In 2011, The Brown Bookshelf celebrated Renée Watson as an up-and-coming voice in the world of children’s literature, with two titles debuting the previous year: A Place Where Hurricanes Happen, a picture book illustrated by Shadra Strickland and published by Random House; and What Momma Left Me, a middle grade novel published by Bloomsbury. Since that time, she has become a celebrated author who has gone on to produce other stellar titles, including the picture book Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills (illustrated by Christian Robinson, Random House 2012) and her first YA novel – which happens to be today’s featured title – This Side of Home (Bloomsbury 2015).

In This Side of Home, high school seniors Maya and her twin sister Nikki, find themselves in the unusual predicament of being at odds over the gentrification of their neighborhood. Nikki is excited about the new changes—pretty shops and boutiques replacing abandoned storefronts—while Maya is disturbed by all the “upgrades” that seem to be only for the benefit of the new people coming in, as opposed to the residents who have been there all along. For the first time, the sisters must, as the publisher puts it, “confront their dissenting feelings on the importance of their ethnic and cultural identities and, in the process, learn to separate themselves from the long shadow of their identity as twins.” Complicating matters even more, Maya finds herself becoming attracted to the new white boy who has moved in across the street, which understandably creates a sense of internal conflict.

Watson’s timely and conversation-provoking young adult novel has been well received, garnering starred reviews by Booklist and The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (BCCB). Please join us in celebrating This Side of Home on Day 6 of 28 Days later!

Read what Renée Watson has to say about This Side of Home:

Home is a Complicated Place 

Book Page Interview on This Side of Home

Listen to Renée Watson speak about This Side of Home and writing for children:

Black Book Talk

Schomburg Live: Renée Watson and Tracey Baptiste on Diversity in Literature

NPR Interview & Jacqueline Woodson and Renée Watson, Photographed in Brooklyn

Johnny Ray Moore realized at an early age that writing was in his future. Thank goodness for his readers, he followed his passion. Share his literary journey and if you haven’t read his work, February is the perfect month to add his books to your collection.

The Journey

As a child, I was shy, and I spent a lot of time daydreaming. When I got into school, I loved reading, especially, reading poetry. I wrote my first poem while in the third grade. I don’t recall the name of the poem. In high school, I took creative writing classes. Years later, while in the

Army, I received two checks from Aim Magazine for two poems I had written. Getting paid to write felt good. Because I had studied and written so much poetry, to eventually write children’s books became my destiny. Thanks to poetry, I can say what I want to say with

very few words. And, my books, A LEAF, only 88 words; and, HOWIE HAS A STOMACHACHE, only 100 words, are both proof that I can communicate with very few words.
The Inspiration

As for writers and illustrators who inspire me, I am inspired by all writers and illustrators who are true to their profession. Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Alex Haley, Eleanora Tate, Kelly Starling Lyons, Don Tate, Carole Weatherford, and Tameka Fryer, to name a few, are blessed and creative people who inspire me. What I know of the few authors and the one illustrator that I have listed is that they were and are committed to their work. And, that is inspiration enough for me.

The Back Story

One of my children’s books that was a blessing for me and a struggle was THE STORY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., a 200-word board book biography. My former agent, Etta Wilson, informed me that Ideals Publication wanted someone to write a board book about Martin Luther King, Jr., in about 300 words, that would speak to young children. I thought about what I was being asked to consider, for a day or two. I struggled with what I could say about Dr. King that would be of interest to young children. Well, after musing over the opportunity at hand, then praying, I started to write. After about 10 rewrites, I emailed the manuscript to my agent. And, it was accepted.

The Buzz

As for the good things THE STORY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. has caused, I have gotten a few emails from teachers expressing how their young students could not get enough of it. I have gotten similar responses from parents.

The mentioned board book has gotten pretty good reviews, in general. And, in December of 2015, I was informed by the publisher, Worthy Kids/Ideas, that THE  STORY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. has sold well over 100,000 copies, is still selling well. Furthermore, the book has been reformatted to a slightly larger size. I am elated and blessed, to say the least.

The State of the Industry

As time goes on, I want to see more African-American children’s book publishers come on

the scene. I want to see more African-Americans write for children, period.

Why? Because, our children must be prepared to shine for us in the future as we have done and

are doing for them.

We must make sure that WE TELL OUR OWN STORIES. If

you are not African-American, you cannot write about the black experience, convincingly. GOD

knows we are intelligent, creative and gifted enough to inspire, teach and support our very own,

first. So, let’s continue to INSPIRE; TEACH; and SUPPORT our children by writing and creating

the very best children books that we can.

Read more about Johnny’s fascinating journey here.

Daniel José Older is a Brooklyn-based writer, editor, composer, and author fiction for adults as well as teens. He facilitates workshops on storytelling, music, and anti-oppression organizing at public schools, religious houses, and universities. He co-edited the anthology Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History, and his short stories and essays have appeared in Tor.com, Salon, BuzzFeed, Gawker, New Haven Review, PANK, and Strange Horizons.

Older’s YA debut, Shadowshaper, was named a Junior Library Guild selection, New York Times Notable Book, and named to numerous “Best Of” lists of 2015. “In the best urban fantasy,” writes reviewer Holly Black in the Times, “The city is not just a backdrop, but functions as a character in its own right, offering up parallels between personal histories and histories of place. That is certainly true in Daniel José Older’s magnificent “Shadow­shaper,” which gives us a Brooklyn that is vital, authentic and under attack.” We’re honoured to welcome Daniel José Older to the Brown Bookshelf on Day Four:

Like most books, Shadowshaper began with just a vague notion, a few scraps of character and magic and a sense that whatever this story was going to shape up to be, it wasn’t one that’s told enough in the world. I had grown up like many sci-fi/fantasy dorks, wondering where I fit into all those wild worlds of monsters and space battles. I was working with black and brown kids in Bushwick and Bed-Stuy and they were wondering the same thing.

Sierra Santiago showed up fully formed in my imagination – she was mischievous and hardheaded, determined and loyal and confused and shy and confident, all at the same time. The next step was building a world around her: family, friends, and the whole ever-changing universe of Brooklyn. When I say ever-changing, I mean that very literally: gentrification caused blocks I’d written about in the early stages of Shadowshaper to be totally different in look and feel by the time I was finishing edits, several years later. This drastic, devastating change on the face of the city became a part of the worldbuilding – how could it not be? And Sierra responds to it as she crisscrosses the volatile landscape of her home.

The story of Shadowshaper changed many, many times throughout the process – more times than any other project I’ve worked on. There were always certain elements and moments at the heart of it that remained though: the importance of art and culture as tools of survival, the power of friendship, the frustration of someone else trying to define you and take over your heritage. The night out with Robbie at Club Kalfour, when the murals dance sultry two-steps amidst the revelers, has been there since very early on, as has the attack on the party at Sully’s, but so much changed around them. For years, I had the story pinned to my office wall and little cartoon sketches on Post-It notes that I would take down, rearrange, scrap entirely.

At times it felt like the process would never end, that it’d just become this ongoing, forever morphing creature living on my office wall and in my mind – but of course, that moment finally came when final decisions had to be made as Shadowshaper the process became Shadowshaper the book. Agents and editors rejected it over forty times in the course of it finding its home at Arthur A. Levine Books. It went on to be named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, as well as to multiple other best of 2015 lists, and was shortlisted for the Kirkus Prize in Young People’s Literature.

The most important response to Shadowshaper has always been the feedback from young people who see themselves in Sierra and have never had the experience of seeing themselves, their problems and triumphs, their hair and skin, reflected in a YA fantasy hero before. That’s why I sat down to write the book in the first place, and why I’m still writing today.

Media specialist, mother and author, Mélina Mangal writes to fill a void and inspire. Her books include biographies on award-winning authors like Virginia Hamilton, Mildred D. Taylor and Rita Williams-Garcia. They’re stories she didn’t see in bookstores or on library shelves, so she created them herself.

Her writing ranges from celebrating unsung trailblazers to giving voice to the experiences of African-American children. On her SCBWI page, she says, “My writing focuses on youth in nature, especially those whose voices are rarely heard, and the people and places that inspire them to explore their world.”

We are proud to feature Mélina on Day 3. Here’s her story:

The Journey

My writing began with letters: to my father in Vietnam, my grandmother in France, my pen pal in Jamaica. Around sixth grade, I discovered Langston Hughes and shifted my attention to diary writing. That’s when I first thought of becoming a writer.

It wasn’t until after college, working as a textbook production editor, that I tried to publish my work. My first published piece was a journal entry in an anthology. When the beautiful book arrived featuring luminaries like Alice Walker and Audre Lorde, I was both inspired and humbled. How could my unpolished debut appear alongside their work? I didn’t submit anything for five years after that. I couldn’t. I had to become a better writer.

Through a move across the country, graduate school, and a new career as a school librarian, I kept writing and reading and attending workshops. When my short story “Georgia’s View” (inspired by a Jonathan Green painting) was published in a literary journal, I was hooked. Writing short stories was addictive. So was children’s literature. My short stories began to feature children, and were published in anthologies such as Milkweed’s Stories From Where We Live series. After a writing retreat with editor Patricia Gauch, and a week with Rita Williams-Garcia at the Highlights Writing Workshop at Chautauqua, I was inspired to craft longer works. I moved back to Minnesota, got married, and started writing biographies of the inspiring people lacking from my library shelves, like the trailblazing author Virginia Hamilton, which became my first book. Rita Williams-Garcia and Classic Storytellers: Mildred Taylor came next. I wished their books had been available to me when I was a kid.

After the birth of my daughter, I became even more engrossed in picture books, and in delving deeper into my stories. I’m now spending more time exploring the visual images conjured by my words, after studying with Maya Cristina Gonzalez. My poem “Black Is” will be published in a collection by Reflection Press this spring.

I spent the last couple of years researching and writing a picture book about the groundbreaking scientist Ernest Everett Just, which is due out in 2017. I can’t wait for young readers to learn about this inspirational man and his contributions to science.

The Inspiration

Although I had no problem reading, I became a Reader the summer before sixth grade when my family moved from a small town in Wisconsin to the ‘big city’ of St. Paul, Minnesota. I could walk to the library, and there I found books featuring all kinds of people—including people who looked like me. That’s where I discovered Langston and Maya Angelou. I read poetry, biographies, mysteries, and historical fiction, all of which I still turn to for inspiration.

Books by Jacqueline Woodson, Vaunda Michaux Nelson, and Tonya Bolden open my mind, while Tracey Baptiste and Jewell Parker-Rhodes fuel my love of nature, magic, culture, and spirit.

The Process

Ideas come easily to me. I don’t experience writer’s block, but I do suffer from what I call ‘dreamer’s deluge.’ I often have too many thoughts competing for attention. I typically have at least three projects of varying stages in the works. An idea starts with an image, or maybe a voice. I keep a notebook with me and jot it down. I write first by hand, capturing everything I can. I continue fleshing out details of characters by creating a character sketch. Poetry pops up when I try to get inside a character’s head. Later, I revise on the computer, then write by hand again when adding or changing scenes. Full-fledged stories take a long time to percolate.

The Industry: Under The Radar

It’s encouraging to see the work of writers and illustrators like Zetta Elliott, Kathleen Wainwright, Janine Macbeth, and Jerry Craft, who are paving a new way with Rosetta Press, Willa’s Tree Studios, Blood Orange Press, and Mama’s Boyz. Illustrators like Keturah Ariel Nailah Boo, Melodie Strong, and Peter Ambush are creating fresh, vibrant work, highlighting the significance of images in young readers’ lives.

Learn more about Mélina Mangal here.

As the lone illustrator on the Brown Bookshelf, I especially look forward to hosting the artists during our 28 Days Later campaign. Today I interview Damian Ward, who is a critically acclaimed illustrator of both trade and educational books for children. Some of the books he’s illustrated include “Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat,” (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2008), written by Nikki Giovanni, and “Bottle Cap Boys Dancing On Royal Street,” (Marimba Books, 2015), written by Rita Williams-Garcia. His digital artwork is lively and vibrant, and successfully brings to life the books that he’s illustrated. Ward studied illustration at the Columbus College of Art and Design.

Don: Tell us about your path to publishing. How did you get that first trade contract?

Damian: Craigslist, believe it or not. I got lucky to work with some talented people who had experience writing for film, and they wanted to try something different. There was one particular picture in my portfolio that got their attention and after some emails, I was off to New York city to get things moving. It was a great first book experience for me because it was so open for me to interpret while also being on a very tight deadline. I could do just about whatever I wanted so long as I got it done super fast.

Don: Tell us about your most recent book.

Damian: “Bottle Cap Boys Dancing On Royal Street” was a joy. I had so much fun with the challenge of depicting such a distinct place and the people there. I got good guidance from the author and publishers, and that helped to make it feel like it had a real local New Orleans flavor.

Don: Can you talk about the research process for the book?

Damian: I live on the other side of the planet from New Orleans, so I used lots and lots of Google Street view. It wasn’t all high tech new-fangled intel gathering though, I was able to rustle up a few old books from various sources. New Orleans is un-aging in many respects so having a few older images to reference and read about helped to reinforce the classic feel of the locale, at least I hope so.

Don: What primary medium do you use in your work?

Damian: I work digitally, primarily using the oil pastel brushes in Corel Painter.

Don: If you could spend one day in a studio, working with any artist — past or present — who would that be, and why?

Damian: I’ve always had a soft spot for Kandinsky. I liked that he seemed to be trying to develop a specific visual language in abstract colors and shapes.

Don: What would be your dream manuscript? Your dream author to work with?

Damian: Hmm, a dream manuscript for me would probably involve insects and or fish. I just like getting up close and drawing the little critters. I also like for there to be a message in there too though, almost hidden away, not beating anyone over the head.
An author I’d like to work with would be someone venturing way out of their comfort zone. I think if Ta-Nehisi Coates wanted to write a children’s book I’d love to take that challenge on.

Don: Can you talk a bit about your process of illustrating a book?

Damian: I start off with lots of thumbnail sketches. Many times I read something and think, I have to draw it this way. I know just how I want this to look, but if I can patiently explore a few options with thumbnail sketches I usually stumble across a better angle or depiction I can try. Sometime it is that first instinct in the end but it pays give yourself options. After that, I start tightening up the line drawings and doing some color studies before finalizing the illustration.

Don: Who are your cheerleaders, those who encourage you?

Damian: My wife and family have been there at every step to try and keep my head on straight (not always an easy task). They keep the orange juice refills and apple pies coming.

Don: What’s on the horizon, what can your fans expect to see from you in the future?

Damian: It’s time for me to start pushing myself to be an author/illustrator. I’ve been my own worst enemy in this regard but hopefully the next couple projects will feature the coveted ‘written and illustrated by…’ line on the cover.

–Don Tate

We commence this year’s 28 Days Later Celebration with Vanguard Honoree, Dr. Marguerite “Maya” Angelou (1928-2014).

Maya Angelou is one of our nation’s most important literary voices. From I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Phenomenal Woman, to And Still I Rise and On the Pulse of Morning, the collective writings of Dr. Angelou reflect some of the most horrible and praiseworthy aspects of human nature and American culture.

But did you know she also wrote books for young children?

Here are four titles perfect for introducing young readers to the work of one of our country’s most treasured authors:

Life Doesn’t Frighten Me (Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 1993) 

A unique book that combines the words of a renowned African-American poet laureate and the primitive, modern paintings of a young Haitian-American artist. With lines of verse that shout exuberantly from each page, a young voice rails against any and all things that mean to do her harm. Whether they are “Shadows on the wall/ Noises down the hall” or even “Mean old Mother Goose/Lions on the loose”-to one and all she responds- “they don’t frighten me at all”…A powerful exploration of emotion and its expression through the careful blend of words and art. — School Library Journal

My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me (1994; Crown Books for Young Readers, Reprint ed. 2003)

A superb portrayal of Ndebele village life and art for young children. “Hello Stranger-friend” begins eight-year-old Thandi as she stands in front of a brightly painted house. In a thoroughly child-true voice, she tells about her beloved chicken, her people’s ideas of “good” (which is as close as they come to saying “beautiful”), their ways of making designs in paint or beads, her brother, and going to town. Courtney-Clarke’s full-color photographs are stunning…A unique book that honors Africa by projecting images that are true and honors American children by giving them the very best.—School Library Journal

Kofi and His Magic (Knopf, 1996)

A young Ashanti boy invites readers to visit his West African village, famous for fine kente cloth, and to share his “magic”—a masterful imagination. Artistic typesetting composition is accompanied by appealing color photos that bring the lyrical text into sharp focus…will speak to children everywhere and present them with a clear vision of [Kofi’s] beloved West African world.—School Library Journal

Poetry for Young People: Maya Angelou (2007; Sterling Children’s Books, Reprint ed. 2013)

A collection of 25 poems written by Maya Angelou, including the inspirational Still I Rise and Me and My Work.

To learn more about Maya Angelou, visit her website here.

Each year, the African American Children’s Book Fair in Philadelphia celebrates the beauty of literature by black children’s book creators. Founded by literary publicist and advocate Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati, it is known as “one of the oldest and largest single-day events for children’s books in the country.” Thousands of parents, children, teachers, librarians and book lovers come to see an all-star line-up of award-winning black authors and illustrators. It’s a moving testament to the power of affirming images and good books. We welcome Vanesse back to The Brown Bookshelf and thank her for her vision, commitment and incredible work:

Congratulations on the 24^th anniversary of the African American Children’s Book Fair! Please share how the annual event has grown over the years and why it has staying power.

The event started as a Black History Month event at a major department store with 10 authors/illustrators. EB Lewis, Tonya Bolden and Jacqueline Woodson participated in that first event. Over 250 people attended. Today, on average, over 3,500 people pass through our doors for the book fair. People don’t come to browse — they come to buy. We sell more books on the first Saturday in February than any other African-American retailer in the country.

Our Literary Row is legendary. This is a great promotional tool to get them in the door. Once I’ve got them in the door, they buy. Seeing a long line of consumers buying books is such a beautiful sight. I set up the room in the same manner as traditional retailers.

Yet, even with all of our success every year, I still have to convince some in the publishing industry what we are doing is valid.

Why does the event have staying power? THE NEED.

Who are you featuring this year? Why is it important for children to meet black authors and illustrators?  

The best and the brightest. It sounds a like a cliché, but it is truly a talented group of African-American authors and illustrators who have produced some of the best books of our generation.

To participate is highly competitive. From September to the closing date of December 31, I got over 150 requests. When I preview the books, I look to find the right mix for the book fair. I’m like a child in a toy store. The added value is the participants are really nice people who share my passion about books and know how to interact with their fans. Yes, these are the book stars of the industry.

We’ve got the best group of illustrators on the planet — Eric Velasquez, Shadra Strickland, Floyd Cooper, Nancy Devard, James Ransome, Theodore Taylor and EB. Lewis — who all just so happen to be American Library Association (ALA) past winners of various awards from Caldecott Honors to The Coretta Scott King.

The 2016 ALA Coretta Scott King best book winner, Rita Williams-Garcia, author of Gone Crazy In Alabama, will showcase the third book in her winning series. Ekua Holmes, who won the ALA John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator award, will be in the house. Ekua’s bold and vivid strokes in Voices of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer Spirit of The Civil Rights Movement shines with Carole Boston Weatherford prose, which won a Randolph Caldecott book honor. The book also won The Robert Sibert Informational Book.

Representing non-fiction are two of the best children’s historians from the literary community — Tonya Bolden and Carole Boston Weatherford — who both have won awards up and the down the literary landscape. 

When describing these groups, I didn’t use the word African American because these books have African-American themes or protagonists but are designed to include all readers.

Rounding out the group are my fiction divas — Crystal Allen, Sundee Frazier, Renée Watson, and Denise Lewis Patrick.

In the African-American publishing community, it is a family affair. James Ransome, Lesa Cline-Ransome, Wade and Cheryl Hudson, G. Todd Taylor and his wife Tiffany who owns the imprint are bring it strong in the fiction lane.

Picture books always take center stage at this event — Pamela Tuck never disappoints her audience with her storytelling skills.

Linda Trice, Tiffany D. Taylor and Veronica Chambers remind us in their picture books that in every problem there is a solution that brings happiness.

David Miller, whose first chapter book was about bullying, takes a spin in the picture book lane.

One of the hallmarks of this event is the support of corporate America. They show up in a big way at the event.

NBC10-TELEMUNDO62 is the sponsor of the Reading Circle. Our Educators Book-Give is sponsored by Wells Fargo, Tierney, Always Best Care Senior Service, Health Partners Plans, Health Partners Foundation and Universal Companies. PECO, which is the local electric company, sponsors a Literary Salon, which features our workshops.

All of these things set the stage to opening up the doors to a life-long love of reading.

What do you want people to take away from the experience of attending?

That a “BOOK OPENS UP A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITES.”

We are selling the joy of reading. People who read for pleasure use it as a coping skill. I have heard over and over again of people who read to relax. I believe the love of reading starts early. Every time I read, I learn something more about the past, present and future of who I am.

We have signs posted around the room that say, “PRESERVE A LEGACY, BUY A BOOK.” 

What’s next for the book fair? What’s your dream?

The book fair will continue to grow here in Philadelphia (tristate region). I have adults who attended as children bringing their children. My son just had a daughter Giuliana Isabella Sgambati so I’ve got to make sure she never says these words “There Are No African American Books In My Community.”

Also to expand nationally. I’m developing plans to take the book fair on a nationwide tour. I’m in conversation with national corporate partners. So if anyone in this radar has an interest please reach us at http://www.africanamericanchildrensbookproject.org.

We are a resource center – use us.

I’m also planning the children’s platform at BookExpo.

As always, my dream is to have the President of The United States host African American authors/illustrators in the White House. Having the president acknowledge the talent from the African American Children’s Book Community would be the icing on the cake. He knows best that “A Book Opens Up A World Of Opportunities.”

ABOUT THE FAIR:

Saturday, February 6, 2015, 1-3 p.m.

Community College of Philadelphia (Gymnasium)

17th & Spring Garden Streets

Free and open to the public.

Details here: http://theafricanamericanchildrensbookproject.org/

FEATURED AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS:

CRYSTAL ALLEN

TONYA BOLDEN

VERONICA N. CHAPMAN

LESA CLINE-RANSOME

FLOYD COOPER

NANCY DEVARD

SUNDEE FRAZIER

EKUA HOLMES

CHERYL WILLIS HUDSON

WADE HUDSON

EB LEWIS

DAVID MILLER

DENISE LEWIS PATRICK

JAMES RANSOME

SHADRA STRICKLAND

THEODORE TAYLOR 111

TIFFANY TAYLOR

G. TODD TAYLOR

LINDA TRICE

PAMELA TUCK

ERIC VELASQUEZ

RENEE WATSON

CAROLE BOSTON
WEATHERFORD

RITA WILLIAMS-GARCIA

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Contact Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati at [email protected] or call (215) 878-BOOK.

When I think about picture book series starring black characters, Linda Trice’s proud and creative Kenya immediately comes to mind. Trice, a 2014 28 Days Later honoree, released the first two books – Kenya’s Word and Kenya’s Song – to critical acclaim. Now, she’s back with another winner – Kenya’s Art (illustrated by Hazel Mitchell, published by Charlesbridge) – a celebration of ingenuity, recycling and family.

Like in earlier titles, Kenya is showcased here as a smart, confident girl whose discoveries empower not just herself but also her friends in Mrs. Garcia’s class. Kenya’s Art was inspired by an assignment Trice, a former Black Studies professor and elementary school teacher, gave her first grade students at PS 80 in Queens, NY (pictured with Trice below). The story follows Kenya’s quest to find something special to share about her spring vacation.

A hallmark of Trice’s Kenya books is their focus on family togetherness and love. That shines in Kenya’s Art too as she longs for a cool vacation experience and Daddy suggests touring a museum. There, they see an exhibit called “Recycle! Reuse! Make Art!” featuring every-day items turned into colorful displays that get Kenya’s imagination spinning. In a sweet scene, Daddy holds her hand, chants the recycling slogan and shares her excitement. Then back at home, the whole family gets in on the fun inspired by what Kenya saw.

Trice’s depiction of a close-knit, supportive family and Hazel Mitchell’s warm, inviting illustrations leave you with a smile. Kenya’s triumph at the end is a victory for her and each child who read her story.

Learn more about Linda at http://www.lindatrice.com.

Oh Mylanta…She’s back!

We are pleased as peanut brittle to celebrate the latest, greatest release from author and BBS contributor, Crystal Allen, also known as The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Spirit Week Showdown (Balzer and Bray).

We asked Crystal for some inside scoop on the creation of her new chapter book series. Our conversation went as follows:

BBS: You are known as a phenomenally talented MG author. What made you decide to write a chapter book?

Crystal: I was asked by my publisher. It was very difficult at first to change my writing from middle grade to chapter book, but as the voice of this sassy new character came alive, the writing took on a life of itself. It’s been so much fun!

BBS: What was the biggest difference craft-wise in writing a chapter book? Was it more difficult than you anticipated? If so, how so?

Crystal: Oh Mylanta…

Plot. There is such a big difference in the plot of a middle grade novel versus the same in a chapter book. With Middle Grade, it’s okay if things don’t tie together in a nice, neat, little bow. It’s alright if the characters don’t live happily ever after! But that’s not the case with chapter books.

Also, the plot must be simpler. As much as I loved creating MG plots, they are too elaborate for the young chapter book reader. That was one of my biggest adjustments. Also, the main characters in my two middle grade novels, Lamar, and Laura, talked lots of trash, and had a language identifiable to the reader as fun, and sometimes hilarious. Mya and her friends have a few created words, but not many!

BBS: How did the idea for this specific series come to be? Did you set out to write a series initially, or did that idea evolve along with the manuscript?

Crystal: My publisher had an idea for a type of character, but didn’t have a look or a voice for her. After writing How Lamar’s Bad Prank Won A Bubba-Sized Trophy and The Laura Line, my publisher believed that I might have the voice they were looking for. It turned out that I did! The Magnificent Mya Tibbs was always billed as a series.

BBS: Tell us about your main character, Mya. How do you think she’s different (or similar) from other well-known series MC’s?

Crystal: If we’re going to talk about well-known series MC’s, we would have to talk about Ramona Quimby and Clementine. Neither Ramona nor Clementine were “cookie-cutter” characters. By that, I mean they were not stereotypical ‘girlie’ girls. Ramona and Clementine were allowed to do things wrong, make bad decisions, say what was on their minds, and figure out how they were going to fix their own problems. They were so relatable, and because of that, there books are still relevant today!

Mya doesn’t always make the right decision, and her personality isn’t always ‘girlie’ but she’s a good friend, and very comfortable with her love for everything country and western! Hopefully Mya will be relatable to today’s young girl!

Both of those chapter book heavy-weights were strongly considered as I created Mya. However, the biggest influence for me came from Fern Arable of Charlotte’s Web.

BBS: Tell us more about Fern Arable’s influence? Also, what’s your overall goal in writing this series? What need are you hoping Maya fills among the contemporary works of today? Is there something specific you hope readers experience after reading Maya’s stories?

Crystal: To me, there’s a difference in creating a character, and providing a friend. Back in the day, when I read Charlotte’s Web, I had just moved to a farm, and was the new kid at school. I was friendless, bullied, and on the verge of hating everything and everybody. When the librarian gave me Charlotte’s Web, I realized Fern was just like me. She lived on a farm, loved animals, and didn’t seem to have many friends. I needed her. She looked like me, in ways other than skin color. That’s what I’m hoping Mya does for someone else.

BBS: What’s the next title in the series? When is the pub date?

Crystal: The next title is called The Wall of Fame Game. It’s pub date will be 2017!

BBS: Any other projects you want to share?

Crystal: Nope. I’m just having fun with Mya!

YOUR FRIENDS AT THE BROWN BOOKSHELF WISH YOU AND MAYA A VERY HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY, CRYSTAL!  

To learn more about Mya, Crystal, and her other books, please visit Crystal’s  website: CrystalAllenBooks.com

Today, we are proud to announce the honorees for our ninth annual 28 Days Later campaign, a Black History Month celebration of emerging and established children’s book creators of color. Throughout February, we will showcase outstanding authors and illustrators through guest posts, Q&As and features on their latest book. We invite you to come along on our journey and spread the news to your friends.

The submissions window for our campaign opened on November 15 and closed on December 1. We are grateful for the wonderful suggestions from librarians, teachers, publishers and kidlit lovers that came in. Our team considered those names along with internal nominations and nominees from past years, keeping focused on our mission to raise awareness of the many African-American voices writing for young readers.

The celebration will begin on Monday, February 1, 2015, and we will honor 28 children’s book creators – 24 authors and four illustrators. This year – a leap year – we’re honoring a  phenomenal children’s literature scholar who is dedicated to raising awareness of children’s book creators of color too.

The honorees and the day they will be featured are as follows:

(Vanguard authors/illustrators in bold.)

Day 1 – Maya Angelou 

Day 2 – Damian Ward

Day 3 – Mélina Mangal

Day 4 – Daniel José Older

Day 5 – Johnny Ray Moore

Day 6 – Renée Watson

Day 7 – Ekua Holmes

Day 8 – Lorenzo Pace

Day 9 – Marguerite Abouet

Day 10 – Mo’Ne Davis

Day 11 – Ronald L. Smith

Day 12 – Troy Andrews

Day 13 – Jessixa Bagley

Day 14 – Guy A. Sims

Day 15 – Sharee Miller

Day 16 – Trevor Pryce

Day 17 – Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

Day 18 – Tom Feelings

Day 19 – Aaron Phillip

Day 20 – Cheryl Wills

Day 21 – Shannon Gibney

Day 22 – Edwidge Danticat

Day 23 – Christopher S. Ledbetter

Day 24 – Danielle Paige

Day 25 – John Lewis

Day 26 – Nnedi Okorafor

Day 27 – Lynda Blackmon Lowery

Day 28 – Nicola Yoon

Day 29 – Edith (Edi) Campbell

Congratulations!

Don Tate and Christine Taylor-Butler (The Lost Tribes, Move Books) at ALA.

As I walked, my eyes stayed peeled for treasures that featured Black characters, books that reflect my African American experience, history, culture, or any book on any topic written and/or illustrated by a Black creator. It was often a frustrating and humbling experience. But I’m a persistent guy, I mined exhibit halls for gems until my feet hurt.

My hunt paid off, too. I discovered books illustrated by Christian Robinson, Ekua Holmes, London Ladd, and books written by Carole Boston Weatherford, Charles R. Smith, Nikki Grimes (I’m a picture book guy).

I decided to create my own end-of-year list, based upon the books I’d read throughout the year (which, admittedly, was not a lot due to my own busy schedule).

I also elicited help from a few other The Brown Bookshelf team members. Here is a list of our  favorite books of 2015:

DON TATE

Ira’s Shakesphere Dream, written by Glenda Armand, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, Lee & Low Books

Lillian’s Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, written by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Shane W. Evans

Frederick’s Journey: The Life of Frederick Douglass, written by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by London Ladd, Jump at the Sun

Boats For Papa, written and illustrated by Jessixa Bagley, Roaring Brook Press

Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, written by Laurie Ann Thompson, illustrated by Sean Qualls, Schwartz & Wade

TAMEKA FRYER BROWN

Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton, written and illustrated by Don Tate, Peachtree Publishers

My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay, written by Cari Best, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Bottle Cap Boys Dancing On Royal Street, written by Rita Williams-Garcia, illustrated by Damian Ward, Marimba Books

Trombone Shorty, written by Troy Andrews, illustrated by Bryan Collier, Harry N. Abrams

Sunday Shopping, written by Sally Derby, illustrated by Shadra Strickland, Lee & Low Books

KELLY STARLING LYONS

The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore, written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, Carolrhoda Picture Books

Last Stop on Market Street , written by Matt De La Pena, illustrated by Christian Robinson, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America, written by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Jamey Christoph, Albert Whitman & Company

Poems in the Attic, written by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon, Lee & Low Books

Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation, written by Edwidge Danticat, illustrated by Leslie Staub, Dial Books

OLUGBEMISOLA AMUSASHONUBI-PERKOVICH

Dayshaun’s Gift, written by Zetta Elliott, illustrated by Alex Portal, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Let The Faithful Come, written by Zetta Elliott, illustrated by Charity Russell, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Show and Prove, written by Sofia Quintero, Knopf Books for Young Readers

Love From Anna Hibiscus, written by Atinuke, illustrated by  Lauren Tobia, Walker Books

This Side of Home, written by Renée Watson, Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, written by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua Holmes

My Pen, written and illustrated by Christopher Myers, Disney-Hyperion

Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music, written by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael López, HMH Books for Young Readers

At this time of year, people search for inspiring holiday books to share with children. Finding one that celebrates the beauty of the season and showcases our world’s diversity is a treasure. We are proud to feature a stunning addition to this collection.

Award-winning author, scholar and activist Zetta Elliott’s new picture book, Let the Faithful Come, is a lyrical nativity story with imagery inspired by the plight of Syrian refugees. A celebration of faith and a call for social justice, Zetta’s book reminds us of our duty to show love to each other not just at the holidays but every day.

Please join us in welcoming Zetta back to The Brown Bookshelf. Here, she shares with us the splendor of Let The Faithful Come.

When a bright star shines

on a dark, silent night,

let the faithful come.

I recently spent five days as a guest of the Arkansas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (ACTELA). For the first four days, I led writing workshops and gave book talks to students and educators in the northern part of the state. Then I was taken to Little Rock for the Akansas Curriculum Conference where I gave the luncheon keynote address to an audience of about a hundred English teachers. I concluded my presentation with a reading of my latest picture book, Let the Faithful Come. I read the 300-word nativity story with calm confidence, knowing I was “preaching to the choir” in the so-called Bible Belt.

I come from a family of preachers and teachers. Though he considered becoming a minister while attending Bible College, my father instead became a high school teacher. My mother taught kindergarten for over 30 years, and I was one of the many students who benefited from her expertise. I met a veteran educator recently and we talked for a long while about the importance of including diversity in teacher training. Before we parted she narrowed her eyes at me and asked, “What do your parents do?” I didn’t have to tell her they were teachers—it shows! I’ve worked with kids for over 25 years, and I’ve taught at the college level for close to a decade. I inherited a love of learning from my parents but my storytelling skills come from my grandparents.

From places high and low,

across deserts and over seas,

let the faithful follow that glorious star.

Let them come.

Both of my mother’s parents were preachers in the Pilgrim Holiness Church, though my grandfather was later ordained in the United Church. My grandmother stopped preaching once she got married, but proudly shared with anyone who would listen that her great-grandfather was the nephew of Bishop Richard Allen, founder of the AME Church. Together my grandparents had nine children; four of the five sons became United Church ministers, two of the four daughters married ministers, and one went on to become a United Church minister herself. Unlike most of my twenty-five cousins, I didn’t grow up as a PK (preacher’s kid) but I belonged to a large, devout family and religion played a big role in our frequent gatherings and holiday celebrations.

Christmas was—and remains—my favorite time of year. And though stockings and Santa had their place in our home, it was always impressed upon me that we were really celebrating the birth of a very special child. For years I helped my mother to decorate her classroom for Christmas and though she always had a tree, the most prominent display was a nativity scene that covered the entire blackboard. I don’t recall if any of her students’ parents complained, but I doubt my mother would have cared. She saw it as her duty to share the story of Jesus’ birth, and what an amazing story it was—a bright star guiding weary travelers across the desert, wise men on camels bearing precious gifts, and a poor couple welcoming their first child as an assortment of farm animals looked on.

And when they enter that lowly place,

let them bow their heads with humble hearts.

Let them gaze upon the child with adoration,

and know that God is alive in this world.

I don’t often talk about religion because it no longer plays such a big role in my life. My mother forced me to attend church every Sunday morning (“So long as you live under my roof…”), and I vowed I would never again go to church once I moved out of her house, which is pretty much how things worked out. Once in a while I accompanied my father to Brooklyn Tabernacle, but the megachurch experience wasn’t for me and mostly I just hoped he would take me to Junior’s for lunch once church let out. I still pray every morning and night, and at funerals can usually remember the hymns I sang as a child. But at 43, I find that many of my friends are atheists or prefer to think of themselves as “spiritual” rather than “religious” (according to the Pew Research Center, nearly a quarter of adults in the US identify as “nones” – a term for people who self-identify as atheists or agnostics, or who say their religion is “nothing in particular”). I do have some friends who identify as Christian but they tend to be radical social justice activists and are nothing like those conservatives who think their time and energy is best spent complaining about the design of a coffee cup.

For on this night a child is born,

and within this child—in every child—

God has planted a seed.

I don’t think I’ve ever called myself a Christian, so why did I choose to publish an explicitly religious picture book for the holidays? I’ve self-published over a dozen books for young readers but Let the Faithful Come is special to me, partly because I wrote it four days after 9/11. Some say faith is all that sustains us in times of crisis, and I suppose the seed my parents and grandparents planted within me was not so easily uprooted. On September 15, 2001 I was living on the campus of Ohio University where I had moved to accept a dissertation fellowship. Earlier that month I had flown to Nova Scotia to attend my friend’s wedding and then I returned to Athens, OH days later to watch my beloved city come undone. I don’t remember much about the days immediately following the attack, but I do recall needing to turn the TV off so that I could write something—anything—that would prevent loneliness and despair from overwhelming me. I wrote two other stories at that time, The Girl Who Swallowed the Sun and The Boy in the Bubble, and found that writing magical stories for children made me feel less hopeless and less helpless.

When London-based illustrator Charity Russell completed A Wave Came Through Our Window, I knew she was perfect for Let the Faithful Come. We talked about drawing inspiration from the courageous refugees fleeing Syria in search of sanctuary in Europe, and soon my simple nativity narrative took on a sense of immediacy. After 14 years of holding out hope that I would find an editor who could see the story’s significance, I suddenly wanted this book out now. We tried to make sure the migrants in the illustrations were diverse, and the camels from the original Bible story were replaced by contemporary modes of conveyance—boats, trains, and pick-up trucks.

When this night has passed

and the brilliant star fades before the soft dawn,

let the faithful return to their homes

with hearts cleansed and uplifted.

I considered dedicating the book to Aylan Kurdi, the little Syrian boy whose lifeless body was photographed on a beach in Turkey, sparking outrage across the world. Aylan’s family had been denied asylum in my country of birth, and part of me wanted to implicate Canada in his death; in the 21 years since I left, Canada has become a country I no longer recognize. But then I remembered that my adopted country has also closed its doors to those in need—how many children have died trying to reach the US from Central America, and how many still languish in detention?

I don’t know the names of all the children we have lost, but I hope that the smiling faces of the travelers in this book remind readers that there is another way. And that, for me, is the true message of Christmas: we can be better tomorrow than we are today (look at Scrooge!). No weary traveler seeking sanctuary should be turned away, and we must remember that every migrant child has the potential to transform our society. I don’t remember many of the Bible verses I was made to memorize as a child, but this one still appeals to me: “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it” (Hebrews 13:2).

Let them rejoice!

Let their songs ring golden like bells in the sun,

so that all who still slumber will wake and rise.

Let the faithful come!           

Learn more about Zetta’s wonderful books for kids at http://www.zettaelliott.com.

As a kid, I remember seeing a textbook illustration of enslaved people picking cotton. They were expressionless, nameless. When I write a story that explores slavery, I want to show the opposite.

I want to create fully-developed characters that hit you in the heart. I want kids to connect with their feelings. I want children to have a new understanding of familiar objects like a conch shell or a broom and their meaning in enslaved people’s lives.

I want to crush the myths of the “happy slave,” “helpless slave,” “hopeless slave” and honor the unbreakable spirit of children, women and men who survived the unthinkable through intelligence, creativity, resilience, faith and love.

It’s said that buying a book is a political act. Writing one is too. I try to show unsung parts of history to take kids on important journeys and celebrate how much family and freedom matter. I work hard and pray that I do the stories of my ancestors justice. Slavery was twisted, brutal, horrifying. How do you share the truth in a way that young children can understand?

Three of my picture books delve into slavery –Hope’s Gift, Ellen’s Broom and Tea Cakes for Tosh. Hope’s Gift, illustrated by Don Tate, is set during the Civil War. My editor Stacey invited me to submit a story about a child growing up at the time of the Emancipation Proclamation. Humbled and honored, I plunged into research. I visited a North Carolina plantation site, spoke to curators, read slave narratives and books about the experiences of enslaved children and antebellum Christmas traditions. I studied Harper’s Weekly articles and illustrations, learned about the significance of conch shells during slavery and the formation of U.S. Colored Troops.

I did so much digging that at first my story was weighed down by details. The history was there, but it didn’t come to life. My editor told me to put my notes aside for a while and feel. That’s when the real story took flight.

Hope is an enslaved girl, but bondage cannot break the love that holds her family together. One Christmas night, Hope’s father makes a heartbreaking decision: He runs away to join the war and help bring freedom to his family and others. Hope, her mother and brother experience overwhelming loss.

But like her name suggests, Hope feels something else too. She holds the conch shell Papa gave her to her ear, hears the swooshing and remembers his reassuring words: “Nothing can keep freedom from coming. Nothing.”

When the plantation owner discovers that Papa has run away, Hope hears him holler a chilling warning: “Said when he finds him, Papa gonna wish he never got that fool notion to run.” Don, the artist, pictures the overseer with a whip in his hands. Mama protectively hovers over her children. The threat of brutality is right there in your face. In picture books about slavery, showing reality is important.

What we write and illustrate helps shape what children understand. Later in the story, Hope goes from minding Henry and other kids to working in the fields with Mama from “pink light to purple dark.” Mama nurses Hope’s cotton bur-pricked hands at night. There’s fleeting joy when they hear in the fields that President Lincoln is going to free enslaved people on New Year’s. But when the day comes and they’re still in bondage, Hope holds back her tears, soothes her brother and reminds him of Papa’s words.

That scene was important to me. I remember thinking as a child that the Emancipation Proclamation liberated enslaved people all at once. I wanted to show that gaining freedom was an arduous process. And enslaved men, women and children were agents of change.

Rather than helplessly wait to be freed, enslaved people became Union spies, scouts, sailors and soldiers like Papa. Others waged their own acts of opposition right where they were. It empowers children to know that enslaved people fought for freedom. Don did a beautiful job displaying the full range of emotions in the story from the agony of being enslaved and the heartbreak of Papa being gone to joy when he returns.

It was crucial to show context in Ellen’s Broom too. Set during Reconstruction, the story celebrates the right of freedmen and women to have their marriages legally recognized. It wasn’t enough to show Ellen’s pride at her parents finally having the law honor their sacred bond. I had to reveal why it means so much.

Mama and Papa talk about the broom hanging above the fireplace in their cabin and explain how things used to be: “Husband and wives could be ripped apart, sold away at any time. It didn’t matter if they cried or even begged to stay together. Master had the final say.”

Artist Daniel Minter, who won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor for our book, shows a wrenching scene of a husband and wife being separated.

The husband, in chains, looks back at his wife who is screaming for him as the plantation owner yanks her away. Why is having their marriages made legal so important? Because no one can ever forcibly tear them apart again.

In another spread, Daniel shows the thrill of Mama and Papa jumping the broom together. Their open-mouthed smiles display their commitment to a life together and spiritual victory over an institution bent on breaking them.

Ellen is charged with carrying their wedding broom on their walk to the courthouse. Now that she understands the pain of what they’ve come through, Ellen helps make their triumphant journey even sweeter.

My last book that touches on slavery is Tea Cakes for Tosh. I grew up making delicious, golden cookies called tea cakes with my grandma just like my character Tosh. Each time his grandma Honey makes them, she tells Tosh the story of their great-great-great-great Grandma Ida and he feels like he’s flying back in time. Tosh sees Grandma Ida, an enslaved cook, creating tea cakes for the plantation owner and his family. Honey tells him that Grandma Ida tasting or sharing them would be considered stealing.

But one day, she slips tea cakes into her apron pocket as an act of resistance. Honey reveals the danger: “She risked being whipped to give her children a taste of sweet freedom. Grandma Ida would give each child a tea cake, a promise of days to come.”

Artist E.B. Lewis gives Grandma Ida a somber expression as she carries tea cakes on a tray. It shows that making the cookies is not something she’s doing for fun. She’s enslaved and doesn’t have a choice. As the book shifts to present, E.B.’s gorgeous illustrations make you feel the closeness between Honey and Tosh and how much the story of Grandma Ida and the tea cakes mean. Near the end of the book, E.B. shows Grandma Ida again.

This time, she smiles as she gives tea cakes to enslaved children – an act of bravery and love. The last page is Honey and Tosh hugging as Grandma Ida’s promise has been realized through them.

Writing about slavery and freedom is not easy. But I think about the kids I serve and the girl I used to be and try my best to get it right. For children’s book creators of color writing and illustrating these books is a way to be an agent of change too. Instead of leaving it to others to tell our stories, we’re giving a piece of who we are back to ourselves.

(x-posted at We Need Diverse Books)

As a kid, I remember seeing a textbook illustration of enslaved people picking cotton. They were expressionless, nameless. When I write a story that explores slavery, I want to show the opposite.

I want to create fully-developed characters that hit you in the heart. I want kids to connect with their feelings. I want children to have a new understanding of familiar objects like a conch shell or a broom and their meaning in enslaved people’s lives.

I want to crush the myths of the “happy slave,” “helpless slave,” “hopeless slave” and honor the unbreakable spirit of children, women and men who survived the unthinkable through intelligence, creativity, resilience, faith and love.

It’s said that buying a book is a political act. Writing one is too. I try to show unsung parts of history to take kids on important journeys and celebrate how much family and freedom matter. I work hard and pray that I do the stories of my ancestors justice. Slavery was twisted, brutal, horrifying. How do you share the truth in a way that young children can understand?

Three of my picture books delve into slavery –Hope’s Gift, Ellen’s Broom and Tea Cakes for Tosh. Hope’s Gift, illustrated by Don Tate, is set during the Civil War. My editor Stacey invited me to submit a story about a child growing up at the time of the Emancipation Proclamation. Humbled and honored, I plunged into research. I visited a North Carolina plantation site, spoke to curators, read slave narratives and books about the experiences of enslaved children and antebellum Christmas traditions. I studied Harper’s Weekly articles and illustrations, learned about the significance of conch shells during slavery and the formation of U.S. Colored Troops.

I did so much digging that at first my story was weighed down by details. The history was there, but it didn’t come to life. My editor told me to put my notes aside for a while and feel. That’s when the real story took flight.

Hope is an enslaved girl, but bondage cannot break the love that holds her family together. One Christmas night, Hope’s father makes a heartbreaking decision: He runs away to join the war and help bring freedom to his family and others. Hope, her mother and brother experience overwhelming loss.

But like her name suggests, Hope feels something else too. She holds the conch shell Papa gave her to her ear, hears the swooshing and remembers his reassuring words: “Nothing can keep freedom from coming. Nothing.”

When the plantation owner discovers that Papa has run away, Hope hears him holler a chilling warning: “Said when he finds him, Papa gonna wish he never got that fool notion to run.” Don, the artist, pictures the overseer with a whip in his hands. Mama protectively hovers over her children. The threat of brutality is right there in your face. In picture books about slavery, showing reality is important.

What we write and illustrate helps shape what children understand. Later in the story, Hope goes from minding Henry and other kids to working in the fields with Mama from “pink light to purple dark.” Mama nurses Hope’s cotton bur-pricked hands at night. There’s fleeting joy when they hear in the fields that President Lincoln is going to free enslaved people on New Year’s. But when the day comes and they’re still in bondage, Hope holds back her tears, soothes her brother and reminds him of Papa’s words.

That scene was important to me. I remember thinking as a child that the Emancipation Proclamation liberated enslaved people all at once. I wanted to show that gaining freedom was an arduous process. And enslaved men, women and children were agents of change.

Rather than helplessly wait to be freed, enslaved people became Union spies, scouts, sailors and soldiers like Papa. Others waged their own acts of opposition right where they were. It empowers children to know that enslaved people fought for freedom. Don did a beautiful job displaying the full range of emotions in the story from the agony of being enslaved and the heartbreak of Papa being gone to joy when he returns.

It was crucial to show context in Ellen’s Broom too. Set during Reconstruction, the story celebrates the right of freedmen and women to have their marriages legally recognized. It wasn’t enough to show Ellen’s pride at her parents finally having the law honor their sacred bond. I had to reveal why it means so much.

Mama and Papa talk about the broom hanging above the fireplace in their cabin and explain how things used to be: “Husband and wives could be ripped apart, sold away at any time. It didn’t matter if they cried or even begged to stay together. Master had the final say.”

Artist Daniel Minter, who won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor for our book, shows a wrenching scene of a husband and wife being separated.

The husband, in chains, looks back at his wife who is screaming for him as the plantation owner yanks her away. Why is having their marriages made legal so important? Because no one can ever forcibly tear them apart again.

In another spread, Daniel shows the thrill of Mama and Papa jumping the broom together. Their open-mouthed smiles display their commitment to a life together and spiritual victory over an institution bent on breaking them.

Ellen is charged with carrying their wedding broom on their walk to the courthouse. Now that she understands the pain of what they’ve come through, Ellen helps make their triumphant journey even sweeter.

My last book that touches on slavery is Tea Cakes for Tosh. I grew up making delicious, golden cookies called tea cakes with my grandma just like my character Tosh. Each time his grandma Honey makes them, she tells Tosh the story of their great-great-great-great Grandma Ida and he feels like he’s flying back in time. Tosh sees Grandma Ida, an enslaved cook, creating tea cakes for the plantation owner and his family. Honey tells him that Grandma Ida tasting or sharing them would be considered stealing.

But one day, she slips tea cakes into her apron pocket as an act of resistance. Honey reveals the danger: “She risked being whipped to give her children a taste of sweet freedom. Grandma Ida would give each child a tea cake, a promise of days to come.”

Artist E.B. Lewis gives Grandma Ida a somber expression as she carries tea cakes on a tray. It shows that making the cookies is not something she’s doing for fun. She’s enslaved and doesn’t have a choice. As the book shifts to present, E.B.’s gorgeous illustrations make you feel the closeness between Honey and Tosh and how much the story of Grandma Ida and the tea cakes mean. Near the end of the book, E.B. shows Grandma Ida again.

This time, she smiles as she gives tea cakes to enslaved children – an act of bravery and love. The last page is Honey and Tosh hugging as Grandma Ida’s promise has been realized through them.

Writing about slavery and freedom is not easy. But I think about the kids I serve and the girl I used to be and try my best to get it right. For children’s book creators of color writing and illustrating these books is a way to be an agent of change too. Instead of leaving it to others to tell our stories, we’re giving a piece of who we are back to ourselves.

(x-posted at We Need Diverse Books)

I have two books out this year, POET: THE REMARKABLE STORY OF GEORGE MOSES HORTON (authored and illustrated), and THE AMAZING AGE OF JOHN ROY LYNCH (illustrated). Both books deal with the subject of African Americans who overcame great adversities in the backdrop of slavery and/or Reconstruction. Collectively the books have garnered 5 starred reviews from major book review journals, and have been praised widely elsewhere.

In general, with stories dealing with the topic of slavery—or history in general—I strive to be honest with children and not sugarcoat. History is not always sweet. I believe that children are smart, resilient, and can handle the truth. As one librarian recently said to me about the topic, “Children have no problem with getting down in the mud.” I owe it to children to tell the truth.

In POET, I portray the anger of enslaved African Americans during a slave rebellion scene, several enslaved people brandishing weapons. A white slave owner has been killed. A white mother reaches out to shield her child from the violence. It was a difficult scene and a lot of thought went into it. When I was a kid, I always wondered why enslaved people didn’t fight back. I’d say things like, “No one would have made me a slave, I’d have fought back!” Well, guess what, many times, enslaved people did fight back! Take Nat Turner, whose rebellion caused fear in slaveowners all over the South.

But as a kid, I never saw that depicted in books, so I didn’t know. Had I known, I might not have felt so ashamed every time the topic of slavery came up in sixth-grade history class.

In THE AMAZING AGE OF JOHN ROY LYNCH, I show the fear in an enslaved child’s face, before a relative is about to be whipped by a white man, an angry mob looks on. This is what happened, it was real life for the children who lived through it. I owe it to my ancestors to portray their stories accurately, with empathy, sensitivity, with consideration to my young audience.

Broaching the subject of slavery can be a tricky one, though. Should an enslaved person ever be pictured smiling? Well, it depends upon what is happening in a story. In POET, I pictured Horton on the cover of the book with a glowing smile, although he is enslaved and not freed until later in life. On the first page of the book, I also pictured him with a (slight) smile, all the while, the text on the page reads that “George was enslaved.” That was a tough call, and I revised that spread many times. I worried about what young Horton’s expression might communicate to young readers (and reviewers) about Horton’s condition.

In the end, I stayed true to Horton’s story, based upon reading his autobiographical sketch in THE POETICAL WORKS. Horton’s life was full of sadness, tragedy, disappointment, anger, misery. He had to perform daylong, backbreaking work, without pay. At seventeen, he was given away to the family member of his master, separated from his family. I made sure to include these sad realities in my text. But do you think Horton, still enslaved, did not smile as he held a copy of his published books in his hands? It’s all about context. What is happening in a story when the smile occurs?

As book creators, we need to be careful not to portray enslaved people as happy in their condition as slaves, but we also have to remember that smiles humanize, they offer hope.

(x-posted at We Need Diverse Books)

Get your minds in gear. It’s that time. Today, we open nominations for our ninth annual 28 Days Later campaign, a Black History Month showcase honoring emerging and established children’s book creators and their amazing literary contributions.

With your help, we’ve celebrated more than 220 black authors and illustrators. But there are so many more who deserve to be saluted.

Please nominate outstanding authors, illustrators or books in any of the following categories:

• new children’s or young adult releases by black children’s book creators
• unsung children’s or young adult books by black children’s book creators
• “under the radar” black authors or illustrators
• vanguard black authors or illustrators

Nominations will be accepted beginning today, November 15, through December 1, 2015. To make a nomination, simply post a comment. Feel free to suggest as many individuals and books as you like.

To avoid nominating children’s book creators who have already been honored, please check out our previous honorees at the following links:

28 DAYS LATER – 2014

28 DAYS LATER – 2013

28 DAYS LATER – 2012

28 DAYS LATER – 2011

28 DAYS LATER – 2010

28 DAYS LATER – 2009

28 DAYS LATER – 2008

We’ll consider your suggestions, our internal nominations and recommendations from past campaigns. Then, we’ll announce the new class of 28 Days Later honorees on January 18, 2016. The celebration kicks off February 1.

Our mission is to raise awareness of the many African Americans creating books for young readers. With 28 Days Later, we put these talents in front of the folks who can get their books into the hands of kids – librarians, teachers, parents and booksellers among others.

Thank you for your continued support.

Let me re-introduce you to R. Gregory Christi along with his picture book, Mousetropolis. Christi visited the Brown Bookshelf during our 28 Days Later campaign on February 4, 2015. During that interview, I was struck by his phrase, “… artist who can alter the human form with an eloquence and rhythm.” I interpreted artist as writers and well as illustrators and applied it to mice. It’s very appropriate for his updated and unique version of an Aesop fable.
Mousetropolis is both eloquent and rhythmic. The concept of writing as well as illustrating his own work intrigued me. I asked Christi to share his experience with the Brown Bookshelf’s readers and he accepted my invitation despite his super busy schedule.

Is Mousetropolis your first author/illustrator project?
Yes and I was really happy to have the fine folks at Holiday House Books patiently support this new territory for me, it’s really an amazing company. It’s the first American publishing house to solely publish books for children and I’m honored to be a part of their list.

Did it feel odd to illustrate your writing?
Absolutely! As I child I would spend hours developing as a visual artist. Once I felt proficient with sketching I focused on tonal drawings, as that developed I moved on to pen and ink and eventually paints. On and on, decades of study that kept me up many nights. I loved growing creatively because it built my self-esteem and helped me to connect to people. For most of my life, I never personally considered words as my medium and looking back I must say that my focus on the visual arts was pretty absolute. So even after years of people telling me that I should write books, figuring out Mousetropolis’ written voice was a terror. I got over it by stepping outside of my own head and giving what was written a visual voice (and vice versa).

As you wrote, did you visualize the illustrations?
No, it was wasn’t terribly difficult to illustrate right away because of it being a well-known story. So I really found the project’s written voice during the sketch phase. Additionally I’m not such a fan of doing anything in a linear way, so the two grew in tandem. However, I did have to visualize the main characters. Initially I was thinking of a style based on Mars Blackmon for the city mouse (Spike Lee’s fictional character in the film “She’s Gotta Have It”). I was going to do a mouse with 1980’s Gazelles and a cap turned to the side and then decided to go another route. I was concerned about stereotypes, worried that I’d be insulting aspects of American culture and regions by being too heavy handed with clichés. So I left out the straw hats, “gold grillz” or bucked teeth chomping on straw but kept the overalls and oversize tee shirts.

What obstacles did you encounter?
I was respectful of representations from both regions and the biggest change was from a night time city view with many lights into a multitude of brownstones and two story buildings when the mice first see the city. Another big change comes from an equal opportunity conversation. One of my interns from, the autographed children’s book store and art school, GAS-ART GIFTS, that I run in Decatur, Georgia, stated ‘How come there are no girl mice”?! I figured that the mice could be whichever gender the reader’s heart desired but that didn’t seem to fly. So if you look for it you’ll see a purple miniskirt wearing mouse with a pink purse and striped tights, that was something I never saw coming but, there you go—gender equality.

How would you describe the art medium?
It’s acrylic gouache, an opaque acrylic watercolor that has the properties of both acrylic and gouache. It’s perfect for laying in tones, details and then drawing on top of them with lines. 

Congratulations! Mousetropolis is a wonderful book that will mesmerize children and inspire authors-illustrators. Thank you for sharing your creative process with the readers of The Brown Bookshelf.

Christi’s latest projects are The Book Itch (November 2015)and Freedom in Congo Square (January 2016).

Visit him on his website, gas-art.com.

Award-winning author Rita Williams-Garcia

One of the pleasures of The Brown Bookshelf is getting a sneak peek at outstanding new work by black children’s book creators. Thank you to Marimba Books for sending us the latest treasure by award-winner Rita Williams-Garcia, The Bottle Cap Boys Dancing on Royal Street. Illustrated by Damian Ward and distributed by Just Us Books, Rita’s second picture book (officially debuts on October 15) is a lyrical celebration of young performers in New Orleans who grind bottle caps into the bottom of their sneakers and tap to applause and tips. The story, a thrilling competition between two brothers who are “bottle-cap kings,” pulses with meaning as you learn how their tapping helps realize their dreams. With finger-snapping rhythm, just-right pacing and loads of cool, Rita’s talented brothers dance their way into our hearts.

We’re proud to share an interview with Rita that gives you an inside look at Bottle Cap Boys, explores her inspirations and generously passes on advice to aspiring authors.

Hi Rita! Welcome back to The Brown Bookshelf. It’s an honor to celebrate your beautiful new picture book, Bottle Cap Boys Dancing on Royal Street.

Yay, Brown Bookshelf! I must tell you, I was on a panel at Bookcon with Cheryl Hudson this past spring, where a teen attendee recommended the Brown Bookshelf for finding books of diversity. Leave it to teens to be in the know.

 We featured you in our 2008 28 Days Later campaign. Since then, you’ve created even more outstanding work. How has the racial landscape of the children’s book industry changed since you’ve been in the field? Do you feel like there are more or fewer opportunities for black children’s book creators than when you started? What is your advice to those who want to break in? What do you hope the future brings?

What landscape? It was a desert back then. You could count the number of books for children and teens published per year featuring black characters on one hand. I almost don’t want to go back there. It depresses me. In the 1980s there were so few contemporary stories, or stories beyond the Civil Rights Era. In the meantime, our kids and teens were crying out for more relatable, contemporary stories. And yes, I’m speaking of teen novels primarily. Walter Dean Myers was leading the fight, especially for male teens, but contemporary female protagonists were hard to find. Jackie Woodson and I had been around since the late 80s, but it wasn’t until the mid-90s with authors like Sharon Draper, Sharon Flake, Nikki Grimes, Angela Johnson, that the presence of contemporary black female protagonists began to come to the forefront. (Please, people. I know there were more in the 80s and 90s. The point is, they were still countable, which is the problem.) You could find the 90s titles in libraries but also in big chains and independent book stores. The mid-90s also rang in the heralded the success of Christopher Paul Curtis’s groundbreaking The Watsons Go to Birmingham and Bud, Not Buddy. Even so, we’re still talking relatively small numbers of books about children and teens of color being published annually, twenty years ago.

However, the picture book market was picking up. The more colorful, the better! Parents and grandparents demanded these books at festivals, fairs, stores and at the library for their home libraries and for bedtime reading. Illustrators of color or those who illustrated books of diverse characters were on the rise. They brought to the page a warmth of diversity within diverse people like no one else could. It makes a difference to the child viewing the art and wanting to find connection with the characters.

In those early days you had a fledgling group of industry professionals of color, looking for books that featured people of color. Andrea Davis Pinkney’s Jump at the Sun (Disney) brought us Sharon Flake’s The Skin I’m In—over a million copies sold. Scholastic editors Bernette Ford and Kevin Lewis—who later moved to Simon and Schuster were always actively seeking books of diversity in the 90s. While there are more editors of diversity in publishing for children, there is room for more.

Years ago, I counted the number of books being published annually. Getting to the heart of diversity today must go much further than that. Publishing includes not only the author and her book, but the world that produces the book, presents and critiques the book, markets the book, distributes the book, heralds the book, shelves the books, and makes buying decisions about the book. It helps to have diversity in areas of publishing to scout emerging talent, and to steer or encourage, even if their book isn’t ready for publication—more the case than not. It helps to have that strong and diverse coalition of librarians looking for books to serve their communities. It helps to have agents who can see the literary and commercial potential in their client’s career and fight for that author or illustrator. Yes, an agent does that and more in general, but an agent must understand the value of the book they are fighting for. An agent must have vision.

What would I like to see? Simple. I want to see so many books that we lose count of how many books of diversity are being published. I want to see a wealth of books of all subjects and representations for every reader.   Today, although you have more of a book count, and more of an author and illustrator count, and certainly more industry professionals of color, we still need diverse books! The numbers are still unrepresentative of the readers in our communities. Let me just say what Walter has always said: “There is still work to do.”

The road for those who are trying to break in is tricky, often arduous, but well worth it. I was having a conversation with Jackie a few years ago about where this next generation of black writers will come from. Things looked bleak. But that was a few years ago. The ground is opening up and a new generation of authors and illustrators are producing phenomenal stuff, covering a diverse field of subjects and characters! I see them enrolling in MFA programs like Vermont College of Fine Arts, Hamline, Simmons College, and Rollins, but we need more candidates. It isn’t that an MFA is essential, but the understanding of craft gives the writer a leg up in this highly competitive industry. Gone are the days when you can write from the heart and be clueless about notable books in the industry that are being published. My first novel was full of promise, but I had a lot to learn. Having to start all over was nothing but painful, but I had to decide if would be angry or published. I chose being published. I learned as much as I could about the craft of writing and then got an MA in Creative Writing. Financial hardship keeps many applicants of color away from pursuing an MFA. Even for people of the majority, it takes tremendous sacrifice to make that commitment. MFA programs like VCFA are offering diversity scholarships, but it is still a challenge.

In the meantime, read widely. Read what’s out there across the board. Write every day. Keep a writing schedule and stick to it. Embrace revision. There’s no writing without rewriting and rewriting. [Full disclosure: I hate it, but I’m generally grateful for the process.] Know your craft, but don’t let craft knowledge make you crazy. Find one good craft book. Maybe two. And let that be that. Annie LaMott’s Bird by Bird is a good start, along with Marion Dane Bauer’s What’s Your Story—especially if you’re truly beginning.   Get an agent. Having an agent is the best indication that your work is marketable. Listen to your agent. They get paid by selling your book. They want to get paid, but they are also as good as their reputation. They must believe your book is of fine quality and beyond.  [Full disclosure: I don’t have an agent, but I am a relic of a bygone era. Get an agent.] When you finish your novel, start on a new one. Let your book get cold before you come back to it—but you must stay hot. Get to writing your next project!

You’re known best for your award-winning novels like P.S. Be Eleven and One Crazy Summer. But you also have an acclaimed picture book, Catching The Wild Waiyuuzee (2000). Had you always intended to return to that genre? Why or why not?

Believe me. I would publish a picture book every other year if someone wanted them! I write and rewrite, but, alas—I meet up with more rejections than a few! Does that stop me? Nah. I imagine, write, rewrite them and rewrite them and put them away when I get stuck. But when I have a breather in between novels or when I’m stuck during the course of writing a novel, I work on a picture book. I absolutely love the shorter form. I love the colors, rhythm and humor of picture books and read a lot when I get a chance. I keep trying. Wish me luck!  

What inspired  Bottle Cap Boys? Why did you want to tell that story as a picture book instead of in a longer form? What were the challenges and rewards?

I’d been to New Orleans twice before the devastation of 2005. During those visits I couldn’t hit a corner without seeing kids with tip boxes, bottle cap dancing on street corners or in the French Quarter. I never left the hotel without change for tip boxes. It was hard to pass these dancers by without showing them a little love. I had even picked up a print by artist Margaret Slade Kelly of two boys bottle cap dancing and hung it over my desk. Those hard dancing kids just stayed with me.

There were so many levels of devastation and sorrow in the wake of the gulf storm. All we could do was pray and donate whatever we had to the displaced and marooned. Later, I began to think about the children I used to see dancing on street corners.  Many stories come to mind. After all, even while those kids danced, they also dealt with the dangers and realities of being on the street. A grittier story about children in survival mode is straightforward enough to plot itself in a longer form. I know I could tell that story. The problem was, my heart was never in telling it, so I’m leaving that to another writer. Instead, let me work on much younger hearts and minds. If you read about bottle cap dancers when you’re five or six, then you might want to try bottle cap dancing. If you read about bottle cap dancers on Royal Street, you might feel the magic. If you see tasty food falling out of the sky on these colorful pages when you’re five or six, you might taste the flavors of New Orleans without having been to Dooky Chase or any of the other fine New Orleans restaurants. The very young will have more than enough time to read those more complex and grittier stories a little later.

On your site, you say, “I’m a writer, an observer, a daydreamer. I look at people or a situation and simply imagine.” I love that statement. Can you tell us about the impact seeing the young bottle cap tappers had on you?

I’m often asked if my stories are autobiographical, and I have to say, no—although, like my protagonist in Blue Tights, I wanted to dance, but didn’t have a dancer’s body. For the most part, I deeply imagine my characters until I can hear them. Understand them. This happens when I’m still. In the daydream zone! I’ll go out spot something or someone interesting, and fixate on what I find intriguing. From there, possibilities of story might bloom. I like to take a quick glance at a person or object and build a small story in my mind. Maybe a woman’s outerwear is too neat. I then imagine she’s living in chaos. I see a boy with a bump on the side of his head. The story I imagine entertains me more than the story he’d tell me. Very little of what I observe daily goes into my writing, but it trains my brain to think about my characters deeply.

The thing I observed about the bottle cap dancers years ago was that they didn’t smile much but danced energetically. When they did smile, there was a plea in their eyes, or sometimes the smiles were so hard, I could feel the dancers wearing their masks and willing their souls elsewhere. I could also see that many of these kids were hungry. If you look at the world like a writer, you’ll always see a little more than you expect or want to see. But your mind “goes there.” You can’t un-see. In this case I thought of how a young soul could be both sad and triumphant.  

On the Just Us Books home page, there’s a lovely note welcoming you as a new addition to their publishing family. The note ends with “welcome home,” because you’re longtime friends of the Hudsons. Do you feel like working with them is a homecoming? Why were they the right publisher for Bottle Cap Boys?

Having my book published by Team Hudson is indeed a homecoming. When my children were growing up in the 80s and early 90s, my husband, Peter Garcia and I felt strongly about surrounding them with books whose characters looked like them. We wanted our daughters to see the accomplishments and history of people of color in the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean and Latino countries. Just Us Books was our “go to” source for fun and educational books. I recall Cheryl’s Bright Eyes, Brown Skin, [co-written with Bernette Ford] drawn lovingly by George Ford was a big favorite at the Garcia home. I had to get two copies because the covers got dogged from constant page turning.

My association with the Hudsons is more than a typical author and publishing pairing. I wanted to pay tribute to the children who were part of the street performer scene in New Orleans, and at the same time I was “going through it.” I’d quit my long-time job in the software industry and was living lean as I wrote Jumped and worked part time for Vermont College of Fine Arts. The Hudsons showed immediate interest and enthusiasm in Bottle Cap Boys when I queried. We began a partnership of creating a picture book that would be a celebration, in spite of the hard realities these young dancers face. Not only was my book in good hands but I was in good hands. The Hudsons understand about hard times, the storm and the rainbow.

On the bio page of your web site, you say, “Writing stories for young people is my passion and my mission.” Please tell us why it’s so central to who you are. What do you hope your writing gives to children and adults?

In truth, I had to develop a passion for writing for young people. I’d been grooming myself to write the “Great American Novel” for adults since I was a kid. I probably read more adult novels, plays and poetry than I read children’s literature back then. But when I needed a novel for contemporary urban girls and couldn’t find one I began to shift gears. And then actually meeting readers changed everything! I could see the need for stories with connection in readers and especially in non-readers, I had the joy of storytelling, fiction (lying), and reading in me for as long as I can remember. I know that my people were forbidden to learn to read, so they memorized parts of the Bible. I know my father was denied entrance to his local library because he lived in the Jim Crow south. I know that people need story. Can you imagine a generation that learns to turn off the necessary act of reading because for them it holds little connection? The thought of an elective illiterate society frightens and depresses me. I hope to simply write a story someone’s dying to read. I want to include and not exclude. I hope to tell both truthful stories and wildly imaginative stories. I hope these stories made connections and foster possibilities for readers of all ages.

What’s next for you?

I’m definitely pitching a pb to Just Us Books when I’m ready. Cross your fingers for me! I’m finishing up a short middle grade novel, CLAYTON BYRD GOES UNDERGROUND, aimed at a reader in need of a shorter book, high content. Think the blues meets hip-hop.  Again, wish me luck!

Learn more about Rita Williams-Garcia here.  Buy a copy of Bottle Cap Boys Dancing on Royal Street here.

Morgan Billingsley

When I visit schools, one question kids ask is: “Do you have to be a grown-up to have a published book?” I tell them about trailblazer John Steptoe who started writing and illustrating his acclaimed book Stevie when he was 16. I mention Christopher Paolini who was a teen when his parents self-published his novel Eragon. A couple years later, it became a bestselling book for Knopf and inspired a feature film. It takes talent, hard work, resilience, commitment. But yes, kids can be published authors too.

I’m excited to add three more to my list of examples.

Jackie Lee

Brown Girls Publishing, a boutique company founded by best-selling authors Victoria Christopher Murray and ReShonda Tate Billingsley, has an imprint that brings “fresh voices for children, written by children.” Three of those voices are tweens, Jackie Lee, Morgan Billingsley and Gabrielle Simone. Their first book was a collection of three Christmas stories titled The Perfect Present. Their second book, The Perfect Summer, debuted last month.

Gabrielle Simone

“It’s summertime! That means it’s time to sit back, relax and just have fun, right? Wrong! For Marlena Fernandez, Gloria and Valerie James and Max and Mickey Martin . . . summer is all about life lessons in these three page-turning tales about kids in search of The Perfect Summer.”

The girls count writing as just one of their many talents. Jackie is an actress who has starred in regional productions of The Wiz, The Christmas Present and One Night with a King. Morgan loves swimming and volleyball and serves as the secretary for the teen group of her Jack & Jill chapter. Gabrielle loves to learn. She’s student council representative for fifth grade and enjoys basketball, playing with dolls and soccer.

Here Jackie and Morgan talk about their latest book and share why they write:

Jackie: First, thank you for interviewing me. My mom interviews a lot of authors on her radio show. She also creates events for authors. Therefore, I always thought writing stories were cool.

Morgan: My mom is an author, so I guess you can say it’s in my blood. But I love telling stories and being able to make the characters do what I want them to do.

How did your story evolve?

Jackie: I look to ready funny books and books with good messages. I just thought of a few things and put them in my notebook.

Morgan: I wrote a simple 500 word paper and I wanted more of my own story. So I went back added details and the story grew.

By Kirsten Cappy, Curious City

Yes, #WeNeedDiverseBooks and #BlackLivesMatter. These hashtags and sentiments are integrated into my many literacy projects and into our ongoing commentary on this troubled nation. Yet, the more I hashtag, the more I wonder if the book industry’s endearing and infuriatingly slow pace can create a place where black lives matter simply by producing more diverse books.

Authors and illustrators will do their groundbreaking and childhood-lifesaving work and the publishers will publish them. But, are the consumers, educators and libraries buying enough books?  Are they buying at a pace that will expose a child to enough books to show him or her that their lives matter—matter to all of us?

Into the middle of these thoughts, a picture book New Shoes by Susan Lynn Meyer and illustrated by Eric Velasquez (Holiday House) landed on my desk. In the book, young Ella Mae is forced to wait for a white girl who came in the shoe store after her and then denied the right to try on the saddle shoes she and her mother have come to buy. Jim Crow sends Ella Mae’s mother to her knees to trace her daughter’s feet on paper.

The next day at school, Ella Mae has on her new shoes but “feels bad most of the day.”

“That’s happened to me too,” her friend Charlotte whispers when Ella Mae tells her about the store. What makes this story a marvel is that Ella Mae and Charlotte counter this Jim Crow discrimination with entrepreneurship.

Doing chores for neighbors, the girls ask to be paid in nickels and old shoes. After rounds and rounds of chores, they go into an old neighborhood barn. There they do not just play store, but create a store. With their nickels and their careful attention, they transform the old shoes into shelves of refurbished footwear.

When they post their “open” sign, the lines form and “anyone who walks in the door can try on all the shoes they want.”

We all strive to have children try out all the books they want. I want young readers to experience the tenacity and creativity of Ella Mae and Charlotte! But how many will? How many families will buy this acclaimed picture book from a bookstore shelf? How many libraries will have the funds to buy it for kids to check out or for teachers to pull from the shelves for a lesson?

If books and stories change lives, if diverse books allow children of color to be seen and validated, then why is book purchasing not a major charitable action?

For example, if the message of empowerment through entrepreneurship speaks to you and you have the means, why are you not buying New Shoes by the caseload for schools, libraries, and after school programs? Books have meaning and mission, but the industry has always been designed for single purchase use.  The bulk sale is rare.  If #WeNeedDiverseBooks, can we not find an entrepreneurial solution like Ella Mae and Charlotte?

We certainly can match a person or organization’s mission – to instill a feeling or lesson in children’s minds – to a children’s book that imparts that mission.

Public funds for schools, libraries, and many non-profits serving children continue to diminish. These institutions would welcome donated materials.  For example, I recently posted an offer on the American Library Services for Children email listserv offering 500 individually-donated paperback chapter books by Polly Holyoke. That offer brought 1,000 grateful schools and libraries to our site in less than 48 hours.  They would say a resounding “yes” for books that reflect their community.

The statement in New Shoes, “That’s happened to me,” is such a simple and searing statement of subtle and daily discrimination. Those subtle experiences of discrimination remain long after the end of Jim Crow.

Can we give kids of all races the tools to believe and act like #BlackLivesMatter by driving charitable donations of books? Is it as easy as setting up in the barn and painting a sign? It might be. Who wants to do the chores and gather the nickels with me?

NEW SHOES Text copyright © 2015 by Susan Lynn Meyer, Illustrations © 2015 by Eric Velasquez, Used by permission of Holiday House.

Kirsten Cappy of Curious City and Curious City DPW is an advocate for children’s literature and its creators and for schools and libraries. Through creative marketing projects, she seeks to create places where kids and books meet. She can be reached at [email protected] or 207-420-1126.

I interviewed Tracey for the Brown Bookshelf in 2012. As she shared Angel’s Grace with me, I quickly became a member of the Tracey admiration club. She writes. She edits. She encourages and she shares her knowledge with young people. Today, Tracey is giving the Brown Bookshelf and its readers the inside scoop on her latest book, The Jumbies. Welcome back, Tracey!

As a kid I could not get enough of fairytales. Princes, princesses, helpful fairies, vindictive witches, magical mishaps, and cleverly-hatched plans that led to happy endings were all I dreamt of all day long as I flipped through the pages of my beautifully illustrated Grimm’s fairytales, a book almost too large and heavy for my three year-old hands. But fairytales were something that happened in places far away from my native Trinidad, in lands where children could leave footprints in the snow, and you needed a large red cloak to keep the cold off your back. Besides, none of the characters looked anything like me with their golden hair and pale skin. So I had no hope of being chosen to marry a prince, or encountering a witch with architectural baking skills, or meeting an opinionated fairy (this being the greatest disappointment of all). But on warm island nights when the books were closed, and the ships at port bellowed out mournful horns, the stories were different. They came with warnings from the adults in my life such as “Never answer if you hear your name called at night. That is how the douens will get you,” they said.

The Jumbies

Then I would listen to stories about how douens roamed naked through the forests of Trinidad with their feet on backwards to fool anyone who might follow them. They were small like children, but with the strength of grown men, and wore cone-shaped hats and not one stitch of other clothes. The douens would learn the names of children so that they could lure them into the forest, where the children would never be heard from again. “Just ask ‘did you call me?’ and wait for us to answer,” the grownups said. If they hadn’t called, I could be sure it was a douen trying to get me, and I would pull the covers more tightly under my chin. But the douens were not the only creatures to be feared at night in Trinidad.

There were also soucouyant, who were old ladies who shed their skin at night, burst into flame and came flying through your window to suck your blood. And there were La Diablesse, who had one regular foot and one cow hoof that they covered under long skirts. The lagahoo was a wolf-man who might help you as often as he might eat you. Papa Bois protected the animals in the forest, and sometimes punished the hunters who were after them. The water was a worry too, with Mama D’Lo, a half-woman, half snake who was as beautiful as she was vindictive. All of these creatures were called jumbies, a group of malevolent creatures who were hell bent on harming or at least tricking any human who dared to cross their path.

Jumbies were fascinating, but they didn’t come in beautifully illustrated books like my Grimm’s. Jumbie stories were very much alive. My uncles might meet a La Diablesse on their walk home at night. The red itchy bites that showed up on my legs in the morning might not be from mosquitoes, they might be from a soucouyant. And always, there was the threat of voices calling at night. I was living my own dangerous fairytale. Every person who encountered a jumbie and lived to tell the tale was brown-skinned like me, some even wore their hair in plaits like mine. But they were never in books. Why didn’t the children who looked like me have their own fairytales? We were just as clever. We had to be just as brave. Our foes were just as treacherous. Didn’t our stories deserve to be written down?

A young Tracey in the days before books had her name emblazoned on them.

At the very mature age of three, I declared that I would grow up and be a writer. I would have my own stories with beautiful pictures that I could hold and flip through and read over and over again. I had just learned how to write my name. So the next step, of course, was a book.
Years later, I was in New York, between classes at NYU, and browsing through the shelves at Barnes and Noble when I came across a book of fairytales from around the world. I scanned the table of contents looking for Trinidad. Were there douens in here? Papa Bois? A soucouyant? No. But there was a story called “The Magic Orange Tree” from Haiti. “Close enough,” I thought and I flipped to the page. It was a Cinderella-type story about a clever girl, a magical tree, and an evil stepmother. I knew instantly that I could somehow take this story and make it my own. I would give my three-year-old self the fairytale she had been waiting for. I reread The Magic Orange Tree for years but it was only after my first novel had been published that I started working on the story that would become The Jumbies. Early titles were: The Green Woman, The White Witch, and the Magic Orange Tree; The Orange Tree Girl; and Growing Magic. And jumbies being the tricky, malevolent creatures that they are, didn’t make it easy for me to get them down on the page.

Tracey discussing her writing process with students.

I worked on the story off and on for almost nine years. Over the course of that time, several people in the industry told me to just give up on the story and move on. “Some stories belong in the desk drawer,” one editor said. But there was something about this story that compelled me to keep pulling it out of the drawer even if it had been sitting there for years at a time. It wasn’t working. It was always missing something. But I kept slogging. My three-year-old self, it turns out, is quite the taskmaster. I lost an agent along the way, but found another with the manuscript for this story. Marie Lamba and I worked on it a little longer before she approached just the right editor—Elise Howard—who had also worked on another creepy tale, Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book. The Jumbies was just her kind of story, and even then there were a few rounds of changes before it was final.

In just a few weeks, the three-year-old me will get the book she has been waiting for. Maybe not beautifully illustrated as she would have liked (though the jacket art is amazing), but this time the book will fit easily in her hands, and the hero will look like her, with plaits falling down her back. There is even a nod to the fairytale stories she used to love, with a little frog providing comic relief. But this story is all Caribbean. All Trini. All sun-kissed brown-skinned, and still, all fairytale.

Tracey and her fans.

Pronunciation guide:
Douen = dwen
Soucouyant = SOO coo yah
La diablesse = LAH jah bless
Lagahoo = LAH gah hoo
Papa Bois = Papa BWAH
Mama D’lo = Mama Juhlo
Jumbie = JUHM bee

Early reviews for The Jumbies:

“Her fantastic cast of characters and lush, vibrant setting make you feel immersed in her Caribbean island.”
–Valerie R. Lawson’s Blog, Barbies on Fire

“Endlessly addictive and hypnotic.”
–Essence Magazine

“A well-written tale full of action.”
–School Library Journal

“Tracey Baptiste knows just how to seize kids’ attention.”
–Foreword

“It’s refreshing to see a fantasy with its roots outside Europe.”
–Kirkus

About The Jumbies
Caribbean island lore melds with adventure and touches of horror in The Jumbies, a tale about Corinne La Mer, a girl who on All Hallow’s Eve accidentally draws a monstrous jumbie out of the forest, sparking a very personal war that only she can stop – a war made even more difficult once she discovers her own dark truth.

Jumbies (pronounced JUM bees) are trickster creatures from Caribbean stories, like the pint-sized douen with its backward feet, the soucouyant who turns into a ball of flame, or the man/wolf lagahoo.

Can Corinne save herself, her father, her friends, and her entire island from the jumbies? Preorder now to find out!

Indiebound
Barnes and Noble
Amazon

Join me for the launch of The Jumbies at
Watchung Booksellers, Montclair, NJ on April 28, 4-6pm
La Casa Azul Bookstore, Harlem, NY on April 30, 6-8pm
Enjoy the trailer!

Tracey is also the author of the young adult novel “Angel’s Grace” which was named one of the 100 best books for reading and sharing by New York City librarians. Tracey is also an editor at Rosen Publishing.

You can find out more about Tracey on her website Tracey Baptiste or by following her on Twitter @TraceyBaptiste, or on Facebook and Instagram at TraceyBaptisteWrites.

The Jumbies will be in stores on April 28th.

Join her for the launch of “The Jumbies” at
Watchung Booksellers, Montclair, NJ on April 28, 4-6pm
La Casa Azul Bookstore, Harlem, NY on April 30, 6-8pm

If you can’t attend the launch, it is available at

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Indie Bound.

Brian O. Jordan

On March 21, 2015, I had the pleasure to share the gift of reading with the “Birdy Book Club.”   What a wonderful group of young men. I am proud of their parents and grandparents for beginning to instill the love of reading at such a young age. My parents did the same with me.

I read them my book titled, I Told You I Can Play (illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu, published by Just Us Books). This was the first time I ever did a children’s reading leveraging FaceTime on my computer and it turned out to be a good experience for the young men.  This book captures a story about my own youth and speaks to being a small child who was always told I was too young to play. The book goes on and shows how I proved to my family and others that I could play, but it took focus, determination, and dedication for me to do this. These are characteristics I like to instill in young children. I invite others to reach out and read my book I Told You I Can Play. I also have two other books that youth may enjoy and others I am working on:

Birdy Book Club members show Brian via FaceTime one of their favorite pictures from his book.

• Overcoming the Fear of the Baseball details a childhood experience when I was hit in the face with a fastball.  Instead of calling it quits, I was forced to face my fear and return to the baseball field where I went on to play 15 years of Major League Baseball.
• Time-Out For Bullies discusses how my mother taught me first-hand what bullying was and how it negatively impacts children.  I then reveal how I used my athletic ability to help those dealing with bullies in my school.

Some ask why I decided to write children’s books. It came from my wanting to find ways to educate youth, get them to read, and have others learn from my experiences.   I thought if I could engage youth at a young age then maybe I could capture their minds to read and to learn to believe in themselves to reach their future goals. Mr. Wade Hudson from Just Us Books, Inc. in New Jersey published my first book. He heard my story and wanted to help me get started. He taught me the process of publishing a book and leveraged his best creative people to illustrate my book. I was blessed to have met Mr. Wade Hudson and what he is trying to do through Just Us Books, Inc. to get youth to read.

I went on to write and self-publish other books and at the end of the day I just really want youth to read and believe in themselves to reach their dreams. The hardest part for me about being a children’s book author is my transition. Most of the world sees me as an athlete, and yes I did play Major League Baseball and in the NFL, but I also received my education while I was in college. With that education, I knew that after sports I could transition and do multiple items. So many athletes just see themselves as that, but I knew that at some point my body would not be able to compete at those professional levels and my education from University of Richmond would take me further. Getting others to take a retired professional athlete seriously as an author has been challenging. But as people see my love for writing and reading about children and my publishing new books, this makes people realize I am serious and they are respecting me as an author.

Thank you to Kelly Starling Lyons for reaching out to me to do this children’s reading virtually. I welcome others to leverage my books to help youth develop the love of reading and to find that confidence in themselves to reach their goals.

Brian

Brian O. Jordan

Former MLB Player and NFL Player

www.brianjordanfoundation.com

www.gamefacesportscamps.com

Illustration by Don Tate

We didn’t want to let the day end without wishing our brother Don Tate congratulations on his new picture book with Chris Barton, The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch (Eerdmans). What makes this collaboration even more special? Chris and Don are friends.

Chris suggested Don, his critique partner, as the illustrator of his story that had been years in the making. “I don’t know that I could articulate then why he would be a great artistic choice,” Chris said in this interview, ” but his style turned out to be just right both for making John Roy Lynch accessible as a person and for conveying acts of violence and terrorism in a vivid but not overwhelming way.”

The collaboration is paying off. Their book earned starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly. We’re proud of Don and Chris and look forward to seeing many more accolades. Learn more about The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch on their sites: http://www.dontate.com and http://www.chrisbarton.info.

Check out the buzz here:

“The fascinating story of John Roy Lynch’s life from slavery to his election to the U.S. House of Representatives at age 25, gets a stirring treatment here . . . Tate’s often expansive illustrations emphasize important incidents in the text. A reference to harsh laws passed by whites is coupled with a dramatic two-page spread of a whipping, a potential lynching and lots of angry white faces in the foreground, fists clenched. A small African American boy covers his eyes at the scene. The horrors of a school burning shows praying figures overshadowed by masked attackers with burning torches. The emphasis in other illustrations is on faces, full of emotion add to the power of the telling and the rich soft tones of Tate’s palette welcome the eye to linger.”

- Booklist, starred review

“Barton offers an immersive, engaging, and unflinching portrait of the difficulties of the Reconstruction era, while Tate’s cartoonlike artwork softens moments of cruelty and prejudice without diminishing them.”

- Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A picture book worth reading about a historical figure worth remembering.”

- Kirkus

He’s far more awesome than I realized.

When I went to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s website to get a little background info on him for this post, I discovered a man that has contributed more to our society than I believe most people are aware of. While I don’t have the space to recount all of his accomplishments here, I’ll bullet-point a fraction of them:

• NBA All-Time Leading Scorer
• US Cultural Ambassador, 2012
• California’s STEAM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Mathematics) Afterschool Ambassador, 2012
• Cancer Research Advocate
• Columnist for TIME Magazine and LA & OC Registers
• Award-winning Filmaker
• New York Times Best Selling Author of 9 Titles (including 3 children’s books)
• Two-time NAACP Image Award Winner (What Color Is My World & On the Shoulders of Giants)

It is his for work as a children’s book author that we celebrate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on this final day of 28 Days Later. The three, well-reviewed children’s titles he has co-authored with Raymond Obstfeld (thus far) are:

Streetball Crew Series, Book Two: Stealing the Game

“Abdul-Jabbar and Obstfeld…team up for another exploration of the intersection of sports and life conduct. Chris is a good, quiet kid who likes to keep his head down. As he says, ‘I was friendly to everyone but friends with no one.’ Still, if the machinery of thought made much noise, Chris would be a one-man band. For a 13-year-old, he does considerable shrewd, high-ground thinking, as do his friends (‘You know,’ one says, ‘not talking about things doesn’t actually make them disappear’). Where it really shows itself is on the basketball court, where he plays a savvy, court-wise game. Enter his brother, Jax, a golden boy who appears to have fallen from the pedestal upon which his well-intentioned parents have placed him, and Chris’ still waters are about to feel a hefty stone break their surface. Add his classmate Brooke, a sharp girl with plenty of her own baggage, and a waterspout is in the making. The authors’ light hand allows readers to inhabit the characters; to taste the value of respect, dignity and vulnerability; and to embrace the elemental joy of sports-all without ever feeling like they are being tube fed. The shifting structure of the story and a clever series of blind alleys keep readers on tenterhooks. A deft, understated sports thriller with a solid moral compass.” —Kirkus

“In another exemplary mix of issues and action both on and off the court, the middle-school cast of Sasquatch in the Paint (2013) returns to take on a team of older, bigger, thuggish rivals amidst a rash of local burglaries. Thirteen-year-old Chris is stunned when his golden-boy big brother, Jax, suddenly shows up at home with gambling debts after (he claims) dropping out of law school. With extreme reluctance, Chris agrees to help Jax get out from under-both by enlisting his street-ball buddies against a club team to settle a bet and by helping his brother break into a pawnshop. At the same time, Chris asks his Sherlockian friend Theo to check out Jax’s story, and he also definitely beats the odds by finding common ground with brilliant, acid-tongued classmate Brooke. Along with vividly drawn characters, the coauthors craft a mystery with artfully placed clues that Jax might not be the loser he seems to be, and also inject plenty of exciting, hard-fought basketball in which speed, strategy, and heart play equally strong roles. Flashbacks crank up the tale-s suspense, flashes of humor brighten it, and the end brings both surprise twists and just deserts all round.” —Booklist Online

Streetball Crew Series, Book One: Sasquatch in the Paint

“The author team behind What Color Is My World? opens the Streetball Crew series with the story of Theo Rollins who, though only an eighth grader, is already more than six feet tall. A self-proclaimed nerd, Theo gets recruited for the school basketball team, even though he’s terrible at the sport. Additionally, Theo is puzzled by new girl Rain, who’s smart but being threatened by a guy on a motorcycle; his widowed father is unexpectedly interested in dating; and he might be kicked off the school’s Aca-lympics team if he can’t balance his responsibilities. The depth and realism Abdul-Jabbar and Obstfeld bring to the novel keep it from being a run-of-the-mill sports story. Rain, for instance, is Muslim, while Theo is one of only a few black kids at his school; their ostracism doesn’t overshadow the action, but it isn’t ignored, either. Perhaps most refreshing is the fact that the authors allow Theo to gain confidence in basketball without the predictable game-winning shot. Readers will feel a kinship with Theo as he maneuvers through tough but realistic choices.” —Publishers Weekly

“A crisp tale of sports, smarts and what it means to be your own man or woman-or boy or girl, if you happen to be 13. It seems to be an embarrassment of riches to be, say, one of the best basketball players in history and also write tightly entertaining novels for kids, but there you have Abdul-Jabbar. Surely Obstfeld added polish and framing, but this obviously is a work of someone intimate with sports and, by extension, how sports can serve as metaphor for a way of being in the world. Here, newly tall eighth-grader Theo Rollins is trying to find his way between the brainiacs and the basketball players. Along the way, he meets Rain-aka Crazy Girl-a sort of ‘girl with the dragon tattoo’ minus the heaviest baggage. Characters, both friend and foe, feel real; there is talk of abandonment as well as serious comments about the skewed vision Americans have of Islam. The deepest running narrative pivots around sports, but the story has much to give. Theo’s cousin’s taxonomy of basketball players is broadly applicable: There are the happy-go-lucky, the self-conscious and ‘those who never want the game to be over, because each minute is like living on some planet where you got no problems….[They are], for that brief time, in a place where everything they thought or did mattered.’ Fearless, caring sports fiction.” —Kirkus

What Color Is My World?: The Lost History of African-American Inventors

“Making use of an unusual format, former NBA star Abdul-Jabbar and his On the Shoulders of Giants coauthor Obstfeld offer an upbeat history lesson set within a fictional narrative framework. Siblings the Shoulders of Giants coauthor Obstfeld offer an upbeat history lesson set within a fictional narrative framework. Siblings Ella and Herbie, whose story unfolds in typeset chapter booklike pages surrounded by warmly lit paintings of their adventures, are less than enthusiastic about their fixer-upper of a new house. But as eccentric handyman Mr. Mital unveils the house’s potential, he also teaches them about contributions made by African-American inventors (‘There’s more to our history than slavery, jazz, sports, and civil rights marches,’ he says). Flaps show lifelike portraits of individuals like Dr. Mark Dean, a v-p at IBM; Dr. Charles Drew, who developed the concept of blood banks; and nuclear engineer Lonnie Johnson, inventor of the Super Soaker squirt gun. Ella’s off-the-cuff notes appear inside the flaps, while several spreads provide detailed profiles of other inventors and graphic novel–style passages. The banter between the siblings and, in particular, Ella’s snarky zingers keep things from feeling didactic—it’s an entertaining and often surprising exploration of lesser-known innovators, past and present.” —Publishers Weekly

“A fictional story lies at the heart of this unusually formatted collective biography. Twins Herbie and Ella and their parents have just moved into a run-down older home; while they work to fix it up, Mr. R. E. Mital, an eccentric handyman hired by their parents, recounts the contributions of African American scientists and inventors. As the figures are introduced, foldouts on the sides of the pages contain Ella’s notes (full of humor, as well as facts) about each one. More detailed profiles of other inventors fill the spreads, and some are introduced in graphic-novel-style pages. Instead of famous inventors such as George Washington Carver and Benjamin Banneker, readers are introduced to lesser-known individuals, including Alfred L. Cralle (inventor of the ice-cream scoop), Dr. Henry T. Sampson (gamma electric cell), and nuclear engineer Lonnie Johnson (Super Soaker). Information about the subjects’ home, lives, and avocations is a welcome addition…the large trim size, numerous illustrations, and unusual format (not to mention the celebrity author) will certainly attract browsers. And a surprise discovery about Mr. Mital’s identity at the end will leave readers with something to ponder.” —School Library Journal

For more information on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his work, please visit his website.

In his twenty-year career, Mr. Steptoe illustrated sixteen picture books, twelve of which he also wrote. The American Library Association named two of his books Caldecott Honor Books, a prestigious award for children’s book illustration: THE STORY OF JUMPING MOUSE in 1985 and MUFARO’S BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS in 1988. Mr. Steptoe twice received the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration, for MOTHER CROCODILE (text by Rosa Guy) in 1982, and for MUFARO’S BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS in 1988.

While all of Mr. Steptoe’s work deals with aspects of the African American experience, MUFARO’S BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS was acknowledged by reviewers and critics as a breakthrough. Based on an African tale recorded in the 19th century, it required Mr. Steptoe for the first time to research African history and culture, awakening his pride in his African ancestry. Mr. Steptoe hoped that his books would lead children, especially African American children, to feel pride in their origins and in who they are. “I am not an exception to the rule among my race of people,” he said, accepting the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Illustration, “I am the rule. By that I mean there are a great many others like me where I come from.”

Mr. Steptoe frequently spoke to audiences of children and adults about his work. He was the 1989 winner of the Milner Award, voted by Atlanta schoolchildren for their favorite author.

John Steptoe died on August 28, 1989 at Saint Luke’s Hospital in Manhattan, following a long illness. He was 38 years old and lived in Brooklyn. Mr. Steptoe was among the handful of African American artists who have made a career in children’s books.