iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Ayyy there’s a new Pride Puppy in town!! 🐶🌈🎉 what a journey this has BEEN. I had the most fun working on this with @robinstevenson.bsky.social, so excited to share the cover & can’t wait for you all to see the rest of the book! 💜

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

well this made my week, maybe the coolest endorsement yet! 😄

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Robin Stevenson @robinstevenson.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Here's something that wasn't on my author bucket list but would have been, had I known it was possible: an endorsement from a PA library's pet axolotl... by the name of Axl Prose! @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social

Small text reads, Center County Library and Historical Museum, www.centercountylibrary.org. below that, larger text reads, Axel Prose's book of the week, followed by the cover of the picture book Pride Puppy, superimposed on a picture of a very handsome and possibly smiling white axolotl.

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Rewire News Group @rewirenewsgroup.com · 09/12/2025

Struggling to figure out what to read over your holiday break? Check out the Rewire staff’s recommendations for your holiday reading, from memoirs to children’s literature.

rewirenewsgroup.com

The Official Rewire 2025 Book List

Our recommendations for your holiday reading, from memoirs to children’s literature.

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Robin Stevenson @robinstevenson.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Just turned in the final (I think) edits on Pride Puppy Countdown, and I am so excited for this book. Cannot WAIT to see what illustrator @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social draws! This whole project makes me happy and I know so many kids who are going to love it.

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Helen Kubiw ❤️ 🇨🇦 📚 @hkubiw.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

I ❤️ words, & young readers will too after reading Sara Cassidy's STAR SAILOR, THE STORY OF WORDS (illus by @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social). This playful NF book looks at how words are created, how they change, etc. From @orcabook.bsky.social canlitforlittlecanadians.blogspot.com/2025/11/star...

canlitforlittlecanadians.blogspot.com

Star Sailor, the Story of Words

Promoting children's and YA books by Canadian authors and illustrators

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

there’s gonna be double the pups!! and some kitties too! 🎉💜🏳️‍🌈🐶🏳️‍⚧️💜🎉 also, a HUGE thank you to everyone who’s supported us through this wild, wild ride!!

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Robin Stevenson @robinstevenson.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

Two more days left in our online fundraising auction. Who wants their own custom pet portrait from PRIDE PUPPY illustrator @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social ? Or kaleidoscopes, or sequinned shoes, or a truly amazing green apple suit with zero bids on it so far?

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Let me draw your cat/dog/hamster/horse for a good cause! 💖

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Abbie James @abbiewjames.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

STAR SAILOR: THE STORY OF WORDS is such a fun introduction to etymology! It prompted great discussions. Written by Sara Cassidy, with gorgeous art by @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social, and published by @orcabook.bsky.social. #IReadCanadian #kidlit 📚👍

cover of STAR SAILOR: THE STORY OF WORDS shows an upside down astronaut with an open book; streamers are coming out of the book with words and pictures on them; the background of the cover is space with stars, a planet, and a spaceship; author and illustrator name are in the lower right; the picture is taken with the book in my hand over a teal patterned rug

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Laura Bontje | Preorder Marian's Big Dig! @laurabontje.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

When I was a student in Alberta, I read a variety of enriching books in IB English classes. Many would no longer be considered "appropriate" for schools. Also, these policies often target books that offer rep. to LGBTQIA+ students who deserve to see themselves in literature. Please sign. #CAIABB

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

Petition is good, direct email is even better! Canadian Authors & Illustrators Against Book Bans (CAIABB) has posted a doc with the addresses and an email template! docs.google.com/document/d/1... #abbookban #abpoli #abgov #CAIABB #bookban #freedomtoread #cankidlit #librarysky #nobansincanada

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

If they don’t consider this a book ban, I’d be afraid to find out what they actually do think is one… a burn pile? #ABbookban #CAIABB #abpoli #abgov #freedomtoread #kidlit #kitlitcanada #bookban #censorship

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

URGENT CALL TO ACTION: please sign and share our petition, tell the Alberta Gov’t you don’t support book bans! Censorship escalates rapidly, put pressure on the gov’t now to ensure it doesn’t take hold in Canada. Change.org/AB-book-ban #CAIABB #ABbookban #FreedomToRead #NoBansInCanada

change.org

Sign the Petition

Tell the Alberta Government: No Book Bans

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Charlotte Sullivan Wild (she) 🏳️‍🌈♿ @cswild.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

Want to support #FReadom? For a short time, the book creators named in #MahmoudvTaylor are offering shirts, hoodies, & sweatshirts with art from @sarahsbrannen.bsky.social - to raise funds for @penamerica.bsky.social, who supported us during this case! #kidlit www.customink.com/fundraising/...

Person with brown skin wearing a black shirt with a screened cartoon image of the 9 US Supreme Court justices each holding one of the picture books named in Mahmoud v. Taylor. In script: "SCOTUS Book Club"

Person with light skin wearing a white sweatshirt with hands in a kangaroo pouch, with a screened cartoon image of the 9 US Supreme Court justices each holding one of the picture books named in Mahmoud v. Taylor. In script: "SCOTUS Book Club"

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Debbie Ridpath Ohi @debbieohi.com · 06/08/2025

Canadian authors & illustators are speaking up against book bans in 🇨🇦. If you're a published Cdn author or illus, pls consider joining us? www.karijones.ca/canadian-aut... Thx @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social (graphics), @robinstevenson.bsky.social, K. Jones (hosting). #CanKidLit #CanLit #BookBans

Authors & Illustrators Speak Out Against Book Bans In Alberta. Text reads:
Canadian Authors and Illustrators Against Book Bans, a group of published writers and artists from across the country, strongly opposes the recent efforts by the Alberta government to ban books in the province’s schools.
We support the rights of young people to read freely and to access books in which they may see people like themselves and their families on the page, and in which they may learn about the lives of other people different from themselves.
We support their right to find the stories they need and the information they seek.

Text reads: The reality is that young people have access to many kinds of media and various forums for content.
Books, especially now, are a crucially important and appropriate way for them to learn about all topics, including sex and sexuality, as they develop their understanding of the world and their own relationships and identities.
In the context of rising censorship and anti-2SLGBTQIA+ backlash in the United States, we are particularly distressed to see a Canadian province adopting the same book banning playbook pushed by far-right American groups like Moms for Liberty.
We are concerned that the new guidelines will be used to target 2SLGBTQIA+ books, a practice that not only censors books and undermines student access, but also sends a harmful message that stigmatizes 2SLGBTQIA+ people and suggests that stories about them do not belong in schools.
Footer: Canadian Authors & Illustrators Against Book Bans.

As writers and illustrators, we support the work done by teachers and librarians to develop diverse and inclusive collections in schools, and we urge all levels of government to consult with them about any issues related to books in schools.
As writers — and for some of us, also as teachers and as parents — we understand the value and importance of allowing students to choose the literature they want.
Students who choose the books they want are empowered, allowing them to improve literacy.
Footer: Canadian Authors & Illustrators Against Book Bans.

We believe that the best way to ensure school libraries meet the wide-ranging needs of students is to provide adequate funding for school librarian positions.
Book bans do not protect children. Children do not need to be protected from books in their school libraries.
They do need to be protected from the kinds of hate, bigotry, and discrimination that often motivate attempts to ban books.
We stand against all attempts at book banning in Canadian schools and libraries, and we hope you will join us in this.
Message is signed, Canadian Authors & Illustrators Against Book Bans.

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

our first shared reading and my first reading ever!! also look at our extremely cute dogs / the editor & art director of pride puppy!!

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Robin Stevenson @robinstevenson.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Pride Puppy illustrator @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social and I wrote a statement on today's SCOTUS decision in the Mahmoud v Taylor case. Here it is.

An image of a family with two moms, a grandma, a baby, a young child, and dog- all characters from the picture book Pride Puppy- stand in front of the US Supreme Court. Text reads, Statement on Mahmoud v. Taylor, by Robin Stevenson and Julie McLaughlin

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A.S. King @as-king.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

A lot of kids need books. A lot of those kids sign their emails to authors “some random kid.” Maybe before you ban books, you should talk to the kids about how they feel. That’s what protecting kids would look like. Not taking away books that help them feel seen while you ignore them. 👍🏻

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

this is jaunty little Mr. Pants, who makes a cameo on the Pride Puppy parade float!

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Robin Stevenson @robinstevenson.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

I don't think I will ever get over the absurdity of this.

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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

The Supreme Court is on the brink of effectively banning the book Pride Puppy from public schools but IT CAN’T BAN MY PRIDE PUPPY🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

The author of PRIDE PUPPY (the book Neil Gorsuch horribly mangled/misrepresented during the Mahmoud argument) wants LAWLESS to be widely read! So ... you can go to your local bookstore today & get a copy! Or support independent bookstores (discount code STRICT24): bookshop.org/p/books/lawl...

bookshop.org

Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

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Robin Stevenson @robinstevenson.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

K is for Kavanaugh, chugging his beer; L for lies to fuel hate and fear...

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

I is for inquiry, where are the straps? J is for justices, show us the chaps!

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

lmaoooo another beautiful gem perfectly timed during another stressful week!! hot new book by @chortle.blog, gorsuch gets a very unique education! www.chortle.blog/p/neil-gorsu...

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Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 27/04/2025

Also: Since she left the Trump DOJ and rebranded as a legal pundit, a reasonable number of people in academia and Supreme Court media have taken to treating Sarah Isgur as a serious person, and I am imploring you to cut that shit out ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/pride...

After oral argument, Republican lawmakers, conservative media outlets, and right-wing activist groups held up this exchange as more damning evidence of the prevalence of insidious pro-gay propaganda in America's godless schools. Other voices in the conservative media ecosystem had been preparing for this moment for months: During a podcast in January, former Trump Justice Department flack Sarah Isgur explained that she would not want her child reading Pride Puppy, not "necessarily" because of its LGBTQ content, she said, but because of the "really graphic sex stuff." Isgur went on to cite "L is for leather" and "C is for clamps" as examples of the
"way overly sexual content" she would not tolerate in her home.

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

for the 2 people out there who get the RHOBH/SCOTUS crossover

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Alex Brown 🇵🇸 (they/them) @bookjockeyalex.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

This thread is what comes from not pushing back on bigots when they say they don't want porn in libraries. There is no porn! It's all made up! Journalists need to force the issue rather than both sidesing it.

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Immigrant now citizen @now-citizen.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

I hope Gorsuch never sees Noem or Boebert wearing leather jackets. Are they into bondage or sex work or both?

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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

Grateful to @jaywillis.net for investigating ANOTHER children’s book slandered by the Supreme Court to find that—surprise, surprise—Neil Gorsuch is lying about what’s in it. ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/pride...

ballsandstrikes.org

I Think Neil Gorsuch Is Lying About a “Religious Freedom” Case Again

Why did Gorsuch claim that ‘Pride Puppy’, an alphabet book about a lost dog, introduces kids to bondage and sex workers? Let’s find out!

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EJP @ejpettinger.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

Is it good when Supreme Court justices lie?

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

another major highlight of the week, read this brilliant piece by @jaywillis.net, it’s a wild ride! “How did Gorsuch end up believing that Pride Puppy, a rhyming alphabet storybook about a lost dog at a pride parade, introduces children to bondage and sex workers? Let’s find out together!”

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Robin Marwick @electricland.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

again: this is a picture book about a lost dog at a Pride parade

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

listening to this was a major highlight of a prettty lousy week, smart & hilarious! “Neil Gorsuch seems to think Pride Puppy is about a sex worker who is into bondage, right? And he actually said, well, gosh, I read it. Motherfucker, no, you didn't.” LOLOL ✅

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Pride Puppy was published 4 years ago, it’s been 2 years since the plaintiffs first pursued the lawsuit including the book. At a time when it’s literally never been easier to share an image online, why have I never not ONCE seen anyone post a pic of the alleged offensive material?

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Thanks @amandamarcotte.bsky.social for this piece and including my blog post about all the absurd lies and misinformation!

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

It’s true! I emailed her directly because I genuinely thought she hadn’t read it. She gave the most patronizing reply, said I was making a lot of assumptions, and that yes, she HAD read the book. Once again, someone who is either a terrible reader, or a liar.

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〰️ julie mclaughlin 〰️ @whatwouldjuliedraw.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

In the SCOTUS Mahmoud vs Taylor hearing yesterday, Gorsuch claimed there are “leather and bondage things” in Pride Puppy, sorry what?

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Katherine Locke @katherinelocke.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Copy pasting from Threads, but here's my reaction after the oral arguments for Mahmoud v Taylor today. I'm out of class for the night, and I'm tired, and very hungry, but let's talk about the takeaways. Long thread time!

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Robin Stevenson @robinstevenson.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

As the author of Pride Puppy, I'm used to misinformation- but I didn't expect to hear these lies at SCOTUS. (Also- bondage? Was Gorsuch referring to the family's dog being on a leash? Who knows?!) Anyway, please read this to see what's actually in the book! www.whatwouldjuliedraw.com/pridepuppy

whatwouldjuliedraw.com

pride puppy & SCOTUS — what would julie draw?

take a look at what's really in Pride Puppy!

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Imani Gandy @angryblacklady.blacksky.app · 22/04/2025

Gorsuch read Pride Puppy and he thinks it's about a sex worker who is into leather. lmao

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Martha Hickson @sassylibrarian.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

Let’s hope SCOTUS actually reads all 9 books in dispute in Mahmoud v Taylor. I did. You can, too. It takes about an hour. They’re charming, sweet, informative. They’re filled with messages of love & acceptance. But I wonder whether this court in this country will rule in favor of love & acceptance.

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Sarah & Ian Hoffman @sarahandianhoffman.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Join us in standing up in FULL color for inclusive education in front of the Supreme Court on Monday, April 22nd, from 8 am to 2 pm. For more info: liveinyourtruth.org/rally-regist...

Text: Join us at the Rally for Inclusive Education on April 22nd, 8 am to 2 pm in front of the Supreme Court. Two book characters from Jacob’s Room to Choose are holding hands in front of the Supreme Court steps with a rainbow umbrella in one hand and a Proud to Be Me sign in the other, facing bathroom doors with men and women icons on the doors that don’t match the shape of their gender identity with their clothing choices. Jacob is wearing a dress and Sophie is wearing a button down shirt with pants, staring at the women’s icon with the outline of a dress.

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