As his child grew past board book age, Inno started to write (and illustrate) picture books. His first was My Night in the Planetarium, a true story from his childhood in Indonesia about Art, and Resistance. That was followed by The Wedding Portrait,about why sometimes we break the rules. His latest book is a highly-illustrated early middle grade chapter book titled M is for Movement aka Humans Can’t Eat Golf Balls. The importance of that is something she saw firsthand as a bilingual school teacher in East Oakland when her second-grade student, a Mexican American girl, drew a puzzling picture of herself and Rizik-Baer standing under a rainbow. Inno’s first book, A is for Activist, started a movement in social justice book publishing for children. After it came Counting on Community, then My Night in the Planetarium and The Wedding Portrait. M is for Movement is the fifth title written and illustrated by Innosanto Nagara. The alliteration and rhymes have the rhythm and fun of standard ABC books, burrowing into little ears and prompting memorization and spontaneous recitation."— Yes! Magazine A happy and well educated child is the optimum goal for early education.That such an aim is conspicuous by its absence and remains differentially elusive should not deter us from the struggle to achieve it as best we can.In the long run, happiness comes with work, integrity, self-respect, and mental discipline.These are qualities that the institutional monolith cannot foster.

A is for Activist - Kindle edition by Nagara, Innosanto A is for Activist - Kindle edition by Nagara, Innosanto

She works for Tandem, Partners in Early Learning, a Bay Area not-for-profit that helps supply classrooms with multicultural and multilingual children’s books. Since learning faces is a key part of early childhood development, representation is particularly critical there. 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, maker of 21st century all-ages music and Grammy Award winning album Catch that Train! There’s now a whole spread of children’s books responding directly to the political landscape and the phenomenon of Donald Trump. Such numbers are particularly problematic in the realm of children’s books, where artistic expression lives alongside educational imperative.It is dispiriting to note that those to whom we have entrusted the education of our children in the primary and public schools are woefully under-educated practitioners of the discipline.In an article titled" Educational Rot," Walter Williams laments "the low academic quality of so many teachers."Williams is referring to the abomination of teacher training colleges, which recruit the dregs of the graduate schools, catering to candidates "who have the lowest academic test scores."The same applies to graduates of the gender studies programs in the universities, who, unfit for productive employment, often end up in the K-12 classroom.The damage such instructors do to the public school system and to our children is incalculable. As the National Coalition Against Censorship's statement (see below)concludes: Freedom of expression ensures that we can meet the challenges of a changing world. That freedom is critical for the students who will lead the world in the years ahead. We must fight to defend it. #BooksNotBans I have to agree with other people here... this book is really for the adults who want to feel good about themselves.

A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara | Goodreads A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara | Goodreads

Inspired by the reigning cultural ideology and leftist political legislation, our K-12 purveyors of the Progressivist meme have put into practice the adage attributed to St. Ignatius Loyola (though possibly mischievously misassigned to him by Voltaire): "Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man."There is much truth in the saying, as Aristotle recognized in Book 7 of the Politics, arguing that children should be reared in the home until the critical age of seven, when their instincts will have been shaped and characters formed.After this developmental mission has been completed, children proceed to the "Lessons" – that is, music and gymnastics, before moving to the higher echelons as they prepare to begin the journey into adulthood. 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 is for Activist is 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.

Innosanto Nagara About – Innosanto Nagara

These poor abused children are regularly subjected to board books like A is for Activist, in which, after a series of atrocious rhymes, they are bombarded with asinine slogans they can barely understand, like "Environmental justice is the way!" and "Creative Counter to Corporate Vultures."They are asked "Are you an Activist?"By the age of seven, the answer to the question is probably yes.

Such histories help illuminate the ongoing tensions in the movement, chief among them the literary world’s dual mandates to encourage creative expansion beyond the confines of one’s own lived experience, and to stop the appropriation of narratives belonging to the underprivileged. I’m so disappointed because I’d seen this book on someone’s (real) shelves and jumped to reserve it at the library to see if I’d want this for giving new baby gifts. What a great idea! A is for Activism, written and illustrated by Innosanto Nagara, was an amazing find! The art in the book is beautifully unique and it manages to keep my toddler's attention - which is quite a rarity these days. It's wonderful when I stumble across something engaging and educational.

A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara, Hardcover | Barnes A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara, Hardcover | Barnes

a b "Tom Morello Reading Progressive Children's Book A is for Activist". Loudwire. 2014-12-11 . Retrieved 2017-06-01. Inno in front of his Shifting Perspectives mural at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Photo by Tommy Lau The rule of thumb for conservation educators and teachers is that up to grade 4, we teach children the GOOD only. The wise mentors teach to love all critters, the earth, and treat all living beings (including humans) with respect. In this vulnerable age, we do not brainwash them with terminology they do not understand or tell them what is the right opinion to have on an issue (whether it's an opinion we support or disagree with). We raise them to be their purest, kindest, and most wise selves. Children will naturally be empathetic, compassionate, respectful, and kind hearted with proper mentorship and without the need of ideological suggestions at such a young age.

Other books by Innosanto Nagara

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! The alliteration and rhymes have the rhythm and fun of standard ABC books, burrowing into little ears and prompting memorization and spontaneous recitation." — YES! Magazine Aristotle was concerned with raising good citizens, sound of body and mind, willing to defend the polis from its enemies and able to reflect dispassionately on social and political issues.Our pedagogues have a different purpose in mind.The citizens they wish to create are agenda-driven ideologues who believe their own country, to quoteNew York governor Andrew Cuomo, "was never that great" – indeed, it is the sum of all evil – and that what we may call "identity tribalism" is the road forward to true egalitarianism.