At Penny Candy, we strive to make books that are beautiful to look at and hold, fun for kids to read, and useful to parents and educators in addressing difficult or big topics. So we were thrilled when WordPlay Cincy, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization building literacy through the arts in Cincinnati, sent us a lesson plan they had made for Shira Erlichman’s Be/Hold: A Friendship Book. We liked their work so much that we hired WordPlay Cincy to make lesson plans for six more of our picture books.
WordPlay’s mission is to create spaces for young people to fulfill their potential by discovering, honoring, and sharing their voices. WordPlay provides creative programming in schools, at partner organizations, and at a community writing center in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Northside. Workshops are free of charge to the families who participate, thanks to support from donations large and small.
Mia Vera, Program Director, WordPlay Cincy
In addition to Be/Hold, Mia Via, Program Coordinator at WordPlay, has designed plans for the following Penny Candy titles: Hedy and Her Amazing Invention; Henry the Boy; Luca’s Bridge / El puente de Luca; Trini’s Big Leap; The Cloud Lasso; and Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy. Thanks to WordPlay’s association with Chase Elementary in Cincinnati, Mia was able to get real-time feedback from students and teachers on each lesson plan.
We asked Mia a few questions about WordPlay and its new partnership with Penny Candy Books.
PCB: Tell us what sets WordPlay Cincy apart from other, similar organizations?
MV: I find that WordPlay’s commitment to honoring the wisdom of communities, of pre-existing structures, sets it apart from other nonprofits. You’ll find our executive director, Libby Hunter, often saying, “we don’t need more nonprofits! We need to bolster those that are already doing amazing work.” And she’s right.
Time and again, WordPlay’s commitment to honoring the wisdom of the teachers, teaching artists, community leaders, and our own neighbors enables us to deepen our practice in a way that doesn’t assume or bulldoze, that doesn’t perpetuate systems of white supremacy or capitalism. By marrying best practices in literacy to the deep care of the communities we work in, I find that WordPlay truly encourages the creative expression of each individual we work with, while bolstering the commitment to future orientation—a crucial element of true change.
PCB: How did you discover Penny Candy Books?
MV: I discovered Penny Candy through Shira Erlichman’s book, Be/Hold. I’d followed her as a poet for years, and once I saw her children’s book, I snatched it up and designed a workshop plan around it. Little did I know, Penny Candy Books was behind the publishing and had a whole store full of thoughtful, inclusive books exactly in line with my own values.
PCB: Why are WordPlay and Penny Candy a good match?
MV: At the risk of being cheeky, we're a good match because WordPlay provides opportunity for growth in reading, writing, and storytelling and Penny Candy provides materials for those exact things. At WordPlay, we value our four elements—creative expression, personal development, future orientation, and community building—and all of Penny Candy’s collection falls deeply and beautifully in line with those elements.
We sincerely appreciate Mia’s work with WordPlay to bring these seven Penny Candy title’s to life for students and teachers. These lesson plans will be available for download from our website starting on November 1.
Here’s to the big conversations that happen when voices are discovered, honored, and shared!