On March 21, 2015, I had the pleasure to share the gift of reading with the “Birdy Book Club.”   What a wonderful group of young men. I am proud of their parents and grandparents for beginning to instill the love of reading at such a young age. My parents did the same with me. I read them [ Read the full article… ]

  We didn’t want to let the day end without wishing our brother Don Tate congratulations on his new picture book with Chris Barton, The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch (Eerdmans). What makes this collaboration even more special? Chris and Don are friends. Chris suggested Don, his critique partner, as the illustrator of his story that had been years in [ Read the full article… ]

Each year, the African American Children’s Book Fair shows the beauty of books for kids made by black authors and illustrators. Saturday marks the 23rd annual event. Held at the Community College of Philadelphia, thousands will stream through the gymnasium from 1-3 p.m. for a chance to buy books and meet acclaimed children’s book creators. It’s a free event, full [ Read the full article… ]

  I’m a dreamer. I grew up in a lower middle class environment where the stretch goal was simply survival. Many of my neighbors had never ventured far from the city. Reading wasn’t a popular hobby. Dreams were for other people. But my mother introduced me to every free or low cost cultural program she [ Read the full article… ]

Today, we are proud to announce the honorees for our eighth annual 28 Days Later campaign, a Black History Month celebration of emerging and established children’s book creators of color. Each day during February, we will showcase an outstanding author or illustrator. We invite you to come along on our journey and spread the news [ Read the full article… ]

Guest post by Irene Smalls This Black History Month, let’s support reading achievement, fitness and health. Background: According to the CDC, during the years between 2007 and 2010, 51% of Black and 41% of Hispanic children were informed by doctors that they were overweight. The State of Obesity Report 9/14, shows that of children ages 6-11, 23.8% [ Read the full article… ]

Habari Gani? Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)! “To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.” We celebrate this Kwanzaa principle today with a post by Justin Scott Parr, author of the Sage Carrington middle-grade series. Inspired by his little cousin’s curiosity about his travels to Africa and Latin America, Justin created his first novel, Sage Carrington: Eighth-Grade Science Sleuth [ Read the full article… ]

  I bet “a new bike” is on plenty of Dear Santa letters. Whether Santa agrees or not, every child should have a copy of New Red Bike. It’s a deceptively simple story of friendship—an even greater gift. Join James in his studio to understand how it evolved. Listen. Isn’t that Get the Funk blasting [ Read the full article… ]