No need to be coy, it’s pretty obvious your favorite lit site for kid books by Black creatives has had a face lift. And I must say, the old girl looks good. Collaborative book efforts, like the Brown Bookshelf, are labors of love. We’re grateful for every eyeball that scans our posts and every individual [ Read the full article… ]
Author: Paula Chase Hyman
Book Party – Naomis Too
What do you do after launching a successful MG novel about blending families? Why follow it with a sequel, of course. Help us celebrate our Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich and the book birthday of Naomi’s Too. Co-authored by Audrey Vernick, Naomi’s Too follows Naomi E. and Naomi Marie as they try to navigate their new lives as step sisters. In this sequel to Two [ Read the full article… ]
Book Party – Minecraft: The Crash
Any time is a good time for a book party. Add gaming into it and you’re about to add joy to a young reader’s life when you join us in celebrating the latest from BBS’s own Tracey Baptiste. When Bianca Marshall, an avid Minecraft enthusiast wakes in the hospital, almost paralyzed by injuries from a car [ Read the full article… ]
Check Your Respect
I’ve never understood how people can cheer for adults playing professional sports and still form their mouths to question why someone would pursue the creative arts professionally. Athletes literally play a game for a living, but we question dancers? Artists? Writers? Has capitalism gotten us so twisted that we only covet careers that bring us [ Read the full article… ]
So, what DO y’all want?
Some days I feel like the old school griot of The Brown Bookshelf whose only job is to remind folks of the origins. You know? I’m here to remind folks where we started and compare it to where we’ve come. So, in that spirit, I got to thinking that maybe behind-the-scenes publishing is saying of [ Read the full article… ]
Grown Too Soon
Too many times we’ve heard the refrain “gone too soon” to allude to a life cut short. A wistful phrase lamenting the potential of one who has earned their wings prematurely. Sadly, the sentiment can also be applied to children of color and the premature death of their innocence. But I’ll call it grown too [ Read the full article… ]
Writing Through 45
My left arm for a time before 45 when I could get on Twitter or write a blog post for BBS and talk about books. Yes, that 45 – our current President. He’s changed everything, right down to how I function as an author. Anyone else with me? I hope so. Because some days I [ Read the full article… ]
Reflections: The Tiny Bigness of Ten Years
Do you know what can happen over a span of 10 years? Let me help you… Personally, my oldest daughter has grown from a thirteen-year-old into a young woman with a college degree and a full time job (my pockets cry amen). My youngest has gone from a toddler to a middle-schooler with aspirations to [ Read the full article… ]