iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 16/10/2026

On Oct. 16, 1968, Olympians Tommie Smith & John Carlos stood on the podium, raised their fists to protest racial injustice, & were later ordered to leave the Games. READ: Victory. Stand!—Raising My Fist for Justice bookshop.org/a/17044/9781... 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #truestory #TodayInHistory #olympics

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

Oct. bdays: a kid from the rural South who conquered the fashion world, the first African American woman to travel in space, the first soccer player to score 1000 goals, a Muslim woman who overcame obstacles & became a renowned architect, and many more 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 truestorybookshop.com/october-birt...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

TRUE STORY: In the 1960s, artist Gyo Fujikawa fought publishers to feature a multi-racial cast of babies in her picture books. In 2021, a book about Fujikawa was banned and challenged in FL & PA. It Began with a Page by Kyo Maclear & Julie Morstad bookshop.org/a/17044/9780... #bannedbooksweek

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

TRUE STORY: A Caldecott Honor & Coretta Scott King award-winner book was temporarily banned in Pennsylvania's Central York School District for having "critical race theory" connections. #kidlit #truestory #bannedbooksweek Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews & Bryan Collier: bookshop.org/a/17044/9781...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

TRUE STORY: A book about the 1st African American woman in space has been challenged & temporarily banned in some school districts due to its association with anti-racism education. Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed & Stasia Burrington: bookshop.org/a/17044/9780... 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #bannedbooksweek

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

TRUE STORY: A Robert F. Sibert Medal winning book about Maria Sibylla Merian—who was one of the first entomologists to document the metamorphosis of the butterfly—was banned in Florida. #kidlit #truestory #BannedBooksWeek 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 bookshop.org/a/17044/9780...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

It’s #worldarchitectureday — a good time to read about these architects: #kidlit #truestory #architecture 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 truestorybookshop.com/architecture/

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

TRUE STORY: J Is for Justice! an Activism Alphabet was banned in various U.S. school districts because of its social justice terminology, references to activism, and mentions of historic civil rights elements. #kidlit #truestory #BannedBooksWeek 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 bookshop.org/a/17044/9781...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

TRUE STORY: September 25 (9-2-5) is Dolly Parton Day. Celebrate by reading books that sparkle and shine. #kidlit #truestory #dollyday 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 Find these and more Dolly books: www.pinterest.com/karlingray/d...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

TRUE STORY: September 15 to October 15 marks Hispanic Heritage Month—a month-long celebration of Hispanic and Latino history and culture. Celebrate with these true stories and more: truestorybookshop.com #kidlit #truestory #hispanicheritagemonth 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

TRUE STORY: Robert McCloskey’s chaotic NYC apartment became a lively studio when he brought ducklings home to perfect the illustrations for his beloved book “Make Way for Ducklings.” Read: Mr. McCloskey's Marvelous Mallards bookshop.org/a/17044/9781... #kidlit #bornonthisday #robertmccloskey

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

True stories that honor the victims, survivors, and heroes of September 11th 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #kidlit #truestory #patriotday truestorybookshop.com/patriot-day/

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

September birthdays: a shy girl who grew up to be a superstar, a painter who fought for justice, a gravity-defying basketball player who transformed the sport, a grandma and her great-niece who inspired a tidal wave of change, and many more. 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 truestorybookshop.com/september-bi...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Rest in power Dolly, Yayoi, and Gloria. 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #dollyparton #yayoikusama #gloriasteinem Find #kidlit books about these extraordinary women: bookshop.org/shop/KarlinG...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Rest in power, Gloria Steinem Thank you for lifting up girls and women, strengthening us, & changing the world. Rise, Girl, Rise by Gloria Steinem, Leymah Gbowee & Kah Yangni #kidlit #truestory #gloriasteinem 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 bookshop.org/a/17044/9781...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

🔴⚫️ 🔴⚫️ 🔴⚫️ 🔴⚫️ 🔴⚫️ 🔴⚫️ 🔴⚫️ 🔴 Rest in polka dots Yayoi Kusama, 1929-2026 🔴⚫️ 🔴⚫️ 🔴⚫️ 🔴⚫️ 🔴⚫️ 🔴⚫️ 🔴⚫️ 🔴 Yayoi Kusama Covered Everything in Dots and Wasn’t Sorry by Fausto Gilberti #kidlit #truestory #yayoikusama 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 bookshop.org/a/17044/9781...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Read about these #flygirls and more: truestorybookshop.com/books-by-sub... 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #kidlit #truestory #nationalaviationweek

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

TRUE STORY: Margaret Hamilton’s childhood passion for math led her to MIT & ultimately to writing the crucial code for NASA, enabling the successful landing of a man on the moon. Read: Margaret and the Moon by Dean Robbins & Lucy Knisley 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #kidlit #truestory #bornonthisday amzn.to/4zoQ9si

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

TRUE STORY: Self-taught paleontologist Susan Hendrickson found the most complete and best-preserved T Rex skeleton on South Dakota’s Cheyenne River Sioux reservation in 1990. 🦖 Read: When Sue Found Sue By Toni Buzzeo & Diana Sudyka 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #kidlit #truestory #onthisday #trex amzn.to/4fUIwm1

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

TRUE STORY: At a party in the Bronx in 1973, DJ Kool Herc introduced the technique of playing the same album on two turntables and adding the breakbeat—an event recognized as the birth of hip-hop. amzn.to/4i2AaKn 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #kidlit #truestory #onthisday #DJKoolHerc

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

For #NationalBookLoversDay, read: 📕My Word, Theodore! 📕And She Was Loved 📕Otherwise Known as Judy the Great 📕Digging for Words Find these true stories & more: truestorybookshop.com/book-lovers/ 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #kidlit #truestory #bookpeople

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

TRUE STORY: On this day in 1943, Hazel Ying Lee earned her pilot’s license. She was the first Chinese American woman to fly for the US military. Read: The Fearless Flights of Hazel Ying Lee by Julie Leung &Julie Kwon 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 bookshop.org/a/17044/9780... #truestory #onthisday #hazelyinglee

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Born in #August: the visionary who transformed American literature, the woman who designed London’s Reptile House, the U.S.’s highest-ranking trans political official, the artist who made a refugees’ life jacket installation & more. 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 truestorybookshop.com/august-birth... #kidlit #truestory

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

TRUE STORY: With the fire of his pen, great American novelist, essayist, poet, playwright, orator, & artist James Baldwin dared a nation to dream of a more equitable world filled with love. 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #truestory #kidlit #jamesbaldwin #bornonthisday Jimmy's Rhythm & Blues: bookshop.org/a/17044/9780...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

TRUE STORY: Patrick Kelly defied fashion norms with his vibrant designs, creating joy for outsiders until the world finally embraced his unique vision. Clothes to Make You Smile ~ #EricDarnellPritchard & @shanfiction.bsky.social bookshop.org/a/17044/9781... 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #truestory #kidlit #PatrickKelly

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

TRUE STORY: On this day in 1969, the Apollo 11 mission put men on the Moon for the first time. Read about the men on the lunar mission and the women who helped them get there. Moonshot: bookshop.org/a/17044/9781... Hidden Figures: bookshop.org/a/17044/9780... 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #kidlit #truestory #apollo11

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

National Moth Week 2026 is July 18–26! Celebrate by reading AN EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY MOTH with your favorite little nature lovers. #kidlit #mothweek #MothWeek26Art @mothweek.bsky.social amzn.to/4w8u67j

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

TRUE STORY: Born into slavery, Ida B. Wells became an educator, journalist, businesswoman, newspaper owner, suffragist, activist & women’s club leader. 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth By Michelle Duster & Laura Freeman bookshop.org/a/17044/9781... #bornonthisday #kidlit #truestory #idabwells

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Celebrate the Semiquincentennial with true stories about American patriotism: 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 truestorybookshop.com #kidlit #truestory #America250

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Born in July: an astronaut from the 1st all-women spacewalk, the injured artist who grew into a celebrated painter, the “Pigeon Charmer” who revolutionized electricity distribution, a heroic WWII cyclist, and more! 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 truestorybookshop.com/july-birthda... #kidlit #truestory #bornonthisday

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

TRUE STORY: When #SerenaWilliams was little, she played with donated tennis equipment. Because the balls were old, many had lost their bounce. But she kept using them because it was good practice for #Wimbledon — where grass courts made the balls bounce lower. 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #kidlit amzn.to/4va5PfQ

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

TRUE STORY: During his training as an architect, Antoni Gaudi’s teachers wondered: is he a “genius or a fool?” But Gaudí was simply ahead of his time. 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #kidlit #bornonthisday #Gaudi #truestory GAUDI: ARCHITECT OF IMAGINATION amzn.to/3R2x1PF

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Happy Birthday Cyndi Lauper! 🌈 Celebrate by sharing her story with young readers. LIKE A RAINBOW: The Colorful Story of Cyndi Lauper by @amy-guglielmo.bsky.social , Jacqueline Tourville & @brigettebarrager.bsky.social 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 bookshop.org/a/17044/9781... #kidlit #truestory #cyndilauper

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

TRUE STORY: When you buy a book on @bookshop.org , you financially support local independent bookstores. Shoot and Goal! From 6/23-6/26, 2006: Buy MIA AND FRIENDS and more #truestories for kids at True Story Bookshop and get Free Standard Shipping—win, win! bookshop.org/shop/KarlinG... #kidlit

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Tomorrow is #WorldGiraffeDay 🦒 I was lucky enough to meet & interview Dr. Anne Innis Dagg—the world’s first giraffologist! Read all about this trailblazer and advocate for giraffe conservation in my book ANNE AND HER TOWER OF GIRAFFES: amzn.to/4axaZLF 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #Kidlit #truestory #giraffes

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

TRUE STORY: At twelve, Opal Lee’s home was burned down on Juneteenth by an angry mob. Instead of being intimidated, Opal was determined to fight for national recognition of the holiday and true freedom. 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #Kidlit #truestory #juneteenth bookshop.org/a/17044/9781...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

RIP David Hockney—He lives on through his art and every time a child reads To See Clearly: A Portrait of David Hockney by Evan Turk #kidlit #truestory #davidhockney 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 bookshop.org/a/17044/9781...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

@amy-guglielmo.bsky.social & Jacqueline Tourville share how they created Like a Rainbow: The Colorful Story of Cyndi Lauper, illustrated by @brigettebarrager.bsky.social The perfect gift for young music lovers! 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 Q&A: truestorybookshop.com/qa-with-auth... #kidlit #writingtips #truestory

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Jacques Cousteau was born #onthisday Celebrate by reading the #truestory Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #summerreading bookshop.org/a/17044/9781...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

‘99 Women’s #WorldCup flashback. Mia and Friends: Mia Hamm and the Soccer Sisterhood that Changed History. ⚽️ #soccer #kidlit #graphicnovel #truestory #womeninsports amzn.to/4uuBI2m

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

10 years ago today, my first book was published: Nadia—The Girl Who Couldn’t Sit Still, illus. by Christine Davenier. And this summer marks the 50th anniversary of #NadiaComaneci ’s perfect 10 at the Olympics. Share this #truestory w/your favorite little #gymnast: truestorybookshop.com/gymnastics/

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Welcome back to the court #SerenaWilliams 🎾 It’s the perfect time to read SERENA: THE LITTLEST SISTER truestorybookshop.com/books-by-sub...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Need a #summerreadinglist for kids? Use this one from True Story Bookshop and find hundreds of books to choose from at truestorybookshop.com

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Happy Pride 🏳️‍🌈 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #kidlit #lgbtq+ #truestory Find these books and more: truestorybookshop.com/lgbtq/

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Celebrate June birthdays with #truestories about the golfer who shattered the PGA’s color barrier, the world’s first giraffologist, the aviator whose adventures inspired a timeless children’s book, and more! truestorybookshop.com/june-birthda... 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 #kidlit #bornonthisday

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

#TRUESTORY : Walt Whitman is celebrated as an iconic American poet, but few know of the crucial and heroic role he played tending to the wounded and dying in Civil War hospitals. #WaltWhitman #TheSoldiersFriend #bornonthisdate 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 bookshop.org/a/17044/9781...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Happy #Caturday True stories about people who love cats! 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 truestorybookshop.com/cats/

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

RIP @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social Sonny Rollins lives on through his music and every time a child reads Sonny Rollins Plays the Bridge. 🎷 truestorybookshop.com/books-by-sub...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

“You can’t be what you can’t see.”—Sally Ride #bornonthisday 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚 bookshop.org/a/17044/9780...

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Karlin Gray @karlingray.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

AAA projects 39.1 million people will be on the roads this wknd. For those asking “Are we there yet?”, here are roadtrip #truestories — by car, motorcycle, bike, & wheelchair: Opening the Road Pedal, Balance, Steer Bessie the Motorcycle Queen The Man in Motion #nationalroadtrip 📚👍 💡📚 💙📚

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