Book Nook - Don't Be Mean to 13!

 Today is Friday the 13th, and while I'm not superstitious, it's the perfect time to highlight a book I got to review that is releasing today -  Don't Be Mean to 13 .

Award-winning children’s book author Douglas Harris  is known for writing children’s books with his daughters, such as Elle The Humanist and the Stardust Book series. This new book explores why children might have friggatriskaidekaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th) and triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13). It's a good book that can introduce the idea of superstitions to kids, and encourage them to use critical thinking and evidence along with the main character of the book.

The books makes the "scary" number 13 cute and likable, and is appropriate for kids of all ages.

Douglas Harris is an award-winning children’s book author and co-owner of Label Free Publishing where he has published My Name is Stardust (Label Free, 2017), Stardust Explores the Solar System (Label Free, 2018), and Stardust Explores Earth’s Wonders (Label Free, 2019). He co-authored these books with his children along with the Stardust Book series. My Name is Stardust is the first in their series of children's illustrated science storybooks and features a foreword by renowned evolutionary biologist and author Richard Dawkins. Harris is also the co-author of Elle the Humanist with his 12-year-old daughter Elle. It is a beautifully illustrated book presenting humanist ideas and ethics in a way that's warm, welcoming, and accessible for young readers. It features a foreword by renowned philosopher and author Daniel Dennett.

In partnership with the Center For Inquiry and the Translations Project, Elle The Humanist and the three books in the Stardust Book series are available for free in Urdu, Arabic, Farsi and Bahasa Indonesia – languages chosen by the Translation Project to help make scientific and humanist literature more available in Muslim-majority countries, where access to such literature can be very limited. Douglas was a featured expert panel speaker at the 2017 BookCon in NYC on Science and Education. While releasing his book at BEA/NYC in 2017, he was interviewed by Helen Little for The Public Library Podcast on iHeartRadio about science, education and literature. His book, Don't Be Mean to 13, was released in October 2023 on Friday the 13th!