Nov 2, 2021 - News

Screen Time: Children's book author Mariam Mohamed's online picks

Growing up, Mariam Mohamed rarely encountered books or TV shows featuring young Somali girls like her.

Years later, as a teacher at a Minneapolis charter school, she ran into the same problem finding stories that reflected her students' lives.
So Mohamed decided to write and publish more representative tales herself.

This month, one of those books, "Ayeeyo's Golden Rule," will debut as an animated short on YouTube.

As part of our Screen Time series, we asked the author to share with us what makes her click.

📱 Device of choice: "I love using my iPhone 12."

👇 First tap of the day: "Instagram is my go-to, closely followed by Snapchat."

🔗 Most-used app: "I've recently discovered LinkedIn and I'm obsessed! I love making new connections and networking."

🎙️ Go-to news source: "I catch up on my news every morning while driving to work with MPRNews. Other times, CNN."

🎧 Podcast queue: "Crime Junkie," "Serial," "Women Inspiring Women."

📺 Now streaming: "'You,' 'Real Housewives of Potomac,' and anything dealing with crime."

📚 Reading list: "I love audiobooks. 'Think Big Act Small' by Jason Jennings, 'Nice Girls' by Catherine Dang, 'A Beautiful, Terrible Thing' by Jen Waite and 'Children of Blood and Bone' by Tomi Adeyemi."

🧒 Teacher (and kid-approved) sites and shows: "Anything on PBS Kids, ABCmouse.com, Prodigy and IXL."

More Twin Cities stories