Origin Story

Popinjay Press was founded by me! April Pearson-Decklever! (she/her) I’m a proud mom and stepmom who wanted to see diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) in the children's books I read to my kids. When I couldn’t find any books representing my unique family dynamic, I decided to create my own! 

But I didn't stop there. I brought on amazing, wonderful, talented collaborators and formed Popinjay Press in 2022. Sharing a creative vision, love of children and passion for social justice, we are as proud as popinjays to offer you a growing library that celebrates DEIB in children's books.

With the option to feature single parents, same-sex parents, nonbinary characters, people of color and more, Popinjay Press books can be customized to represent virtually every family dynamic in existence. And our colorful, imaginative, funny stories help every child take pride in their wonderfully unique family.

I chose Popinjay Press for our company name because popinjays are proud, vibrant creatures with light hearts and quirky personalities — sound like a family you know?

    Here's an incomplete list of resources shaping my worldview:

      Books for adults

      • Ain't I a Woman by bell hooks
      • Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
      • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
      • Disability Visibility by Alice Wong
      • Fourteen Talks by Age Fourteen by Michelle Icard
      • How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
      • Introduction to Internal Family Systems by Richard Schwartz
      • James by Percival Everett
      • Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
      • Kindred by Octavia Butler
      • Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
      • Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
      • Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett
      • Sincerely, Your Autistic Child by Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network
      • Surviving the Death of a Sibling by T.J. Wray
      • The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk
      • The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel Siegel
      • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
      • This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson
      • Unmasking Autism by Devon Price
      • White Feminism by Koa Beck
      • White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
      • Why Won't You Apologize? by Harriet Lerner

      Books for kids

      • A Place Inside of Me by Zetta Elliott
      • Blink, Plue & Colorful You by Kathleen Latlip
      • Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson 
      • Elephant & Piggie (series) by Mo Willems
      • El Deafo by Cece Bell
      • Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls by Rebel Girls 
      • Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith
      • I Am Violet by Tania Duprey Stehlik
      • I AM: Affirmations for Resilience by Bela Barbosa
      • Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pe ña
      • Little Dreamers, Little Leaders and Little Legends (series) by Vashti Harrison
      • Little People, Big Dreams (series) by Maria Isabel S ánchez Vegara
      • Little Visionaries (series) by Mudpuppy Books
      • Maiden & Princess and Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack
      • Melissa (previously published as George) by Alex Gino
      • Our Rainbow by Little Bee Books
      • Something Happened in Our Town by Marianne Celano, et al.
      • The Hate U Give and On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
      • This Little Collection (series) by Joan Holub
      • Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carol Boston Weatherford
      • Wings by Christopher Myers

      Podcasts / videos

      • 1619 Project
      • Code Switch
      • Diversity Deep Dive
      • Feminist Founders
      • If Books Could Kill
      • Maintenance Phase
      • Talking Race with Young Children
      • The Neurodivergent Woman

      Newsletters

      • Arturo Dominguez
      • Rebecca A. Eldredge
      • Lyz Lenz
      • Toi Smith
      • Lucy Webster

      Websites