Big Blue Marble is happy to host a monthly pre-shabbat story time with our partners Germantown Jewish Centre and JKidPhilly.

Join us for read alouds, singing, crafts, and fun!

What would it be like for kids to live in a world where there are no boy or girl toys, clothes, activities or gender role expectations? Pink, Blue, & All the SHADES of You! embraces and celebrates a colorful spectrum of gender and expression. The diverse group of kids in the story are encouraged to be themselves and to do what makes them feel happy. Why wait until kids are all grown up? Let them know now that there are infinite possibilities for who they can be and that there is no wrong way to be exactly who they are!

As author Phoenix Schneider lives in the West, illustrator Isa Goldfarb will be reading the book, and diversity educator Sherry Paris will be on hand to help discussions.

Isa Goldfarb is a local artist and illustrator. She graduated from Boston University’s School of Fine Arts with a BFA. The various mediums of art she has done include calligraphy and illuminated manuscripts, murals (particularly for children’s rooms), and she had a tie-dye/silkscreened clothing business in CA. Isa lived in the jungle in Costa Rica for ten years before returning to Philadelphia where she works as a massage therapist. 

Phoenix Schneider, MSW, is a trans educator, coach, writer, and speaker who specializes in training, direct services, and program development to support and empower LGBTQ+ and gender diverse communities. He was born and raised in Bucks County PA, and graduated from Penn State University with a BS in Psychology. He moved to D.C. to work for nonprofits that were making a difference in the lives of others. From D.C, he moved to New York City where he obtained his Masters in Social Work from Hunter College School of Social Work. Soon after, he continued on his journey across country to Los Angeles, where he spent six years as the Program Director with The Trevor Project, a national suicide prevention organization supporting LGBTQ youth. In 2013, Phoenix founded his consulting company, Coach Phoenix, and provides LGBTQ inclusion trainings and coaching to schools, nonprofits, corporations, and other institutions throughout the country.

When Phoenix's niece Destiny was 5-years old, she told him that she thought that she was a boy like her uncle because she only liked to play with "boy toys". When he told her that all toys were for every kid of every gender, and that she could be a boy, girl, or any gender and like any toy, she said, "Oh, ok! I think I am still a girl then". She happily went back to building her LEGO house. Phoenix's niece inspired him to write his first children's book, "Pink, Blue, & All the SHADES of You!" Phoenix hopes that the book can help kids who are getting mixed messages about gender, gender expression, roles and expectations understand that there are infinite possibilities for who they can be and how they can express themselves.

Phoenix currently resides in Phoenix, AZ with his partner Jessica and their 3 fur-babies Jack, Punky, and Cleo. They all love to hike and travel together as much as possible!

Big Blue Marble welcomes Gail Silver, author of store favorite Anh’s Anger. Her newest picture book, Mindful Bea and the Worry Tree, explores how mindfulness can help children learn to manage anxiety.   Gail will be reading her story aloud, followed by sharing a few simple breathing techniques for kids and a Q&A on mindful parenting.

Mindful Bea and the Worry Tree was written for two audiences: parents of children who suffer from anxiety, and awareness of anxiety among kids so they can better understand and support friends. Like Silver’s other picture books, it explores how mindfulness can be a useful parenting strategy.

Gail Silver is the founder of Yoga Child and The School Mindfulness Project Inc., is a contributing writer to Lion’s Roar Magazine, a screenwriter of the animated film Planting Seeds of Mindfulness, and author of the award winning Anh’s Anger children’s book trilogy.

Gail travels nationally and internationally to facilitate yoga and mindfulness based education.

She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Big Blue Marble is happy to host a monthly pre-shabbat story time with our partners Germantown Jewish Centre and JKidPhilly.

Join us for read alouds, singing, crafts, and fun!

Big Blue Marble is happy to host a monthly pre-shabbat story time with our partners Germantown Jewish Centre and JKidPhilly.

Join us for read alouds, singing, crafts, and fun!

Big Blue Marble is happy to host a monthly pre-shabbat story time with our partners Germantown Jewish Centre and JKidPhilly.

Join us for read alouds, singing, crafts, and fun!

Join Big Blue Marble for a special storytime with author/illustrator Andrea Tsurumi to celebrate her new book "Crab Cake: Turning the Tide Together." Read alouds, snacks, and fun for kids 1 to 6. Or older. Or younger. And parents, too, of course.

"Crab Cake" is fun, playful, sweet, and also serious - Crab loves baking cakes for his friends - until one night when everything changes with a splash! In the face of total disaster, can Crab's small, brave act help the community come together and carry on?
Under the sea, a crab follows its heart and its calling, bringing everyone together in the wake of a disaster.

A book that is the essence of Big Blue Marble - beautifully made, perfect for budding environmentalists, and a great model for kids on how strong communities unite to make change.

Big Blue Marble is happy to host a monthly pre-shabbat story time with our partners Germantown Jewish Centre and JKidPhilly.

Join us for read alouds, singing, crafts, and fun!

Big Blue Marble is happy to host a monthly pre-shabbat story time with our partners Germantown Jewish Centre and JKidPhilly.

Join us for read alouds, singing, crafts, and fun!

Big Blue Marble is happy to host a monthly pre-shabbat story time with our partners Germantown Jewish Centre and JKidPhilly.

Join us for read alouds, singing, crafts, and fun!

Bring your little ones out for a special story time with local writer/illustrator Sarah Claxton! She'll be celebrating the release of her second picture book "Square: How Our Complex Emotions Make Each Of Us Unique and Wonderful."

Sarah Claxton is an artist, mom, and dinner dance party enthusiast living in West Mt. Airy, Philadelphia with her husband Eric, son Fritz, and too many cats to name. She's a complex person who believes that life can, in fact, be pretty simple. Though a photographer by training, over the years she has expanded her repertoire to include illustration and writing. Sarah makes art her business and her hobbies include traveling and starting other businesses. She’s pretty small but she packs a punch.

Big Blue Marble kicks off our 2018 One Book, One Philadelphia events with a special story time featuring our favorite picture books by Jacqueline Woodson.

Bring the kids and discover why Woodson's books have won every possible award, and revel in art by E.B. Lewis, James Ransome, Hudson Talbott, and Floyd Cooper.