As a teen I studied ballet, but it was already too late for me to be a professional dancer. (I was no Misty Copeland.) I loved going to the ballet, but there were no black or brown ballerinas on stage at New York City Ballet or American Ballet Theater. If there were, maybe I might [ Read the full article… ]
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Where Do We Go From Here?
Here at the Brown Bookshelf, we’ve spoken often and long on the issues and ideas expressed in the Open Declaration. We do this work to lift up our young readers and show them how they can survive, thrive, and soar in this world. For many of us, the way forward might be clear, for others, [ Read the full article… ]
Thank You
The Brown Bookshelf Team would like to thank everyone who signed on to, shared, and supported our Open Declaration in Support of Children. As we move toward the celebration of our tenth 28 Days Later campaign, we are including plans to, as the Declaration states, “create…empower children, affirm their lives, and stand up for change.” [ Read the full article… ]
A Declaration in Support of Children
Children’s literature may be the most influential literary genre of all. Picture books, chapter books, middle-grade and young-adult novels all serve the most noble of purposes: to satisfy the need for information, to entertain curious imaginations, to encourage critical thinking skills, to move and inspire. Within their pages, seeds of wisdom and possibility are sown. [ Read the full article… ]
What do we tell the children?
On election night, CNN commentator Van Jones shared what many parents around the nation were feeling. “. . You tell your kids, ‘Don’t be a bully.’ You tell your kids, ‘Don’t be a bigot.’ You tell your kids, ‘Do your homework and be prepared.’ And then you have this outcome. And you have people putting children to [ Read the full article… ]
Throwback Thursday: Shadra Strickland
We’ve highlighted many illustrators during our 28 Days Later campaign, and Shadra Strickland‘s interview has always been a personal favorite. Since our interview in 2009, Ms. Strickland went on to illustrate many more books, including White Water (Candlewick Press, 2011); Please, Louise (Simon & Schuster, 2014); and Sunday Shopping (Lee & Low Books, 2014). A forthcoming book, Loving [ Read the full article… ]
Throwback Thursday: Walter Dean Myers
Very recently, a nephew came to live with me. He’s quiet, stays in his room, and basically comes downstairs to eat and hang out in the backyard. Most of the time, his earbuds are in, and therefore I believed he didn’t want to have a face-to-face conversation. One day, he was sitting at the counter [ Read the full article… ]
Countdown to our Tenth Campaign
Happy Halloween! At The Brown Bookshelf, we have another reason to feel festive. February will kick off the 10th campaign of 28 Days Later, our annual Black History Month celebration of under-the-radar and vanguard black children’s book creators. To mark that milestone, we’re starting throwback Thursdays this week where we share a profile from our archive of [ Read the full article… ]