“When I was born, the doctors told my mom that if I did survive I would have lots of health problems and be blind, deaf and severely mentally delayed . . . Boy were they wrong!” —Tyler Gordon Fifteen-year-old Tyler Gordon has had a lot to manage in his young life. He is partially deaf [ Read the full article… ]
Category: Book Releases
Wade Hudson on DEFIANT: Growing Up in the Jim Crow South
“With his compelling memoir, Hudson will inspire young readers to emulate his ideals and accomplishments.” –Booklist, Starred Review Getting to know Wade Hudson is such a treat and a privilege, and his middle grade memoir DEFIANT: Growing Up in the Jim Crow South, is a genuine blessing. In DEFIANT, readers will get a glimpse of [ Read the full article… ]
Recognize: An Anthology Honoring and Amplifying Black Life – The Conversation
Many times, the Brown Bookshelf family turns to Wade and Cheryl Hudson for inspiration and institutional knowledge of Black creatives in publishing – both our triumphs and our tribulations. It was our honor to sit with the Hudsons and contributors Nikki Grimes and London Ladd to talk about their latest project, an innovative and groundbreaking [ Read the full article… ]
COVER REVEAL: MAE MAKES A WAY
Oh my goodness, this one was a DREAM. I’m so excited to share this exquisite cover by Andrea Pippins for MAE MAKES A WAY: The True Story of Mae Reeves, Hat and History Maker, my upcoming picture book with artist Andrea Pippins, for Random House Kids and the Smithsonian National Museum for African American History [ Read the full article… ]
Before and After The Water
Where do I begin. When I first read the ARC for The 1619 Project: Born on the Water, all I could think was, “Wow.” My mind was overwhelmed by the power of this breathtaking book, and though I’d expected to love it all along, I had no idea how picture book-perfect it would truly be. [ Read the full article… ]
African Icons Cover Reveal!
We are thrilled to share the cover for Brown Bookshelf board member Tracey Baptiste. This book of narrative nonfiction features ten people from all over the African continent who were movers and shakers in world history. It illuminates a part of Black history that often (always) gets left out during Black history month celebrations–the thousands [ Read the full article… ]
Cover Celebration: Keeping It Real
This is what happens when you plan to do something and then don’t. You can’t have a cover reveal because someone puts it on Twitter before you can. So, here we are having a cover celebration instead. And I’m not mad! It’s a good problem to have when teachers, librarians and reviewers of your books [ Read the full article… ]
Cover Reveal–It Doesn’t Take A Genius
Gordon C. James has said of his work: “When people see my art I want them to say, I know that person, I know that feeling.” And I burst into cheers when I saw this NY Times bestselling artist’s cover art for my middle grade novel IT DOESN’T TAKE A GENIUS. He so beautifully captured [ Read the full article… ]