Author: Kelly Starling Lyons

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, a horrific event which became a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement. Award-winning author Carole Boston Weatherford pays homage to the four girls who lost their lives in her powerful book, Birmingham, 1963. Here, Carole talks about the history and the inspiration for her acclaimed book as part of [ Read the full article… ]

In a few days, summer will officially be here. Time for vacations, reunions, camps, fun with cousins and friends. But don’t forget to encourage the kids in your life to read. First Book created this eye-opening graphic that shows the effects of the summer slide, the loss of reading skills that can happen when kids don’t read during the summer break [ Read the full article… ]

This year, the Harlem Book Fair celebrates its 15th anniversary. A new award – QBR Wheatley Book Awards – will debut there too. In past years, the Phillis Wheatley Award was given as an honor to authors like Maya Angelou, Gordon Parks and Terry McMillan for their body of work. Categories for the new award [ Read the full article… ]

Today is a special day at BBS. Team member Crystal Allen’s latest novel, The Laura Line (Balzer & Bray) made its debut. We’re so proud of Crystal and excited about her new book. Don’t you just love the cover? Check out the awesome book trailer here . Crystal’s first middle-grade novel, How Lamar’s Bad Prank Won a [ Read the full article… ]

BBS member Tameka Fryer Brown is on a virtual tour for her delightful picture book with Shane W. Evans, My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood (Viking, 2013). Today’s stop is right here. Please join us as we learn more about her new book, favorite colors and love of crayons. What inspired My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood? [ Read the full article… ]

Break out the streamers and confetti! It’s party time at BBS. Today is the birthday of the second picture book by our own Tameka Fryer Brown. Her wonderful new title, My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood (Viking, 2013), illustrated by Shane W. Evans, is officially here. Yay! Already the book is winning accolades. Here’s what Publishers Weekly [ Read the full article… ]

Stereotypes.  Caricatures.  That’s the face of black men children see in the media far too often. That’s if they see them at all. In 1953, Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man won the National Book Award. But in many ways, even with our nation being led by an African-American president, recurrent positive images of black men are still missing from literature [ Read the full article… ]

In just a few days, the African American Children’s Book Fair will celebrate its 21st anniversary. Founded by literary publicist and advocate Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati, the important festival has grown from a small event at a local department store in Philadelphia to one of the oldest and largest African-American children’s book fairs in the country. Each [ Read the full article… ]