Althea Greenstone (she/they) is an educator and lifelong explorer of identities. She has served as an elementary classroom teacher for over 10 years and as an early childhood school administrator for five years. Althea is passionate about uplifting children, creating safe and inclusive educational spaces, and advocating for all of the world’s children. Her work is deeply rooted in the belief that all children deserve happy, healthy, and safe childhoods and access to media and literature that represents them and opens their words. Althea builds classroom community through understanding and making connections, honoring the words of Maya Angelou: “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.” When Althea is not working and playing with students, you can find her enjoying her cats or finding frogs in the woods.
Books are, as Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop (1990) wrote, mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors; they can show us new things and open our minds, reflect on the reader, and open new worlds. When exploring young identities through children’s literature...