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An International Women’s Day Reflection

(From an original post on LinkedIn, Sunday, Mar. 2026)

Today, I’ve been thinking about lineage.

In a country of more than 330 million people, second-generation Black women doctorate holders likely number only in the low thousands — far less than one-hundredth of one percent of the U.S. population.

By that measure, women like me are statistical unicorns.

But the truth is that neither I — nor that statistic — would exist without the woman whose life shaped my own.

I am her legacy.

While I am singular in one respect — I am my mother’s only daughter — I am by no means the sole beneficiary of her life’s work.

Over the course of her career, my mother served as a matriarch and residential group home provider to hundreds of at-risk girls, a foster parent, and a steady nurturer through church and civic life to untold numbers of young people — particularly young women — whose lives she helped guide, steady, and uplift.

So while it may be true that I carry a rare academic lineage, the deeper truth is that I share my mother with many.

And yes, at times that made for a rather crowded space growing up.
But it also gave me a front-row vantage point to witness what can happen when someone commits their mind, heart, soul, and faith to a mission larger than themselves.

On International Women’s Day, I’m grateful for the women whose courage, discipline, and service make it possible for the next generation to stand where we do.

For me, that woman is "Dr. Fran," Frances Marabou Williams.

And I am proud to say: I am her legacy.

Next, I’ll be sharing more about a special gathering in which we'll honor her work and the many other lives she has shaped.
hashta

Children, Land, and the Stories They Carry

A new year invites new stories—and Read Your World Day 2026 is the perfect moment to add meaningful, multicultural titles to your reading list. This edition of Valerie’s Vignettes highlights Origin: An Illuminating Look at Indigenous Peoples and Their Connection to the Natural World, a visually stunning and deeply thoughtful book that explores identity, place, and belonging through art and storytelling.

Origin invites readers of all ages to see the world through the faces, lands, and cultures of Indigenous communities—reminding us how stories connect us to one another and to the natural world we share.

#ReadYourWorld #ReadYourWorldDay #MulticulturalChildrensBooks #AllKidsNeedBooks #DiverseBooks #IndigenousStories #GlobalLiteracy #BooksThatBuildEmpathy #ValorenaPublishing 

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"ORIGIN"

An Illuminating Look at Indigenous Peoples and Their Connection to the Natural World

By Nat Cardozo; with text by María José Ferrada

Illustrated by Nat Cardoza

                                            Publisher: Red Comet Press          Published: 2025
                                            ISBN: 978-1-63655-155-5             Pages: 64  

A visually striking and thoughtfully crafted celebration of Indigenous peoples, place, and identity.

Origin is a delight for the eyes. Through illustrations that feature children’s faces shaped by their Indigenous homelands, Franco-Uruguayan illustrator Nat Cardozo makes a clear and powerful statement about the beauty and humanity of Indigenous peoples, their lands, and the deep connections between them. Each portrait blends the faces of children with elements of land, water, plants, and sky, showing how place and identity are inseparable. Cardozo captures the spirit of each community through the eyes of its children, who become the living center of every composition.

The book stands out both for its visual presentation and its storytelling. It is rich and thorough without ever feeling overwhelming. The language is clear and approachable, offering depth without oversimplifying. Co-author María José Ferrada’s text works in close balance with the illustrations, allowing many voices and perspectives to come through while keeping the narrative cohesive.

Each spread presents a complete story, often including facts about population and location—an element that helps set Origin apart. Historical context, cultural knowledge, and environmental realities are woven smoothly into each page, adding meaning without disrupting the reading experience. Every spread feels like its own small universe, inviting readers to slow down, look closely, and reflect.

The structure of the book makes it especially useful in educational settings. Individual pages naturally invite discussion and comparison with other texts and stories from different communities. At the same time, the book as a whole establishes a tone of respect, curiosity, and connection. Readers of all ages will find themselves returning to it, noticing new details with each reading.

As its subtitle promises, Origin offers an illuminating look at Indigenous peoples and their relationship to the natural world. Beautiful, intentional, and deeply human, it succeeds as both an art book and a storytelling experience.

A striking, accessible tribute well suited for classrooms, libraries, and collections focused on culture, identity, and environmental understanding.

About the Literacy for Health™ Collaborators & Collaboration Series

Introducing the Literacy for Health™ Collaborators & Collaboration Series by Valorena Publishing, a new series that spotlights those working at the intersection of communication, community, and care. Through in-depth conversations and narrative features, the series amplifies the voices of advocates, educators, and organizations who are advancing health literacy as a pathway to equity and empowerment. Each story pulls back the curtain on the people and partnerships driving progress—demonstrating how understanding is not only power, but healing in action.

Subscribe to get Valorena Publishing’s Literacy for Health™ Collaborators & Collaboration Series and meet the people and partnerships advancing health literacy and understanding in communities near and far.

 

Let's Get Reading!

National Read a Book Day is celebrated on September 6th each year to encourages everyone to read, including children. 

If you're in or near Nyack, NY, please join Dr. Valerie and other children's authors on Children's Book Day at Big Red Books. Dr. Valerie will read from the Cocoa Kids Collection® Books (for kids aged 6-8). 

The event is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 21st, 2025, from 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Big Red Books is located at 120 Main St, Nyack, NY 10960.  See the flyer attached for details on the lineup of Readers.

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Cocoa, Community & Courage: A Young Author Reading for World Mental Health Day

 As part of our ongoing commitment to literacy, wellness, and celebration, we’d love to invite you to our next event.

REGISTER HERE.

When you register for this free event, you’ll also gain access to a digital copy of JoJo’s book of poetry, Cocoa’s Palace.

This special gathering will be a meeting of "cocoa-minded" mental health and literacy leaders, another occasion for the Cocoa Kids Collection’s® to celebrate its commitment to "the momentous and the mundane in the – ever-inspiring – world of chocolate."

It also reflects our continued commitment to providing social-emotional learning and resilience-building resources and outreach to youth, empowering young readers and their families to thrive.


About the Author – Jouvanna "JoJo" Brame is an African American Health Leader, Mental Health Advocate, and multimedia creative whose writing journey began at the age of 10. Initially focused on fiction, her passion gradually shifted toward poetry, where she explored both its internal structures and external forms. Her work has been featured in Harness Magazine and The Brazen Collective. JoJo will read from her debut chapbook, Cocoa’s Palace, screen her mini-documentary, Resilience Is, and preview new work from her next book, to my friend, sincerely, which will launch later this year. 
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We hope you’ll join us in what promises to be a thoughtful, inspiring evening.

Prosody: The Overlooked Element in the Science of Reading

In the evolving conversation around the Science of Reading, much attention has been given to phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. However, one key element—prosody—is often underemphasized, despite its vital role in reading fluency and comprehension.

What Is Prosody?

Prosody refers to the rhythm, stress, and intonation of spoken language. In reading, it manifests as expressive reading—pausing at punctuation, using appropriate tone, and modulating pitch to convey meaning. A child reading with prosody doesn’t just decode word and sounds; they bring the text to life, signaling deeper understanding.

Why Prosody Matters in Reading Instruction

According to the Science of Reading, fluent reading bridges decoding and comprehension. While accuracy and rate are measurable aspects of fluency, prosody is the qualitative glue that signals true engagement with a text. Research shows that strong prosodic skills often correlate with stronger comprehension because students are making meaning as they read aloud. For example, a reader who lifts their voice at the end of a question or pauses correctly at commas is using syntax and semantics to understand what they’re reading. In this way, prosody is both a result and pathway to comprehension.

A Boost for English Language Learners

For English Language Learners (ELLs), prosody provides a unique advantage. It forms a connective tissue between English and their maternal language, allowing students to anchor meaning through rhythm, tone, and emotional inflection. These cues offer access to language that goes beyond vocabulary and grammar—enhancing both spoken and written expression.

Read-Alouds: Fuel for Prosodic Growth

Prosody growth can soar through read-alouds, especially when readers not only hear the words—but feel them. Read-alouds create emotional resonance, helping to bring words to life. When students hear skilled readers modulate voice, tone, and pacing, they internalize those patterns and learn to replicate them. Prosody breathes life into text, turning reading into an immersive, meaning-rich experience.

Bring Prosody to Life at Your School or Library

Book a live or virtual Cocoa Kids Collection® Read-Aloud—engaging, SEL-infused stories that model expression, spark joy, and build fluency.

Click this link for full details and scheduling!

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About Valorena Publishing

Valorena Online, LLC, (dba) Valorena Publishing is a Strategic Literacy & Communications Consultancy. We are a firm specializing in strategic and creative communications. Led by Dr. Valerie Williams-Sanchez—a PMI-certified Project Management Professional® with a PhD in Literacy—the company delivers insights-driven strategies, compelling storytelling, and innovative marketing and communications solutions that inform, engage, and inspire.

Cooca Kids Collective Quarterly Newsletter – Summer 2025

 

In Defense of Literacy

A health literacy colleague recently posted about the difference between literacy and health literacy. And while I appreciate the post (my practice includes both), I believe it reduced the perceived importance of literacy in how the two are connected.

Now don’t get me wrong, I wholeheartedly understand the need to distinguish between literacy and health literacy. However, that post’s perspective on literacy prompted me to reflect on some differences and realities that, in my view, deserve closer examination and a more modern application—insights I believe are worth sharing. So, here goes.

Literacy today is no longer seen as a one-dimensional ability to read and write. Rather, it can be defined as a foundational understanding across multiple domains. More, it is the ability to understand, create, and use information across contexts to make informed decisions, solve problems, and participate fully in society. It includes numeracy and digital skills, evolves throughout life, and is a fundamental human right that drives social and economic progress, (UNESCO, 2004).

Using “literacy” in this broader sense only begins to acknowledge the complexity and depth of the term that can be decoded to represents a skill set (ability to read, write, communicate), a process (developed through continuous practice), a social practice (shaped by contexts), a construct (measurable for research), and a means for empowerment and participation (purpose of literacy).

In the realm of health literacy, which is a more specific subset, we typically recognize four domains: 1.) fundamental literacy, 2.) civic literacy, 3.) scientific literacy, and 4.) cultural literacy, (Rudd et al., 2005). The fact that health literacy is constructed upon these pillars demonstrates both the complexity of the field and the robust, multidimensional nature of literacy itself as multiple literacies are foundation for territories as broad as civics, science, and culture.

In short, while I support the point that health literacy’s purview focuses and reaches beyond early readers’ reading levels, the reason for this is to ensure that high-level concepts are grounded in accessible, foundational understanding for the masses. Accessibility should not be bypassed or overlooked for the sake of appearing complex when the elegance of clear, straightforward approaches often proves more efficient and impactful. Consider in this regard the symbiotic relationship of plain language and health literacy practice.

More importantly, those whose lives touch and intersect health literacy spaces are of all ages and reading levels. It is also worth noting that literacy exists along a continuum, on which individuals may possess varying levels of literacy about the same subject, from low to high. This further bolsters the notion that literacy is not a basic or primitive notion, but rather that it is layered and dynamic.

Finally, literacy is inextricable from education, which is why in the USA, together and apart from health literacy, they are identified as social determinants of health. Therefore, to downplay the importance of literacy undermines the shared goal we all have: Advancing health, literacy, and health literacy for All.

–Valerie L. Williams-Sanchez, PhD

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References:

• International Literacy Association. (n.d.). Children's Rights to Read. literacyworldwide.org.
• Rudd, R. E., Moeykens, B. A., & Colton, T. C. (1999). Health and literacy: A review of medical and public health literature. In J. Comings, B. Garner, & C. Smith (Eds.), Annual review of adult learning and literacy: Vol. 1 (pp. 158–199). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• UNESCO. (2004). The plurality of literacy and its implications for policies and programmes. UNESCO Education Sector Position Paper. Paris, France: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.). Language and literacy [Literature summary]. Healthy People 2030. Retrieved July 1, 2025, from https://odphp.health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health/literature-summaries/language-and-literacy
• World Literacy Summit. (2025, April). Proceedings of the 2025 World Literacy Summit and the Oxford Declaration. Oxford, United Kingdom: World Literacy Summit.