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… ]
Author: Kelly Starling Lyons
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… ]
Celebrating Our Voices: 28 Days Later Honorees
We are proud to announce the honorees for our 11th annual 28 Days Later campaign, a Black History Month celebration of outstanding children’s book creators. Each day during February, we will showcase an author or illustrator whose work reflects parts of who we are. It’s more important than ever to raise awareness and support books [ Read the full article… ]
Voices of Change: A Teen Reflects on Freedom
Freedom By JGL, 13 What’s the use of freedom, if we’re not really free You say all religions will be treated equally Don’t ostracize Muslims, let them be What’s the use of freedom, if we’re not really free Our president doesn’t support free press, it may be gone soon Forthright writing is only found once [ Read the full article… ]