ALA is always special. But this year, the 50th anniversary of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards, makes it even more meaningful. Get ready to celebrate and reflect. Check out the programs saluting this milestone – sessions honoring CSK books, an invitation-only evening gala, a reception honoring Dr. Pauletta Bracy, the CSK-Virginia Hamilton Award for [ Read the full article… ]
Author: Kelly Starling Lyons
What’s New in Our World
Thank you for celebrating our 28 Days Later campaign. It’s our 12th year honoring outstanding Black children’s book creators. We’re filled with pride at the amazing work they do and are inspired by their stories of grit, perseverance and creativity. Ten Black children’s book authors and illustrators make up our Brown Bookshelf family. Our mission [ Read the full article… ]
Celebration Time: 28 Days Later Honorees
We love this time of year. Get ready for the reveal of our 12th class of 28 Days Later honorees! Drum roll please . . . Join us in celebrating these outstanding Black authors and illustrators: February 1 – Mariama Lockington February 2 – Rebecca Barrow February 3 – Maxine Beneba Clarke February 4 – [ Read the full article… ]
28 Days Later Call for Nominations
Kwame Alexander. Renée Watson. Derrick Barnes. Just a few of the outstanding Black children’s book creators we showcased here before they received well-deserved, industry-wide acclaim. Put your thinking caps on. Help us identify under-the-radar and vanguard Black children’s book creators we should consider profiling. Let us know who we should check out so we can [ Read the full article… ]
Using Black Children’s Literature to Amplify All Student Voices
Today, we lead a session at NCTE called Using Black Children’s Literature to Amplify All Student Voices. We’d love for you to join us. The program is from 9:30-10:45 a.m. in Room 352C. Our signing at Blue Willow Bookshop booth #321 follows from 11:30 a.m.-noon. You can also catch us at these signings throughout the [ Read the full article… ]
Saluting The Skin I’m In: 20 Years of Making a Difference
When I think about transformative Black children’s literature, The Skin I’m In (Jump at the Sun/Hyperion) is always on the list. This Coretta Scott King Award-winning debut novel by Sharon G. Flake was published 20 years ago and continues to make a difference in the lives of people around the world. Exploring themes like colorism, [ Read the full article… ]
Just Us Books Turns 30: A Special Interview
This month marks the 30th anniversary of Just Us Books. Founded by Wade and Cheryl Hudson, this ground-breaking company not only showed that Black children’s books were being overlooked, but that publishers were missing out on bestsellers. Their debut title, AFRO-BETS ABC Book, sold more than 5,000 copies in three months. From its beginning, Just [ Read the full article… ]
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices
Today is the book birthday for a special anthology. Edited by Wade and Cheryl Hudson and published by Crown Books for Young Readers in cooperation with the Hudsons’ company, Just Us Books, We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices is a treasury of poems, prose and art that offers hope and encouragement to children in these challenging times. The [ Read the full article… ]