Yes, I’m a grown man. But I dig children’s literature, especially picture books. I admire creators of these wonderful works of art — authors and artists. So you can imagine the excitement I felt when I discovered a new book on the horizon, illustrated by an artist I admire, Kadir Nelson, about the President-elect whom [ Read the full article… ]

A recent article in Publisher’s Weekly emphatically backs what The Brown Bookshelf has long endorsed — importance of increasing the diversity of books out there for young African American teen readers. The article points to signs that this is happening. One interesting point – editor Stacey Barney (who actually acquired So Not The Drama for [ Read the full article… ]

With respect to teen readers, there’s always a fine line. They certainly don’t want to be told what to read and yet, are right on the cusp of realizing that aduls can and do provide pretty decent recommendations. A recent SLJ article provides a peek into what teen readers are into, at the moment, from [ Read the full article… ]

There’s an old advertising stat that goes something like this: a person must be exposed to a message or image at least nine times before they truly register it. Maybe it’s eight times, maybe it’s ten – the point is, a person must be exposed to a message over and over before they absorb it. [ Read the full article… ]

Too often we complain about the shortage of books by and about African Americans. But folks, there’s much to celebrate, too! Here are a few of the wonderful books I’ve read recently: Joseph (McElderry Books) by Shelia P. Moses (ages 12 and up) Life is hard for 15-year-old Joseph Flood. His mother is no good. [ Read the full article… ]