28 Days Year: 2012

Bryan Collier is our Vanguard illustrator for this year’s 28 Days Later Campaign. He is a trailblazer among African American children’s book creators. His unique style of art combines watercolor and collage, and has earned him numerous Caldecott honor awards, as well as Coretta Scott King awards and honors. Encouraged at home and at school, [ Read the full article… ]

Author and storyteller Atinuke’s delightful and award-winning ANNA HIBISCUS and NO. 1 CAR SPOTTER books are truly a deep breath of fresh air in the world of children’s literature. Anna Hibiscus lives in “amazing Africa” with her extended family in a wonderful house in a beautiful garden in a big city. Oluwalase Babatunde Benson is [ Read the full article… ]

After reading T.L.. Clarke’s story of hard work and endurance, we’re so very proud to honor her in the spotlight of The Brown Bookshelf’s 28 Day Program. For every writer dreaming of the day when they’ll see their work published, here’s a story for you. Tell Us About Your Journey I started writing my debut Young [ Read the full article… ]

Tracey Baptiste loves fairy tales, science fiction, and eating her mom’s saltfish fritters—accra. She also loves writing and has written both nonfiction and fiction. Her nonfiction includes biographies about authors: Stephanie Meyers, Jerry Spinelli, Sharon Creech, and Madeleine L’Engle and conservationist Al Gore. She also wrote two books about character education: Being a Leader and [ Read the full article… ]

Known around the world for her award-winning, soul-stirring poetry and activism, Nikki Giovanni has been creating books for young people for more than four decades. From Spin a Soft Black Song (1971) and Ego-Tripping and Other Poems for Young People (1973)  to Rosa (2005) and Hip Hop Speaks to Children (2008), Giovanni’s poetry collections for kids and picture books celebrate our history and [ Read the full article… ]

Keith Shepherd is an artist, designer, and illustrator, living in Kansas City, Missouri. He began his professional career at Hallmark Cards. Shepherd’s art has been exhibited at galleries shows around the country. Most notably, a painting entitled Sunday Best, became a part of the permanent collection at the Negro League Baseball Museum. Shepherd’s bold and colorful art [ Read the full article… ]

 Who is Ni-Ni Simone? * A Jersey girl with an obsession for reality TV and celebrity gossip * A prolific writer who “whipped up” her first YA novel, Shortie Like Mine, in just two weeks! * The author of 7 teen novels for Dafina including: Upgrade U, The Break-Up Diaries (Vol. 1), and the forthcoming, [ Read the full article… ]

As the author of more than 100 books for adults and children, James Haskins built a literary legacy that is breathtaking. If his name doesn’t ring a bell, it should; He won the Coretta Scott King award for his biography, The Story of Stevie Wonder, in 1976, and went on to win several more CSK [ Read the full article… ]