We are proud to support Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools as they commemorate the 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer of 1964. To mark that milestone, they are recruiting 60 traditionally published children’s book creators to read at Freedom Schools around the country on the morning of Wednesday, July 17. Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati of the African [ Read the full article… ]
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Generations Book Club: LGBTQIA Pride
June is full of celebrations: Father’s Day, Juneteenth and Black Music Month to name a few. But a beautiful one that needs more support is LGBTQIA Pride. There are so many amazing Black authors whose work deserves to be in schools, libraries and homes around the nation. Banning. Discrediting their work. Quietly pulling their books [ Read the full article… ]
Re-envisioning One-Dimensional Adoptee Narratives in KidLit
As more and more adoptees get published or share their stories, the response from readers and gatekeepers in kidlit publishing is often fraught with hurt feelings and a limited understanding of the nuances of the adoptee experience. In this conversation, Shannon Gibney and Mariama J. Lockington—two authors, scholars, and transracial adoptees—dive into how this tension [ Read the full article… ]
Announcing the 17th Class of 28 Days Later Honorees
Happy 2024, Friends! We were on hiatus most of last year. Happy to be back celebrating outstanding Black children’s book creators. This time, we’re doing something new. We’re collaborating with our Amplify Black Stories fellows to salute their work and give you an update on the members of The Brown Bookshelf team. Not familiar with Amplify [ Read the full article… ]
Cover Reveal: Jerry Changed The Game! How Engineer Jerry Lawson Revolutionized Video Games Forever
Two years ago on social networks, librarian Elizabeth Bird suggested that someone write a biography on Jerry Lawson—the self-taught engineer known as the “father of modern video gaming.” Back in the 70s, Lawson successfully lead the team of engineers who developed the first interchangeable video game cartridge (recently featured on Google). I hadn’t heard of [ Read the full article… ]
The Future of 28 Days Later
When The Brown Bookshelf launched 28 Days Later in 2007, our goals were simple – honor Black children’s literature creatives who blazed trails in publishing and highlight Black children’s lit creatives who were not getting a significant level of recognition and promotional support for their works. We’ve accomplished those goals year after year and are [ Read the full article… ]
The Season of Black Boy Books – Best of 2022
Looking for outstanding children’s books featuring Black boys? Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati has you covered. Check out her guest post and list. From board books to young adult novels, she gives us wonderful titles by Black authors to read and share. By Vanesse J. Lloyd-Sgambati, Founder of The African American Children’s Project In 2022, books [ Read the full article… ]
Tameka Fryer Brown is Not Done Yet (And I’m So Glad)
Award-winning picture book author and BBS fam Tameka Fryer Brown is well known for her lyrical and spare but gorgeously poetic prose. From her early Around Our Way on Neighbors’ Day and My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood, to the more recent Brown Baby Lullaby and Twelve Dinging Doorbells, Tameka’s words are truly music [ Read the full article… ]