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Sara Van Note

@svannotes.bsky.social
697 followers 584 following 172 posts

Science & nature writer for kids and adults. Also educator, naturalist, meanderer. 🌱 🦋 🦜 Member SCBWI, SEJ, NASW. Represented by Kathleen Rushall at Andrea Brown Literary Agency. New Mexico = home

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Reposted by Sara Van Note
Sue Young @sueyoungmusic.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Less than a month til COURAGEOUS COWGIRLS gallops onto the scene! Here’s another cowgirl from the book. Lizzie Johnson Williams was a school teacher, a writer and a bookkeeper in Central Texas. 1/2. #kidlit #picturebook
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LRB Bookshop @londonreviewbookshop.co.uk · 08/08/2026
August is Women in Translation Month. To celebrate, we’ve curated our favourite translated books written by women and spotlighted some of their translators too. The full booklist can be found here: www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/booklists/wo...
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The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation @xercessociety.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
This #WorldBeeDay, learn how to #SaveTheBees! Here in North America, there are over 3600 native species of bees, in all shapes and sizes. Many of them are in trouble, but you help turn things around! Find everything you need to get started 🐝 xerces.org/bring-back-t...
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Sara Van Note @svannotes.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
The kids are alright.
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NBC News @nbcnews.com · 12/05/2026
Gloria Caulfield, the vice president of strategic alliances at Tavistock Development Company, was booed while praising AI at the University of Central Florida commencement.
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Lauren Kirchner @lkirchner.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
A lab in Australia accidentally discovered asbestos in children's play sand, setting off a chain reaction that led to 80 toy recalls (& counting) in at least 13 countries. Does play sand in the US have a problem? We don't know yet. New at @consumerreports.org: www.consumerreports.org/babies-kids/...
consumerreports.org
Asbestos in Children's Play Sand Triggers Recalls in at Least a Dozen Countries - Consumer Reports
At least 12 countries have issued at least 80 recalls or warnings about toys and craft kits made with sand that regulators suspect contain asbestos.
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
“What I didn’t know was that measles can cause long-term complications. A child can seem fine while the virus slowly replicates in her brain… Because both Britain and the United States are confronting outbreaks, I am sharing my story. Parents should know just how dangerous this disease is.”
nytimes.com
Opinion | Measles Took My Daughter. This Is What I Want Everyone to Know.
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Mychal Threets @mychal3ts.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
#ReadThemHome 📚🏡💚 Bring them home ❤️‍🩹🏠🤟🏽 Let kids be kids 💛✨
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Sara Van Note @svannotes.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
I’m so sorry to hear of Jewell’s passing. I was lucky to work for her at the Cheshire Cat when I was in high school. She was such a passionate proponent of children’s literature, and a kind, inspiring boss!
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Claire Cameron @clairecameron.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Many notable books here, including Vivek Shraya’s I’m Afraid of Men and Casey Plett’s Dream of a Woman. lithub.com/what-was-los...
lithub.com
What Was Lost: A Queer Accounting of the NY Times Book Review, 2013-2022
“Goodbye, Pamela Paul,” was the headline of Andrea Long Chu’s now-iconic, recently ASME-nominated New York Magazine farewell to the former NY Times Book Review editor, when Paul left the paper two …
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SCBWI New Mexico @scbwi-nm.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Season Pass Registration is OPEN for New Mexico SCBWI! $60 members / $85 non-members Includes all 9 evening webinars plus a 4-session picture book intensive. Or choose webinars a la carte for $12 each ($18 non-members) www.scbwi.org/events/scbwi... #books #kidlit #scbwi #writing #YAlit
scbwi.org
SCBWI-NM Craft and Career Webinar Series
9 Webinars on topics of craft and career for authors, illustrators, and translators, plus 4 additional picture book themed webinars. Season Pass registration is open through March 16. Individual webin...
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kelly jensen @heykellyjensen.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
A nationwide book ban bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives. Here's what you need to know about HR7661, including who is behind it, the history behind such bills, and what you need to do to stop it. bookriot.com/hr7661-book-...
bookriot.com
A Nationwide Book Ban Bill Has Been Introduced in the House of Representatives
Hours after the State of the Union address, House republicans introduced legislation banning LGBTQ+ books from public schools nationwide.
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Sara Van Note @svannotes.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
I’m celebrating having a second book on submission! And a new NF PB being drafted. I’m also really grateful for inspiration during challenging times. 🌅
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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
STOP THE SAVE ACT (Updated) My new piece is up with lots of info about the SAVE America Act - the version of the SAVE Act that passed the House and is before the Senate this week. This is a MUST READ and then ACT. open.substack.com/pub/sherrily...
open.substack.com
STOP THE SAVE ACT (Updated)
All Eyes on the Senate
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Sara Van Note @svannotes.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
I second the recommendation for Dana Salvador’s incisive, vivid poetry. Winner of the 2025 Cow Creek Chapbook Prize, the judge praised the collection as “cinematic, urgent, and precise.”
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The Librarians Film @thelibrariansfilm.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
"THE LIBRARIANS” packs a riveting punch on the alarming surge of book banning." - The Utah Review Starting TOMORROW, Feb 9th at 12pm ET, stream THE LIBRARIANS for FREE on the PBS YouTube channel and app!
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Sara Van Note @svannotes.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Great news from New Mexico!
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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
ICE at the polls! Bannon is basically yelling “fire” in a crowded theater here. His objective is to cause chaos (and suppress votes on the left). And it’s already working. This threat works on multiple levels and doesn’t have to be “real” to serve its purpose. Let me explain & offer some advice.
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Sara Van Note @svannotes.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
I really love revision, especially when I put away a story for a while, and then rediscover it with fresh eyes! I would guess my stories go through at least 10 drafts before I consider them "done." #kidlitchat
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Sara Van Note @svannotes.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
I'm excited to delve into this list of feminist books for children & young people, which is new to me! "These books celebrate the moment when internal confidence transforms into external power and honor the history of women who refused to be silent."
ala.org
2026 Rise: A Feminist Book Project List
2026 Rise: A Feminist Book Project List
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Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Marimar Martinez, shot 5 times by Border Patrol in Chicago, speaks out after Renee Good, Alex Pretti deaths 'I am their voice' NEW w/ @adrianacardmag.bsky.social: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
chicago.suntimes.com
Marimar Martinez, shot by Border Patrol in Chicago, speaks out after Good, Pretti deaths: 'I am their voice'
In a wide-ranging interview with the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ, Martinez discusses her shooting, the federal government’s failed attempt to prosecute her and the role she now sees for herself in a fi...
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Orion Rummler @oriion.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
A newborn in Minneapolis hadn’t eaten for a day and a half. ICE agents took her mother when she went to work, trying to make money for diapers. Her 16-year-old and Bri, a local mother of two, saved that baby's life. @chabeli.bsky.social tells their story
19thnews.org
When one mother was taken by ICE, another stepped in to donate breastmilk
Moms in Minneapolis are donating diapers, food and time to help families who have been ripped apart by ICE.
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Alex Zielinski @alexzee.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Children detained at a South Texas ICE facility led a demonstration yesterday to protest their treatment. “He heard what sounded like ‘hundreds of children’ shouting, with voices he described as ‘high-pitched’ and ‘urgent’… chanting ‘Libertad.’”
tpr.org
Protest breaks out at Dilley immigration detention facility holding 5-year-old Liam Ramos
A protest broke out Saturday at the ICE-run South Texas family detention complex in Dilley, where five-year-old Liam Ramos is being detained.
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max nesterak @maxnesterak.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
It’s -9 degrees. Downtown Minneapolis is packed for the anti-ICE rally and the crowd keeps growing
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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 23/01/2026
NEW from me: Hundreds of clergy descend on Minneapolis and go on lookout for ICE —> religionnews.com/2026/01/22/h...
religionnews.com
Hundreds of clergy descend on Minneapolis and go on lookout for ICE
MINNEAPOLIS (RNS) — The faith leaders, who hail from across the country and represent a range of religious traditions, deployed to neighborhoods with significant immigrant populations, where DHS agent...
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Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov · 16/01/2026
Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic. The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.
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Sara Van Note @svannotes.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
No cheating. Reskeet with the most recent picture of your pet.
A black and brown Royal New Mexican Mutt surveys the winter landscape from his perch on a lichen-covered rock.
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Sara Van Note @svannotes.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
I just rediscovered my well-loved copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, signed by Eric Carle in the early 1980s. 💚
Book page signed with “For Sara with love. Eric Carle”Cover of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
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SCBWI New Mexico @scbwi-nm.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
Please support the Freedom to Read & Fight Against Censorship #NewMexico. WRITE how books have affected you & ask the Gov to place 3 library bills on Legislative Session. Email: www.governor.state.nm.us/contact-the-... Share Story: www.freedomtoreadnewmexico.org/share_your_s... #books #kidlit
freedomtoreadnewmexico.org
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Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Unbelievable. This would be a terrible blow to American science, writ large. It would decimate not only climate research, but also the kind of weather, wildfire, and disaster research that has underpinned half a century of progress in prediction, early warning, and increased resilience.
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Emily Atkin @emorwee.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Celebrity chefs told Californians that PFAS-coated pans were “safe,” and successfully lobbied Gavin Newsom to veto a bill phasing them out They didn’t mention they all sell PFAS-coated pans. New joint investigation with @mirandagreen.bsky.social and @atmosmag.bsky.social is out:
heated.world
Why are famous chefs fighting PFAS bans?
The answer, in retrospect, is obvious—and it’s part of a larger campaign to stop bans on Teflon cookware nationwide.
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Sara Van Note @svannotes.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Guilty. (I went with the charismatic megafauna). New list below! Introduce yourself with 5 invertebrates you've seen in the wild: Mourning cloak butterfly Blue fungus beetle Klug's velvet ant Jerusalem cricket Sunflower sea star
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Sara Van Note @svannotes.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild: African elephant Nile crocodile Howler monkey Black bear Porcupine
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Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
1. In Tennessee, public libraries have closed for up to a week to facilitate a Trump-inspired book purge. Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) has ordered most of the state's public librarians to remove children's books with LGBTQ characters or themes.
popular.info
Tennessee public libraries close for Trump-inspired book purge
One hundred and eighty-one public libraries in Tennessee are reviewing their children’s collections after Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) ordered them to remove books with LGBTQ themes…
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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Study after study shows that using LLMs is bad for cognition, bad for learning, bad for understanding, bad for mental health. So why are our schools and universities still relentlessly pushing them?
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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 17/11/2025
"There are about a thousand of us." Yes, because the thing about girls is that they don't stay girls for very long. Which makes them disposable. And which means that men like Epstein need a huge supply.
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Deb Krol @debkrol.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
my latest: CRIT grants personhood status to #coloradoriver - 3rd in North America by Indigenous peoples. www.azcentral.com/story/news/l...
azcentral.com
Colorado River wins personhood status from Arizona tribal council
Personhood status creates a powerful new mechanism for protecting the eponymous river that makes life possible in their arid homelands.
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Inked Voices @inkedvoices.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
ANNOUNCEMENT! We've been working hard behind the scenes this year to revamp our approach to our scholarship program. It's now ready and applications for our 2026 scholarship program are LIVE! forms.gle/Pe2qKyaGMH67...
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 19/10/2025
Good morning! @gelliottmorris.com and I have crossed 2.5 million #nokings protesters counted. Our nationwide, unofficial, crowdsourced estimate is now at 4.7-7.9 million. Thank you to all of our local colleagues and volunteers that made this work possible. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
docs.google.com
No Kings!
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G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · 19/10/2025
Good evening. We estimate that between 4.2 and 7.6 million people turned out for the No Kings Day demonstrations held around the country on Saturday. This makes Oct 18 very likely the biggest single-day U.S. protest event since 1970. www.gelliottmorris.com/p/second-no-...
gelliottmorris.com
Second "No Kings Day" protests likely the largest single-day political demonstration since 1970, with 4.2-7.6 million participants
Here are the initial results from our crowdsourced crowd-counting estimates
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Minnesota Reformer @minnesotareformer.com · 18/10/2025
Watch No Kings protests from around the country, ie the 39 states in our network. www.newsfromthestates.com/live-feed/no...
newsfromthestates.com
No Kings protest coverage | News From The States
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Megan Piontkowski Illustration @meganpiont.bsky.social · 12/10/2025
I was commissioned to make a zine for the No Kings 2 protest on Saturday Oct 18th! If you wonder “what can I do?” this zine is for you. It’s packed with things that you can do from wearing a “no ICE” pin to organizing a visibility brigade with your friends. drive.google.com/file/d/1TJnH...
Hand holding a black and white illustrated zine of two people holding signs that say “we marched! Now what?”No Kings logo: a drawing of a crown with a red x over it
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McKenzie Funk @mckenziefunk.com · 16/10/2025
The reality of Kavanaugh stops: American citizens dragged, tackled, beaten, tased, and shot by immigration agents. Citizens held in the rain while in their underwear. A pregnant citizen's door blown off while Kristi Noem watched. Important story by @nicolefoy.bsky.social of @propublica.org
Screenshot of the article by Nicole Foy of ProPublica: 
"When the Supreme Court recently allowed immigration agents in the Los Angeles area to take race into consideration during sweeps, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said that citizens shouldn’t be concerned.

“If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U.S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States,” Kavanaugh wrote, “they promptly let the individual go.”

But that is far from the reality many citizens have experienced. Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents. They’ve had their necks kneeled on. They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear. At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them. One of those women had already had the door of her home blown off while Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem watched.

About two dozen Americans have said they were held for more than a day without being able to phone lawyers or loved ones."
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Union of Concerned Scientists @ucs.org · 10/10/2025
Next Saturday Oct 18, millions of people across America will join together to send a clear message: We the people have the power. Find your local event today and raise your voice for the science, facts, and truth we need to counter the authoritarian overreach of President Trump and his enablers.
nokings.org
No Kings
As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power belongs to the people.
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Tara Haelle @tarahaelle.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
Don't count on the #CDC for evidence-based information about #vaccines these days. But there still remain plenty of other resources for getting that information. Here's where to start.
healthjournalism.org
Where to find accurate vaccine information amidst the CDC’s ongoing collapse
With the CDC no longer a trustworthy source, use these resources to find reliable, accurate, evidence-based information about vaccines.
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Sara Van Note @svannotes.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Now including New Mexico.
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Megan Piontkowski Illustration @meganpiont.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
"How to Report ICE" 10/2: Buffalo, CA, Chicago, CO, DC Metro, DE, FL, Indianapolis, KC Metro, MD, MA, NC Triangle, much of NJ, NM, NYC, Phoenix, Philly, Pittsburgh, Portland OR, RI, Rochester NY, St. Louis Metro, St. Peter & Mankato MN, VA, WI, WY San Francisco in Spanish tinyurl.com/mupyyr2x
Aloe plant "reading" a "How to Report ICE" zine.
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Charlotte Sullivan Wild (she) 🏳️‍🌈♿ @cswild.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Check out @everylibrary.bsky.social's week of FREE events for #BannedBooksWeek! I chat with @katherinelocke.bsky.social and #GigiHoward on Tues. 7 PM Eastern. Here's to #FReadom #BooksNotBans #kidlit #lgbtqkidlit Sign up here: www.everylibrary.org/everylibrary...
everylibrary.org
EveryLibrary Live! Banned Books 2025 Calendar
Join EveryLibrary Live! for Banned Books Week Fest 2025, a free online celebration featuring 25+ authors, editors, and advocates in bold conversations about storytelling, censorship, and the freedom t...
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Sara Van Note @svannotes.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
This huge gorgeous yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia) has been hanging out in my school garden for a few weeks. #Arachtober #Invertebrates
A large spider with yellow and black patterns and an egg shaped abdomen waits at the center of a web with zigzag design beneath itA large spider with black and yellow legs and pale yellow and black markings on its abdomen waits in its web
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