Didn’t We Have Fun! Written by Hilda Robinson and Jeff Kunkel Featuring paintings by Hilda Robinson Published by Crickhollow Books First off, I enjoyed everything about this book — its poetic prose, its vibrant art, its aura of a down-home African American culture gone by. The book captured it all so perfectly. Didn’t We Have [ Read the full article… ]
Author: Don Tate
Happy dancing at the Brown Bookshelf, ALA 2013 Coretta Scott King Award winners
Yesterday The American Library Association announced its 2013 book award winners, which left us at the Brown Bookshelf happy dancing all over the place. Ellen’s Broom, written by Kelly Starling Lyons, one of the Brown Bookshelf’s founding members, received a Coretta Scott King Illustration Honor. Daniel Minter, featured next month during our 2013 28 Days Later campaign, [ Read the full article… ]
Book Report: Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad
Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad Author-Illustrator Henry Cole Scholastic Press, 2012 First of all, my reader, please don’t take anything in this book report as negative. I love this book! The marketing folks at Scholastic mailed it to me, I’m supposing, because they consider it a diversity book. And we are a diversity [ Read the full article… ]
Kelly Starling Lyons and Don Tate celebrate the publication of Hope’s Gift
Today Brown Bookshelf members Kelly Starling Lyons and Don Tate celebrate the publication of their new book, Hope’s Gift (Putnam Juvenile, December 27, 2012). Kelly writes a poignant story that celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Don Tate illustrates this significant moment in American history. Kirkus describes: “A warm story about the love of [ Read the full article… ]
A look at 2012 Best-Of lists. Considering, celebrating diversity
[Updated Dec. 28, 2012] It’s Best-of season! It’s that time of year when review journals, newspapers, and book lovers of all kinds choose the best children’s books in a given year. I love it. Reminds me of Academy Award season in the movie business. Everyone talks about the best movie, actor/actress, director. And then everyone rushes [ Read the full article… ]
New Visions, New Voices
Don’t forget, the deadline for entering the New Voices Award and the New Visions Award is just around the corner. New Voices is an award given for picture books written by writers of color. The deadline is September 30. New visions is an award given for middle grade and young adult science fiction, fantasy, and mystery manuscripts [ Read the full article… ]
International Reading Association, 2012
Last week, Kelly Starling Lyons and I took the Brown Bookshelf on the road. We presented a program at the International Reading Association conference, Windows to the Past: Using Nonfiction and Historical Fiction Picture Books to Teach Black History. It was a bit hit. Kelly discussed her books and what inspires her stories. And she offered great tips for using picture [ Read the full article… ]