NEW BOOKS...WITH A NOVA CONNECTION
RIF of NOVA celebrates new books by writers and illustrators with a Northern Virginia area connection, with interviews, background, and author information. If you have published a book for, about, or that helps children...and you have a NOVA connection, please let us know! We'd love to talk with you and introduce our community to your new work! Email us at rifnova@gmail.com.
Breast Cancer -- Two Books, Three Voices
![]() When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, she is not the only one affected. Children are affected, too, even if they don't always -- or don't know how to -- express their feelings of confusion, helplessness, and sadness. Fifth-grader Madison Lyublanovits was quite troubled by her mom's breast cancer diagnosis in May 2019 and the treatment that followed. As she watched her mom go through chemotherapy and radiation treatments for stage one ductal carcinoma (a common form of breast cancer), she and her stuffed monkey Mollie stood by her mom's side, trying to figure out what was going on and how to help.
Out of many conversations, a book was born. Okay Mommy, I Will Help You: Oh No! My Mom Has Breast Cancer! is a children’s picture book completely based off of Madison’s experiences and written by the young author. It's a unique perspective from a youth's point-of-view on how to deal with a parent's cancer diagnosis, and it provides a candid but inspiring message for kids who may be faced with a similar circumstance. “Everything’s literally verbatim," said mom Shon Lyublanovits. "I think she held a lot of that stuff in and wasn’t really sure how to process it all. So putting that book together helped with that.” While the focus is on the author's personal experience with her mother's cancer diagnosis, this book can be a source of guidance and comfort for children who have parents, grandparents, siblings, or any family member or friend who has been diagnosed with a serious illness. The book has been endorsed by the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation, the American Breast Cancer Foundation, Living Beyond Breast Cancer, Sharsheret.org, and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Author Madison goes to Covington-Harper Elementary School in Prince William County. In addition to writing, she is a dancer and loves to sing. Madison's book may be purchased via www.verkallosmedia.com and through Amazon at amazon.com/author/mnl. Note: Madison's mom Shon has joined RIF of NOVA as a new board member. Please see Shon's profile on our board member page! |
![]() Dr. John Marshall used to see breast cancer as the enemy. As a gastrointestinal cancer specialist at Georgetown University, he envied the amount of attention other oncologists and medical leaders put on breast cancer, wondering why the cancers he treated — which are the deadliest — were not an equal priority in standard training and funding. But, as he notes, if he had been successful in driving attention away from breast cancer, Liza Marshall — his wife, mother of his two children, and love of his life for 40 years — would be dead. In 2006, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, a type that can be more aggressive and difficult to treat.
In their upcoming memoir Off Our Chests: A Candid Tour Through the World of Cancer (IdeaPress Publishing), John and Liza provide an intimate, and sometimes even humorous, look at cancer treatment as husband and wife through the eyes of Liza, the patient, John, the caretaker, and occasionally, their children Charlie and Emma. "One thing we learned during Liza's diagnosis and treatment is that transparency and honesty are key when talking with your children about a cancer diagnosis," John noted. "When children know something is going on but don't know what it is, their imaginations can run wild. Explanations don't need to be complicated though. Simple and matter-of-fact works well." “The emotional load of cancer for all those involved is frequently overwhelming,” the Northern Virginia couple said in a statement. “We wrote the book to help others learn about what a diagnosis of cancer means for a patient, for a family, for a caregiver, and for an oncologist so that those who walk that path together might find both support and insight to help light the way.” Their book is available for pre-order at: https://www.offourchestsbook.com/buy. |
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Happy Happy After!

Local author Barbara Leary has three granddaughters...and each one has a book in her name or honor. All three books are our picks for March 2021. "Nothing goes together better than kids and stories," Barbara notes, "so having little ones in my life gives me an opportunity to share my love of storytelling. Storytelling became our 'thing' — a way to keep the girls entertained and encourage their own creativity and imagination. These days, they do a lot of the storytelling themselves. All I need to do is give them a prompt ('Tell me all about your day, but make half of it up!') and off they go."
Barbara Leary grew up in Arlington and Fairfax and now lives in Purcellville. She is a management consultant specializing in change communication and teaches graduate-level communications courses at Georgetown University. For more about Barbara and her books, here's the link!
Barbara Leary grew up in Arlington and Fairfax and now lives in Purcellville. She is a management consultant specializing in change communication and teaches graduate-level communications courses at Georgetown University. For more about Barbara and her books, here's the link!
I wrote Caroline and the Not-Mama for my granddaughter Caroline, who regarded me with great suspicion for the first two years of her life. The very sight of me coming through the front door would cause her to scream and run to her mother. Of course, she had pieced together that my presence likely meant her parents were leaving but apparently hadn't yet worked out that they planned to return. I eventually won her over with oranges and books — just like the story. Now Caroline is happy to see me and always wants me to read her book. It’s a good book for talking about feelings.
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I wrote Virginia Loves Dogs for Virginia, who is every bit as high-spirited as the protagonist and just as crazy about dogs — so much so that I worried she’d get bitten. So in creating the character Virginia, I just took my granddaughter's irrepressible, cheerful quality and exaggerated it and made the book about doggie manners. When I was reading an early draft to Virginia, I asked her how the story should end. She didn't miss a beat: "Happy happy after!" she exclaimed. I used that as the title of the collection.
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The Climbing Tree is dedicated to Eleanor. When she was about three, just as in the book, we must have passed the tree in her front yard a hundred times before realizing she was just tall enough to climb it — with a little help. It wasn't easy for her, but Eleanor is nothing if not persistent. Pretty soon, she was racing home from school and climbing up her tree, where she would stay until her parents called her to dinner. When the family moved, it broke her heart to leave her beloved tree, and that became the basis for this story. The Climbing Tree took first prize (out of 1,800 entries) in the Writer’s Digest annual Self-Published Book Awards.
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"The Accidental Author"
February 2021's new book picks are...Pretty Hair and Everyone Just Like Me, both written by Northern Virginia author Carylee Carrington. Pretty Hair is Carylee Carrington's latest book. After watching two of her family members grow up with hair that differed from their peers, she wanted to ensure they knew just how special they were and how important it is for them to love the hair they were born with.
This picture book helps young girls understand there are an amazing variety of styles and textures of hair and no one type is the definition of “pretty.” Pretty Hair was reviewed in an article in Northern Virginia magazine. Find that here. |
Carylee Carrington's first book is Everyone Just Like Me. When her then seven-year-old son came home from school to say that other children on the playground had bullied him over skin color, writer Carylee went into action...and wrote a book! The new book, however, was not about race. Everyone, Just Like Me is about a boy named Joshua who has to get glasses. In wanting not to be different due to his glasses, the boy wishes for everyone to be the same. When hilarity and confusion ensue, Joshua discovers there may be a problem with his request. A picture book for children, Everyone, Just Like Me encourages kids to embrace their uniqueness. "Through Joshua’s special wish, readers learn that individual differences are what makes each person special.”
Read more about Carylee Carrington and her first book here. She also hosts a podcast to introduce new authors to the Northern Virginia community. For more, follow her on Facebook@readwithcarylee and visit readwithcarylee.com. Carylee is a member of the RIF of NOVA board. |
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"Please stop saying broken home!"
This, from family law attorney, mediator, and coparenting coach Sheila Adams Gardner in a recent article. "The term 'broken home,' she says, "is still commonly used to describe families with divorced or separated parents. 'Broken home' is almost always a misnomer as it invalidates the child’s actual family experience to describe the parents’ legal relationship. Worse, it unfairly portends a future of social/emotional dysfunction for the child."
Sheila knows what she is talking about because she grew up as one of four daughters of parents who divorced in 1975. "Our family was the only divorced family we knew at the time. Yet, without models, books, or coaches, our parents heroically managed to coparent with the utmost respect for each other and us, fiercely committed to maintaining our strong family bond. Our parents' romantic relationship ended; but our family relationship did not."
Gardner's practice emphasizes that families are still families even if parents are divorced, separated, not married, or in other ways not together. But when she looked around for children's books that focused on the topic, she could not find any that told successful stories like her own. So she has written two new books on the subject herself. "They were just in my heart, and I had to get them out," she laughed during an interview with RIF of NOVA. "People need to see something positive in order to think, 'If they can do that, I can, too.'" Gardner wrote both books to help children feel positive and "not ashamed," and to help parents make their new-normal family a nurturing and successful one for their children.
Sheila Adams Gardner lives in Northern Virginia and practices in Washington, DC. Our NOVA RIF January 2021 picks are her two books, Made of Love and Two Houses One Family. Both are available on Amazon. Meet Sheila Adams Gardner and learn more about her journey here. Sheila is the newest member of the RIF of NOVA board.
This, from family law attorney, mediator, and coparenting coach Sheila Adams Gardner in a recent article. "The term 'broken home,' she says, "is still commonly used to describe families with divorced or separated parents. 'Broken home' is almost always a misnomer as it invalidates the child’s actual family experience to describe the parents’ legal relationship. Worse, it unfairly portends a future of social/emotional dysfunction for the child."
Sheila knows what she is talking about because she grew up as one of four daughters of parents who divorced in 1975. "Our family was the only divorced family we knew at the time. Yet, without models, books, or coaches, our parents heroically managed to coparent with the utmost respect for each other and us, fiercely committed to maintaining our strong family bond. Our parents' romantic relationship ended; but our family relationship did not."
Gardner's practice emphasizes that families are still families even if parents are divorced, separated, not married, or in other ways not together. But when she looked around for children's books that focused on the topic, she could not find any that told successful stories like her own. So she has written two new books on the subject herself. "They were just in my heart, and I had to get them out," she laughed during an interview with RIF of NOVA. "People need to see something positive in order to think, 'If they can do that, I can, too.'" Gardner wrote both books to help children feel positive and "not ashamed," and to help parents make their new-normal family a nurturing and successful one for their children.
Sheila Adams Gardner lives in Northern Virginia and practices in Washington, DC. Our NOVA RIF January 2021 picks are her two books, Made of Love and Two Houses One Family. Both are available on Amazon. Meet Sheila Adams Gardner and learn more about her journey here. Sheila is the newest member of the RIF of NOVA board.
Made of Love was published in November 2020. The book celebrates the cooperative ways in which unmarried parents raise their three-year-old son. Written in rhyme to engage the youngest reader/listener, Made of Love beautifully demonstrates that a family is still a family even when the parents do not live together. Readers can find activity pages to celebrate their own story.
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![]() Meet Riley. Riley is a six-year-old who lives in two houses following her parents’ recent divorce. Recounting the loving and thoughtful ways her divorced parents worked together to support her and each other, Riley learns what truly makes her family a family and provides a view of divorce from the eyes of a child of successful coparents. Complete with opportunities for readers to create pictures or stories about their own families, Two Houses One Family is uplifting for both children and parents.
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Stone Soup -- Reimagined!
Our December 2020 book introduction: The Good Stranger's Sancocho Surprise/ El sancocho sorpresa del buen desconocido, a bilingual retelling of the classic “Stone Soup” tale, set in the Dominican Republic. A stranger who has lost his family to tragedy comes to a rural town, and he is starving. He asks for help, but only a penniless girl, with no knowledge of cooking, will offer it. Together they make sancocho ― a traditional Dominican soup where everything can get thrown into the pot ― using a secret recipe the stranger learned from his grandfather. From seemingly nothing, they create a miraculous banquet and teach the villagers a lasting lesson about generosity, and overcoming fear.
The book was written by John J. McLaughlin. John is a graduate of Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC, the University of Virginia, and the University of Iowa, where he earned an MFA in fiction writing. He lived in the Dominican Republic for several years beginning in 1997, first as assistant director of Creighton University’s Semestre Dominicano program, later as a journalist and teacher.
John’s articles have appeared in various periodicals and can be found on his website. His novel, Run in the Fam'ly (University of Tennessee Press, 2007) won multiple literary prizes. John co-founded Education Across Borders, a nonprofit that works in partnership with marginalized communities in the Dominican Republic to co-create lasting solutions to extreme poverty, through educational, community development, and service-learning programs. John's mother Christine McLaughlin and sister Maureen McLaughlin are members of the RIF of NOVA board.
Our December 2020 book introduction: The Good Stranger's Sancocho Surprise/ El sancocho sorpresa del buen desconocido, a bilingual retelling of the classic “Stone Soup” tale, set in the Dominican Republic. A stranger who has lost his family to tragedy comes to a rural town, and he is starving. He asks for help, but only a penniless girl, with no knowledge of cooking, will offer it. Together they make sancocho ― a traditional Dominican soup where everything can get thrown into the pot ― using a secret recipe the stranger learned from his grandfather. From seemingly nothing, they create a miraculous banquet and teach the villagers a lasting lesson about generosity, and overcoming fear.
The book was written by John J. McLaughlin. John is a graduate of Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC, the University of Virginia, and the University of Iowa, where he earned an MFA in fiction writing. He lived in the Dominican Republic for several years beginning in 1997, first as assistant director of Creighton University’s Semestre Dominicano program, later as a journalist and teacher.
John’s articles have appeared in various periodicals and can be found on his website. His novel, Run in the Fam'ly (University of Tennessee Press, 2007) won multiple literary prizes. John co-founded Education Across Borders, a nonprofit that works in partnership with marginalized communities in the Dominican Republic to co-create lasting solutions to extreme poverty, through educational, community development, and service-learning programs. John's mother Christine McLaughlin and sister Maureen McLaughlin are members of the RIF of NOVA board.
![]() Illustrator Ruddy Núñez is from the Dominican Republic. When he first read John's story, he felt very connected with his DR roots and wanted his illustrations to capture the "environment, the time period, the socio-economic conditions, and the customs of rural, small-town life." He was particularly drawn to the little girl in the story, saying she is "a ray of hope and light." He says the book reaches beyond the Latin American community and is "the story of the Good Samaritan which we all carry within us." Please watch a video of Ruddy Núñez as he draws and describes how the Dominican campo inspired his style of art. The link is here! The cover image is used with permission.
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Teachers and parents can find a full resource guide to the The Good Stranger's Sancocho Surprise here! It's full of art activities, songs, and discussion ideas about the various gifts we each bring to the table. And if that weren't enough, RIF of NOVA community members can buy this bilingual book for a 10% discount! Please click here to find that link!
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The book was written and is narrated by Lucinda Robb and Rebecca Boggs Roberts. Their friendship goes back generations (to their grandmothers, Lady Bird Johnson and Lindy Boggs, and their mothers, Lynda Robb* and Cokie Roberts), this unique melding of seminal history and smart tactics is sure to capture the attention of activists-in-the-making today. Both authors appeared in a National Archives discussion about their new book that took place in August. To see that interview, click here.
In the words of the authors:
Our foremothers didn’t just make the world a better place; they left future generations an arsenal of tactics to achieve their goals. They learned so much through painful trial and error, and we can’t afford to let it be forgotten—including their mistakes. Starting with virtually no political power or public support, a diverse group of suffragists effected the largest single change to American democracy, without resorting to armed rebellion or overthrowing the government. They were fearless, creative, tenacious, and radical. They were also, just as we are today, deeply flawed and human. We find that liberating. You don’t have to be perfect to make the world a better place; you just have to step up.
As we celebrate the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, a lot of the hoopla focuses on the pageantry: the sashes, banners, hats, and dresses. We love the pageantry; it was an intentional and effective political tactic. But the costumes tend to make it feel like the suffrage movement belongs in another time, when in fact their strategies and rhetoric can be incredibly effective for today’s activists. That’s why this isn’t just a history book, but a playbook.
It was important to us that the tactics be genuinely practical. Some of our children want to save the planet, and some just want to save puppies. We hope the lessons in our book apply to both.
In the words of the authors:
Our foremothers didn’t just make the world a better place; they left future generations an arsenal of tactics to achieve their goals. They learned so much through painful trial and error, and we can’t afford to let it be forgotten—including their mistakes. Starting with virtually no political power or public support, a diverse group of suffragists effected the largest single change to American democracy, without resorting to armed rebellion or overthrowing the government. They were fearless, creative, tenacious, and radical. They were also, just as we are today, deeply flawed and human. We find that liberating. You don’t have to be perfect to make the world a better place; you just have to step up.
As we celebrate the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, a lot of the hoopla focuses on the pageantry: the sashes, banners, hats, and dresses. We love the pageantry; it was an intentional and effective political tactic. But the costumes tend to make it feel like the suffrage movement belongs in another time, when in fact their strategies and rhetoric can be incredibly effective for today’s activists. That’s why this isn’t just a history book, but a playbook.
It was important to us that the tactics be genuinely practical. Some of our children want to save the planet, and some just want to save puppies. We hope the lessons in our book apply to both.
Lucinda Robb was project director for Our Mothers Before Us: Women and Democracy, 1789–1920 at the Center for Legislative Archives. She and her family live in Northern Virginia.
Photo: Karen Kasmauski |
Rebecca Boggs Roberts is the author of Suffragists in Washington, DC: The 1913 Parade and the Fight for the Vote and Historic Congressional Cemetery. She and her family live in Washington, DC.
Photo: Moshe Zusman |
*Lynda Robb is a member of the RIF of NOVA Advisory Board.
Cover image used with permission. |