The new Captain America has a big shield to carry. Is he up to the task? Find out in these subversive, exciting and uplifting short stories inspired by the Marvel comic book universe, written by celebrated Black authors. The new Captain America has a heavy shield to hold. As a Black man in America, Sam Wilson knows he has to be twice as good to get half as much credit. He must be a paragon of virtue for a nation that has mixed feelings towards him. In these thirteen brand-new stories, the all-new Captain America must thwart an insurrectionist plot, …
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About the Book — The Fortunate Son recounts the parallel lives of an army brat and a group of Vietnam veterans who intersect decades after the war. “The veterans open up to me, the army brat, perhaps in a way they never have with their own families,” explains author Timothy Trainer. “Through my father, Top, their First Sergeant, we have a common link. Over the years, we’ve gotten to know each other. They begin to understand the sacrifices of an army family. But, more importantly, they want me to understand how our family’s sacrifice and my father’s tour of duty …
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Inkandescent Kids magazine: You had the opportunity to go to the Broadway performance of Hamilton to celebrate your 13th birthday. Congratulations! What made you want to choose this gift as a way to usher in your teen years?
Nathaniel: I’ve always loved Hamilton. It’s always been my favorite musical. My Mom gave me two options : go to the beach or see Hamilton. Obviously, I chose Hamilton.
Inkandescent Kids magazine: Who got to go with you?
Nathaniel: It was me, my mom, one of my friends, Harper, and her mom.
Inkandescent Kids magazine: Are you a fan of American …
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One of my favorite activities for the past few years has been judging games for the Serious Play Conference. I have had the chance to play games used to protect workplaces from cyber-attacks, video games for K-12 students to learn just about every subject imaginable, board games for nurses and scientists, card games for mental health, and more. The possibilities for helping people to learn in engaging ways are only limited by our imaginations.
Last month I challenged you to become a gamification detective and to start looking for examples of gamification in the world around you. Did you …
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One child once told me his brain felt “noodley.” Noodley isn’t exactly a word you’ll find on a traditional vocabulary list. But I didn’t want to correct him. I wanted to know more. What does a noodley brain feel like? As we talked, his description started to make sense. He was connecting the overlapping strands of spaghetti he had recently eaten with the jumbled, confusing feeling he was experiencing in his brain. That’s a pretty sophisticated use of language.
Finding Words for What’s Happening Inside: Interoception is our sense of what is happening inside our bodies. When children pay attention …
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NASA tells us: Known as the “mother of the Hubble Space Telescope,” Nancy Grace Roman was born May 16, 1925 in Nashville, Tennessee, and died December 25, 2018. From a young age, Roman showed an interest in astronomy, and when she was 11 years old she organized a club with her classmates in Reno, Nevada. In this club they learned about constellations and celestial objects from a book. By high school, Roman realized that she had a passion for astronomy and wanted to pursue it. Her academic prowess was highlighted when she participated in an accelerated program and graduated in …
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A Note from Hope Katz Gibbs, publisher, InkandescentKids.com magazine — Hello, friends! The InkandescentKids.com team is overwhelmed with gratitude at the amazing turnout for our birthday bash and first annual children’s book fair! We filled the upstairs with more than 30 children’s book authors and sponsors and families of all ages. Student art was on display, including the work of Leanna Grimes and Jovanny Felix Luna. Plus, students from Rock of Ages Music (ROAM), the amazing music school in Del Ray, VA, brought us two student musicians who performed for the crowd, Elizabeth Lane and Gia Attiken. …
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What can we say about Dolly Parton other than — WOW! And THANK YOU! Born on January 19, 1946, in Sevier County, Tennessee, Dolly Rebecca Parton grew up in a humble family as one of twelve children in a small one-bedroom home nestled in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. She consistently drew inspiration throughout her career from her immense appreciation and love for the place and people that raised her. In 2022, Dolly was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Dolly earned 29 RIAA-certified gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards across her career, selling over 100 million …
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Today, NASA launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Named after NASA’s first chief astronomer, the ‘mother of the Hubble Space Telescope,’ the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will have a field of view at least 100 times larger than Hubble’s, potentially measuring light from a billion galaxies in its lifetime.
This observatory will also be able to block starlight to directly observe exoplanets and planet-forming disks, complete a statistical census of planetary systems in our galaxy, and settle essential questions in dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics.
Click here to keep track of its progress: science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope
Click here to …
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“How do you feel?” It sounds like a simple question. But for some children, it’s actually a very complicated one. To answer, a child has to notice what is happening inside their body, make sense of those signals, connect them with an emotion, and then find the words to tell us about it. That’s a lot happening behind one little question.
Start With the Body: Interoception is the sense that helps us notice what is happening inside our bodies. It helps us notice things like hunger, thirst, temperature, pain, and the need to use the bathroom. It also helps …
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Dolly Parton once helped slash the dropout rate in her home county by offering students money to finish school. In 1991, she launched something called the Buddy Program in Sevier County, Tennessee. At the time, the dropout rate for the participating classes was around 35%. So Dolly made students a deal.
Every 7th and 8th grader was paired with a buddy. If both of them eventually graduated high school, Dolly would give each student $500. The idea was simple: Give students a reason to encourage each other to stay in school.
And it worked. For those participating classes, the dropout …
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A Note from the InkandescentKids editors: If it’s Friday, it’s time for our weekly spotlight on HomeschoolOT founder Sarah Collins, who will be sharing her insights with us. Be sure to follow Sarah at homeschoolot.com.
Adults talk a lot about preparing kids for the “real world.” Usually that conversation includes grades, graduation, college, or getting a job.
Those things matter, but being ready for adulthood involves a lot more than what appears on your transcript.
For the 100th episode of The OT is IN podcast, I interviewed my daughter, who recently graduated from our …
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Entrepreneur and activist Janice Murphy founded Light the Way Foundation (LTW) in 2016 because, as a child, she shares that she was unable to participate in activities due to limited resources. “My mission is to ensure all youth are afforded the opportunity to participate in enrichment activities, as they are critical to development,” shares Janice, who received a Master of Business Administration degree from UMUC and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from Strayer University. “I have always had a passion to help youth reach their goals. LTW has enabled me to watch community youth develop into confident and …
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The InkandescentKids.com team was thrilled to celebrate artwork by Jovanny Felix Luna at our 1st Birthday Bash on August 8. We look forward to watching this young artist grow! Find his work on YouTube at @JovannyFelixLuna.
About Jovanny: I’m a rising senior at West Potomac High School and an award-winning filmmaker and artist. I love art and history and primarily focus on film and prop-making, though I have also begun exploring visual art, with Hijo and its accompanying pieces being the first major artworks I’ve created. Apart from creating things, I’m also the founder of Movie Magic Workshop, an after-school …
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A Note from the InkandescentKids editors: If it’s Friday, it’s time for our weekly spotlight on HomeschoolOT founder Sarah Collins, homeschoolot.com. Today she’s shining a light on one of the biggest questions homeschool families ask themselves. Scroll down to read all about it!
One of the hardest things about homeschooling is that you don’t always know whether it’s working while you’re in the middle of it. You can check a math assignment or see whether you finished the science curriculum, but how do you measure confidence, independence, responsibility, or the ability to manage time?
For the 100th episode …
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August 9, 2026 — The Zebra reporter Lisa-Helene Lawson attended our August 8 InkandescentKids.com Children’s Book Fair and 1st Birthday Bash at Elaine’s restaurant in Old Town, Alexandria. In the article, she explains: How three women behind Inkandescent Kids are getting children off TikTok, out of AI, and into the reporter’s notebook as their magazine turns one. Scroll down to read the article, and click here to check it out in TheZebra.com.
By Lisa-Helene Lawson, ALEXANDRIA, Va – Hope Gibbs envisioned a publication that helps children shine over a decade ago. Now, her dream is celebrating its first birthday. On …
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August 2026 — Founded by award-winning journalist Hope Katz Gibbs and educator Ellen Smith, Inkandescent Kids magazine empowers children to share their ideas, develop their talents and explore the world through reporting, art, and storytelling. It is an honor and privilege to welcome you to Inkandescent Kids magazine: A project inspired by my two children, both of whom were born in Del Ray when we lived in a magical Sears house at 7 W. Braddock Road.
Anna, 30, graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts and grew up to become a photographer and videographer who owns …
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August 5, 2026 — In today’s article, reporter Shirley Ruhe shared information about InkandescentKids.com and our August 8 Children’s Book Fair and 1st Birthday party. Scroll down to read the article. And stay tuned for exciting details about the smashing event that drew a large crowd at Elaine’s in Old Town, Alexandria: ElainesLiterarySalon.com.
By Shirley Ruhe, Gazette Packet
Inkandescent Kids Magazine” is celebrating its one-year birthday at a Book Fair on Aug. 8 at Elaine’s Restaurant, 208 Queen Street in Old Town, Alexandria.
Hope Katz Gibbs, the founder of the magazine and organizer of the event, says they …
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InkandescentKids welcomes children’s book author and grandma extraordinaire Vicki Gasperini. A retired high school English, speech, and Resource teacher from 1976-2019, Vicki decided during the pandemic that the best way to stay connected to her grandkids was to write books with them.
Find details about the books and her co-authors below! And meet Vicki in person in person at our August 8 InkandescentKids Children’s Book Fair and Birthday Party!
Adventure Cat Meets the Flying Monkeys
By Olivia Grace Schworer and Vicki Lee Gasperini • Illustrated by Tristan Tait
Meet Pompom, a young cat living a comfortable life with her loving …
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If you love stories that make you feel a little (or a lot) scared, shocked, and totally curious about things that go bump in the night — you are going to love Chanthal Harris’ new bookstore, Long Dark House at 1510 King Street in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia — just a short walk from the King Street Metro stop.
She’s opening the doors on September 1, 2026, and on the August 11 episode of ElainesLiterarySalon.com show, we are going to talk with her about her big plans for the shop, her dreams of spreading her love for books, and what …
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Meet Elizabeth Lane: An award-winning 21-year-old Singer-Songwriter born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia — at 15, Elizabeth started writing songs after her vocal coach from Rock of Ages Music, Taisha Estrada, encouraged her to do so. She has recorded and released 18 original songs since then, including a full-length album, and has garnered over 300,000 streams worldwide.
In 2023, Elizabeth was awarded the Bernard/Ebb Young Songwriter Award, recognizing the best youth songwriter across the DC, Maryland, and Virginia region. When she’s not writing songs or performing, Elizabeth is a busy college student at UC Santa Barbara, where she is …
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Meet the musician: Elizabeth Lane is an award-winning 21-year-old Singer-Songwriter born & raised in Alexandria, Virginia. At 15, she started writing songs after her vocal coach from Rock of Ages Music, Taisha Estrada, encouraged her to do so. She has recorded and released 18 original songs since then, including a full-length album, and has garnered over 300,000 streams worldwide.
In 2023, Elizabeth was awarded the Bernard/Ebb Young Songwriter Award, recognizing the best youth songwriter across the DC, Maryland, and Virginia region. When she’s not writing songs or performing, Elizabeth is a busy college student at UC Santa Barbara, where she …
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About Bob’s books: Courage to Thrive: Finding Joy and Hope in the Midst of Mental Health Struggles. In his first-person spiritual journal, published in June 2020, Father Bob takes the reader with him as he traverses the dark and scary landscape of his mind and then the paths of faith that lead him to the Source of light and hope. Through a vulnerable look at the realities of a priest battling mental illness and still thriving, readers–whether dealing with similar mental health challenges or the stressors of everyday life–are left with a quiet confidence that assures them they, too, can …
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About Things to do: Del Ray, VA — A hyperlocal media company and the #1 newsletter in Del Ray, Alexandria, the organization was founded in 2024 by Rachel Turula.
She explains, “Del Ray, Alexandria is such a magical neighborhood, with passionate independent small businesses, innovative restaurants and coffee shops, an artsy community, friendly neighbors, parks, playgrounds, and an overall come-as-you-are vibe. And of course, lots of fun things to do! We’re all about connecting community and celebrating local business. Del Ray is a special, unique hidden gem. If you’ve never been, come on by, stroll The Avenue, and see what …
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