Today Is Different Format: Library Bound

Standing together makes all of us stronger.

Mai, who is Hmong American, and Kiara, who is Black, do everything together. But not today. Kiara isn’t at the bus stop, she’s not at school, and Mai spends recess alone. On the bus ride home, Mai sees something she’s never seen before―people holding protest signs. Today is different.

At home, Mai learns that the police hurt a Black man, and her mom tells her she’ll be safe inside. But Mai and her big brother don’t agree. “If we all stand together,” Mai tells her mom. “We’ll be unbreakable.”

Written by author and actor Doua Moua, who played Po in Disney's live-action Mulan, this picture book provides an inspiring look at the value of allyship and solidarity with Black Lives Matter.

Doua Moua is an actor and writer based in Los Angeles, California. Moua recently played Chien Po in Disney's live-action remake of Mulan. As a writer, he has received recognition for his movie script The Harvest on the Cape List/ Black List, a We Screenplay Finalist, and an Academy Nicholl Fellowship Semi-Finalist. Today Is Different is his debut picture book.

Kim Holt is an artist and children's book illustrator. Her passion for art and drawing started at an early age, fueled by her family's love for the arts. She received her BBA in marketing from Howard University and her BFA in animation from the Academy of Art University. Her goal as an artist is to create images that bring back memories and create pictures that make children wish they were inside the scenes. She lives in Maryland with her family.