Becoming Billie Holiday By Carole Boston Weatherford Art by Floyd Cooper Published by Wordsong Poetry, (An imprint of Boyd Mills Press) From the jacketflap: “In Philadelphia, on April 7, 1915, Sadie Fagan gave birth to a daughter. She named her Eleanora. The world, however, would know her as Billie Holiday, possibly the greatest jazz singer [ Read the full article… ]

Two decades ago, Wade and Cheryl Hudson searched for quality African-American children’s books to share with their kids. Frustrated by the lack of options, they made a bold decision: They would fill the gap themselves. Their simple desire to give their children books that reflected their images and voices launched a 20-year legacy. Founded on the principle [ Read the full article… ]

Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story Written by Janet Halfmann Illustrated by Duane Smith Published by Lee & Low Books, 2008 After I read Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story (Lee & Low Books, 2008), I knew I wanted to talk it up here at the Brown Bookshelf. But then I [ Read the full article… ]

A few years ago, the lingo “indie bookstore” would have gone right over my head. As an avid reader, all I knew was I liked books and I’d get them anywhere I could – my local library or the nearest bookstore. But as an author, I realized that the business of writing was much more [ Read the full article… ]

Donavan’s Double Trouble Written by Monalisa DeGross Illustrated by Amy Bates Published by HarperCollins, 2008 Donavan’s friends say he has a math block. They say no matter what he does or how hard he tries, he won’t understand until he has some sort of a math breakthrough. Donavan knows his friends are right, but he [ Read the full article… ]

Sorry I’ve been so busy, I haven’t had time to make a post. But I did want to pop in and share an article that ran in the Kansas City Star earlier this week. It’s about a new series of books, for young African American girls, written by Derrick Barnes. Ruby and the Booker Boys [ Read the full article… ]