The Skin I'm In is a realistic fiction novel written by Sharon G. Flake, it was published by Hyperion Books on January 3, 2000. It depicts the story of seventh-grader Maleeka Madison who has low self-esteem because of her dark skin color; the novel's themes include self-love, self-esteem, the power of friendship and body image. The anniversary edition was released in October 2018. Maleeka is a seventh-grader who struggles with her body image due to both society and her classmates bullying her due to start seeing herself differently. Maleeka Madison - A poor African-American girl who gets popular at her middle school because of her dark skin color and teenage clothes. Maleeka learns to come to terms with the skin. Charlese Jones - The antagonist of the story, she is a fast-talking trouble making girl, one of Maleeka's top fans. She lends Maleeka her clothes in exchange for Maleeka doing her homework. Miss Saunders - Maleeka's English teacher, she has a skin disorder on her face that she says no one was able to get rid of.

She is confident and is what Maleeka dreams of being. Caleb - Maleeka's love interest. He's a caring boy, dedicated to school and doesn't care about what people think about him. He's a little shy. Raina and Raise - Charlese's "sidekicks", they go along with everything Char does. Momma/ Mrs. Madison - Maleeka's loving mother. Though devastated after the death of her husband, Mrs. Madison still pushes Maleeka to do well in school and tries to relieve some of her depression through sewing Maleeka clothes; some people believe that she is crazy although Maleeka believes that she is a smart and bright mother. John-John - Maleeka's enemy since 2nd grade. Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent Publishers Weekly Author to Watch New York Public Library Top Ten Book for the Teen Age YALSA Best Books for Young Adult Readers YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers Texas Lonestar Reading List Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year YWCA Racial Justice Award Detroit Free Library Author of the Year Award Starred Review in Publishers Weekly Sharon Flake official website Sharon Flake official website All Readers

The Children & Nature Network was founded in 2006 by a group of educators and community leaders who share a deep concern about children's disconnection from nature. The Children & Nature Network was created to encourage and support the people and organizations working to reconnect children with nature; the organization provides access to the latest news and research in the field and a peer-to-peer network of researchers and individuals and organizations dedicated to children's health and well-being. The mission of the Children & Nature Network is to give every child in every community a wide range of opportunities to experience nature directly, reconnecting children with nature's joys and lessons, its profound physical and mental bounty; the co-founders of the Children & Nature Network bring a substantial set of accomplishments as recipients of awards and recognition for their research, journalism, educational program development and entrepreneurship. Board members include published authors, entrepreneurs, academics, youth leaders, business and organizational leaders.

Marti Erickson, PhD Richard Louv Cheryl Charles, PhD Martin LeBlanc Amy Pertschuk Michael Pertschuk The term "nature-deficit disorder" was coined by author Richard Louv in his book Last Child in the Woods to describe what happens to children who become disconnected from their natural world. Louv associates this separation from nature to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity, attention disorders, depression. Research indicates. In addition to Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods, other books written by the Children & Nature Network board of directors include Coming Home: Community and Consciousness by Cheryl Charles and Families: A Framework for Support and Intervention by Marti Erickson, Children and Nature: Psychological and Evolutionary Investigations by Stephen Kellert. Marti Erickson hosts the Mom Enough podcast; the Children & Nature Network news service offers parents, civic leaders and health-care providers access to the latest news and research in this field as well as practical advice, including ways to apply new-found knowledge at home, at school, in work environments, in the community.

The network engages a diverse community of institutes and industries by providing a forum for publishing and presenting research and case studies on children's health and nature, related program-development strategies and support. The Children & Nature Network has compiled research studies to help understand what's best for children's healthy development