Picture Books Are for Grown-Ups Too!
Picture books aren’t just for children. Picture books are for grown-ups too! Listen in as we speak with picture book authors, illustrators, and enthusiasts about how these stories contribute to human thriving. Discover how picture books can affirm our experiences, introduce us to new perspectives, serve as conversation starters, foster meaningful reflection, and give us words to make sense of the world! Ultimately, you’re never too old for a great picture book AND these tiny tales can lead to big connection! Join us for the journey, and discover something that might contribute to YOUR thriving.
Picture Books Are for Grown-Ups Too!
S2E6 | Shannon Gibney and 'We Miss You, George Floyd'
“Trauma is multifaceted and moves through your body in different ways.” –Shannon Gibney
As we approach five years since the murder of George Floyd, we are talking today about trauma and processing trauma, creating space for people to feel, and everyone having a child within them.
Today’s Picture Book: We Miss You, George Floyd by Shannon Gibney and illustrated by Leeya Rose Jackson
Shannon Gibney is a writer, educator, and activist. She is author of several books, including The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be: A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption, which received a Michael L. Printz Honor and a Minnesota Book Award; See No Color and Dream Country, both winners of Minnesota Book Awards; and Sam and the Incredible African and American Food Fight, a children’s picture book about a cross-cultural family also published by the University of Minnesota Press. A Bush Artist and McKnight Writing Fellow, Gibney teaches at Minneapolis College, where she was named Educator of the Year in 2023. She lives with her two children in Minneapolis.
Book Description: In this candid and powerful book, a young girl hears about an unfolding tragedy in her neighborhood. It's on the news, on the radio, and talked about in her community, and she learns of the murder of George Floyd--and about who he was. As she tries to reckon with the senseless violence of his killing, she finds solace at George Floyd Square. The space is filled with the art of protest and resistance, and she is moved to create her own signs and drawings, lifting her voice to harmonize with the outpouring: "We miss you, George Floyd."
Please consider supporting your local independent booksellers by purchasing We Miss You, George Floyd. Find a store here: https://www.indiebound.org/
Questions/Activities for further engagement based on the discussion:
1. What was your experience during the time of George Floyd’s murder and the uprisings? Tell a story or share a memory.
2. Give people artistic tools and materials and ask them to create something about how they felt during the time of George Floyd’s murder and the uprisings.
Find Shannon:
Website: www.shannongibney.com
Bluesky: @shannongibney
____________________
Ripening Time, Patrice's 2nd picture book, releases April 22, 2025. Order your copy from your local bookstore or one of Patrice's local bookstores!
Also, please visit the podcast’s bookshop.org page for a complete list of books discussed!
.png)