I still remember the third grade where I was a student at John Dewey Elementary School – my teacher Mrs. Kaveney, recess, hundreds of games of kickball, our Black History Month program, the school spelling bee, the end of the year class picnic at Mrs. Kaveney’s house. Thanks to Valerie Wilson Wesley’s Willimena Rules’ series, [ Read the full article… ]
28 Days
Shane W. Evans
When Shane W. Evans was a child, a friend of his family invited him to help rehab an old building. Together, they transformed it into a working art studio. Afterwards, Shane enjoyed watching his friend and mentor create large detailed artwork, in the studio they’d worked on together. Within Shane, that experience produced a dream [ Read the full article… ]
Celise Downs
Celise Downs was born, and currently makes her home, in Phoenix, AZ. Her love of writing began in the 7th grade as a way to dispel recess boredom. Her talent was further encouraged by a high school English teacher. She considers her novels to be about the high school experience with a dash of intrigue. [ Read the full article… ]
Kyra E. Hicks
If you spend any time in the children’s literature section of the blogosphere, you’ve probably already met Kyra Hicks. She started her blog, Black Threads in Kid Lit, in early 2007, writing on the subject of African-American children’s literature — picture books, reviews and other topics of interest. Since then, she has become an important [ Read the full article… ]
Stephanie Perry Moore
Writers aren’t rock stars. We don’t clamor for the spotlight or trash hotel rooms during book tours. All we want, is for readers to give our books a good home where they’ll be read and shared. It’s because of this quiet nature, that now and again, an author remains a hidden gem – cherished by [ Read the full article… ]
Irene Smalls
On her website, Irene Smalls writes that she grew up in a home without books. There were no bedtime tales or cozy reading nooks. Instead, she discovered the magic of storytelling in school. Her teacher used songs, games and dance to bring stories to life. That awakened a joy inside her that lasted into adulthood. Smalls has been Miss Black [ Read the full article… ]
Coe Booth
Reading about Coe Booth’s journey to becoming a published writer is inspirational. Having read many of her interviews and articles written about her, I can honestly say that she is phenomenal at crafting stories and she is truly meant to be a writer. And she has received many awards since the release of her debut [ Read the full article… ]
Karen English
A teacher’s classroom is always abuzz with activity from the students and teacher engaged in learning. I can only imagine the level of buzz in author Karen English’s classroom. As she works with her students and listens to them, the wheels in her mind are turning as she creates stories from what she sees and [ Read the full article… ]