting Mayan archeological sites, reading (me, not the girls) at the beach. I also observed an interesting difference between Mexico and the US when it comes to revering indigenous populations; something I hadn’t noticed before until now. Native people on the currency. At least two Mexican peso bills have someone native on them - Benito Juarez on the 20 peso bill and Nezahualcoyotl on the 100 peso bill. And what do we have on the currency in the US? Nothing but old white men, of course.

This year, as Thanksgiving has come and gone, I’m making a concerted effort (as I have been since I interviewed Debbie Reese for my podcast last year) to make sure that we don’t ONLY talk about Native Americans in November. I recently purchased An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People (by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, adapted for young people by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese) and I would encourage you all to do the same. Just the first few pages of the intro will open your mind! (Perhaps you’ll find a Cyber Monday book sale! Or ask someone to order it over at your local independent bookshop - where you can shop whether it’s Small Business Saturday or not. ;) But you know that already, don’t you.)

I am also delighted to know that HarperCollins is launching a Native-focused imprint with author Cynthia Leitich Smith at the helm. That is huge, exciting news and I can’t wait to see what impact this will have. I’ll be sharing a few other books by native authors on my Instagram in the following weeks. Follow me there and be sure to tell me what some of your favorites are!

Also at this time of year I am feeling grateful, as per usual. So I’m re-sharing my “Thankful for #Bookstagram” piece. I wrote it last year at Thanksgiving but - guess what. I’m still grateful!

Happy Holidays to you and yours.