Fun and Enlightening Picture Book: Preaching to the Chickens

Congressman John Lewis, famed civil rights worker, used to preach to his 60 farmyard chickens.  He felt this was a good way to sharpen his speaking skills.  He loved his chickens, knew each by name, and protected them from those who wanted to trade for them, rescued them when they fell into the well, and even once brought a nearly drowned chick back to life. 

Bringing a message of peace when the chickens fought over food, John earned the nickname “Preacher” from his siblings. Illustrator Lewis’ signature watercolors paint a lively picture of John Lewis’ life growing up on a farm with a close and hardworking Christian family.  The beautifully illustrated chickens and the love John shows them will warm readers' hearts.

Given the seriousness of what Lewis faced on the march from Selma to Montgomery and the gravity of the issues he has dealt with throughout his career, this joy-inducing back story reveals an entertaining facet to the congressman’s life that young readers will appreciate.

Have a look at this marvelous book for kids.  You and they won't regret it!

Russian Author Risks Arrest by Releasing Gay Themed Children’s Book

The very month that a law banning "promotion" of homosexuality among children and adolescents came into effect may seem an odd time to publish Russia's first young adult book against anti-LGBT prejudice.  

 Daria Wilke, author of "The Jester's Cap," told The Moscow News that it was "now or never." Ms. Wilke is risking arrest and a massive fine by releasing the children’s book with gay themes.  

The book is defying laws passed by President Vladimir Putin, which bans the spreading of ‘gay propaganda’ to children.

Daria Wilke’s new book tells the story of a 14-year-old boy named Grisha, who lives and works in a puppet theater with his family and an older gay friend called Sam.

Wilke is not living in Russia, as she emigrated from Moscow 13 years ago to the far more welcoming country of Austria.

Anti-gay protester at Gay Pride Event
St. Petersburg, Russia
June 29, 2013
Photo:  Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters

Speaking to The Atlantic, Wilke said: 

‘I wrote [the book] a year and a half ago, and the publisher was weighing when to release it.  But when these strange laws were being released — first the local anti-gay laws in various cities, then the broader one that passed just last month — eventually the publisher realized that if we didn’t release the book now, we might never be able to.  Because of these laws, in many bookstores, it has an “18+” stamp.

Wilke expects she would be quickly deported if she returned to her home country, but she has not heard from the Russian authorities about her book yet.


‘I haven’t had any bad reactions from the government,’ she said. ‘But then again, the book has only been out a month.'