history Archives | Cool Mom Picks

7 outstanding, important Black History month Twitter threads to read right now.

We’ve honored Black History Month in various ways here over the years, and in particular, we’ve shared lots of children’s and YA books — even the tough ones — that help us teach our kids, and inspire important conversations at home....

What to see and do (and eat!) with teens in Boston…in the winter. Yes, the winter.

by Holly Rosen Fink | Family Travel

Winter in Boston with the family may sound…well, cold. It ‘s true that the sun sets earlier, and you have to bundle up when you go out, because, New England! Even so, Boston an excellent city for a getaway with teens any time, and that includes winter....

Outstanding videos and resources to teach our kids about the Holocaust on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

by Liz Gumbinner | Thinking : Parent, Tips + Tricks

Today marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Holocaust Memorial Day. It’s particularly poignant this year, with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau Death Camp. The sad truth is, the older we all get, the more the survivors and...

Our favorite space themed toys and kids’ gifts to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

by Kate Etue | Books for Kids, Kid Fashion, Toys + Playthings

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing on July 20th, and our kids are so excited about it. Considering it’s an event that happened way before they were born, I love their enthusiasm. In fact, my son just checked out a bunch of moon...

3 new books for kids that make you proud to be American

by Liz Gumbinner | Books for Kids

With July 4th coming, up, this is a time my family often discusses what it means to be American, how we can make the country better, safer, and more equitable for other Americans, and what we can do to help live up to our nation’s promise of liberty and justice...

Migrant children in crisis: Know these stories. Say their names. Please, don’t turn away.

by Liz Gumbinner | Doing Good, Thinking : Parent

Friends, I hardly know where to start. But I knew I couldn’t write a single other thing today, until I addressed the crisis at the border and our government’s abject cruelty toward babies and children. (Feel free to live with those words for a moment.)...

What is Juneteenth? 4 great children’s books that explain this important holiday.

by Kate Etue | Books for Kids

If you want to learn more about Juneteenth, or just want to be sure its history and relevance has a place on your bookshelves, we have children’s books about Juneteenth to help. After all, I know a lot of us (embarrassingly) don’t hear much about...

8 lovely children’s books to help teach our kids more about Islam

by Caroline Siegrist | Books for Kids

Like many parents, I’ve been reeling ever the New Zealand mosque shooting last week, which was just followed by yet another horrific racist attack only yesterday: a fire deliberately set at a mosque in Northern California. So as a non-Muslim myself, I’ve...

Rose O’Neill, Kewpie dolls, and women’s suffrage | Women’s History Month stories to share with your kids

by Liz Gumbinner | Thinking : Parent

Next in our series of untold American Women’s History Month stories our kids will love, I kind of went down an awesome rabbit hole learning about the history of women’s political cartoonists and comic writers and illustrators. That’s when I...

7 new must-read Black History Month book releases for kids and teens. Because Black history is American history.

by Kate Etue | Books for Kids

Whether we’re taking the time to celebrate our own heritage or exploring those different cultures and backgrounds of our friends and neighbors that help make America what it is, books are always a favorite way for me to learn with my kids. And as Black History...