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This 11-year-old nails why so many kids get bored of reading in school.

“White boys and their dogs” have had a good run. But it's time for something new.

What sorts of books did you read in elementary school?

I remember a few: "Maniac Magee," "The Phantom Tollbooth," "Old Yeller." Great books, to be sure, but they all have something sorta disappointing in common: They revolve around white boys and the occasional canine companion.

For New Jersey fifth-grader Marley Dias, that just wasn’t going to work.

Photo via Dr. Janice Johnson Dias, used with permission.

“I was sick of reading about white boys and dogs,” she told the Philly Voice. Marley wanted to read about characters she could relate to instead, characters who looked like her and acted like her.

So she decided to do something about it. And that something has gotten pretty big.

After brainstorming with her mom, Janice, Marley launched a book drive asking people to send her children’s stories about female characters of color. The drive started trending on Twitter with #1000BlackGirlBooks, and the momentum just keeps growing.

By Jan. 19, 2016, Marley had collected 400 books. By Feb. 1, that number was up to 700. She says she’ll donate all additional contributions to St. Cloud Elementary School in West Orange, New Jersey. Not too shabby for just over a month of campaigning. And Marley’s cause is still starting dialogues and gaining attention, especially online.

#1000BlackGirlBooks has sparked awesome conversations about diversity in publishing on Twitter.

Plus, you know your cause is a big deal when you end up on "Ellen."

Ellen couldn’t help but contribute $10,000 to Marley’s book drive, and she gave Marley a personal laptop to help her brainstorm her next big move, too.

Marley, may I suggest a Twitter account? I can think of a few hundred thousand people who’d love to hear your daily thoughts. Image via Fox 29's "Good Day Philadelphia."

Marley is upbeat and eloquent (plus, her glasses game is seriously on point).

And let’s not forget that Marley is 11. ELEVEN. When I was 11, I couldn’t even put a pair of tights on straight without assistance. (To be honest, this is something I still struggle with. Those seams.) But this kid is spearheading an impressive campaign and grabbing much-deserved national attention for her mission.

With diversity in America on the rise — 50.4% of children in the U.S. age 1 or younger were minorities as of July 2011 — Marley’s mission is becoming more important than ever.

As of July 2011, 50.4% of children in the U.S. (age 1 or younger) were minorities. That representation isn’t really present in most children’s books.

Marley is well past her original goal of 1,000 books, so what could be next for this rockstar?

Student-body president? Space camp? Whatever it is, Marley’s sure to succeed.

Photo via Mark Wills, used with permission.

She’s not afraid to be — or in this case, read — the change she wants to see in the world.

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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Pop Culture

Google now allows you to remove your personal information from its search results

We deserve control over our personal information.

via Google and Freepik

Google's new personal information removal submission page.

In the internet era, the idea of personal privacy is all but a myth. With a few keystrokes just about anyone can get your home address, phone number, email, age and the names of your family members. The fact that this information is readily available puts us all in the dangerous position of being the victim of fraud, stalking and violence.

What makes the situation even worse is that our information was put online without any of our consent.

The good news is that Google just made a big change that gives us all a little more control over our personal information. On April 27, the company announced it will allow anyone to request removals of their personal information from its Search feature.

“Open access to information is a key goal of Search, but so is empowering people with the tools they need to protect themselves and keep their sensitive, personally identifiable information private. That’s why we’re updating our policies to help people take more control of their online presence in Search,” Michelle Chang, Google’s Global Policy Lead for Search, announced on the company’s blog.

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online safety
Health

Relationship expert shares her advice on how to 'stop an argument in its tracks'

She has the perfect question to ask once your partner gets defensive.

via LaurenConsul/TikTok and Pexels

Therapist Lauren Consul has one trick to stop arguments before they begin.

Arguments start to take off when one partner begins to get defensive. So, therapist Lauren Consul shared her relationship-saving tip to "stop an argument in its tracks" when one partner goes into self-preservation mode.

Lauren Consul is a couples and sex therapist who’s developed a following of nearly 160,000 people on TikTok and has received over 5.4 million likes. She is an infidelity expert and hosts retreats to help people "survive and thrive" after one partner has strayed.

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Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

KTVB/YouTube

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

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Joy

TikTok star's fans raise $144,000 for 'guardian angel' Uber driver who stood by her after robbery

Raul Torres is a guardian angel.

via Becca Moore/TikTok

Becca Moore and Raul Torres having margaritas.

Becca Moore is a popular TikToker with over 800,000 followers who's known for her funny, laid-back takes on dating. Like any influencer-type she was at the Coachella music and arts festival in Indio, California recently. While she was at Coachella, she was robbed of her phone, rental car keys and wallet.

“I went to Coachella this weekend and I thought this guy was kinda hitting on me but then he just robbed me,” Becca says at the beginning of her three-minute TikTok video with over 3 million views. After the festival, she was left with no ride, money, or means to get in contact with friends and family. She was stranded in the desert.

Becca’s friend’s hotel called her an Uber so she could get to a local store to buy a new phone. The driver she was incredibly lucky to be connected with was a lot more than a guy with a car in a time of need, he was a guardian angel named Raul Torres from Fresno, California, six hours north of Indio.

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heroes
Joy

44 years ago he became her protector after a terrible act. Today, they've been reunited in love.

Betsy and Irv are finally getting the happy ending they deserve. Together.

assets.rebelmouse.io

It’s pretty safe to say that everyone loves a good love story.

There’s a whole genre of music and movies dedicated to the idea of someone being swept off of their feet after circumstances tried to keep them from their true love. Romance novels could single handedly keep public libraries and bookstores afloat. Everyone loves "love" and the story of Betsy and Irv just takes the cake. Betsy Sailor attended Penn State University as a business major, which was almost unheard of in 1978 and Irv Pankey attended the university while playing football. The pair’s paths never crossed, until an unfortunate incident bonded the two forever.

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