Category: General

Yesterday The American Library Association announced its 2013 book award winners, which left us at the Brown Bookshelf happy dancing all over the place. Ellen’s Broom, written by Kelly Starling Lyons, one of the Brown Bookshelf’s founding members, received a Coretta Scott King Illustration Honor. Daniel Minter, featured next month during our 2013 28 Days Later campaign, [ Read the full article… ]

Today, we are proud to announce the honorees for our sixth annual 28 Days Later campaign, a Black History Month celebration of emerging and established children’s book creators of color. As is tradition, a stand-out author or illustrator will be saluted each day during February. “This is my second year working with the 28 Days [ Read the full article… ]

Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad Author-Illustrator Henry Cole Scholastic Press, 2012 First of all, my reader, please don’t take anything in this book report as negative. I love this book! The marketing folks at Scholastic mailed it to me, I’m supposing, because they consider it a diversity book. And we are a diversity [ Read the full article… ]

Today Brown Bookshelf members Kelly Starling Lyons and Don Tate celebrate the publication of their new book, Hope’s Gift (Putnam Juvenile, December 27, 2012). Kelly writes a poignant story that celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Don Tate illustrates this significant moment in American history. Kirkus describes: “A warm story about the love of [ Read the full article… ]

[Updated Dec. 28, 2012] It’s Best-of season! It’s that time of year when review journals, newspapers, and book lovers of all kinds choose the best children’s books in a given year. I love it. Reminds me of Academy Award season in the movie business. Everyone talks about the best movie, actor/actress, director. And then everyone rushes [ Read the full article… ]

Just wanted to thank everyone for the fantastic nominations! So excited to learn about new authors and illustrators. We look forward to celebrating our new class of 28 Days Later honorees in February.  We appreciate your support. Also, we have some happy news: The Brown Bookshelf has been named a Great Website for Kids by a [ Read the full article… ]

Get ready to rep your favorites. It’s that time. The submissions window has officially opened for the sixth annual 28 Days Later campaign, a Black History Month celebration of picture books, middle grade and young adult novels written and illustrated by African Americans. We will take nominations today through November 2. Over the past five [ Read the full article… ]

  Don’t forget, the deadline for entering the New Voices Award and the New Visions Award is just around the corner. New Voices is an award given for picture books written by writers of color. The deadline is September 30. New visions is an award given for middle grade and young adult science fiction, fantasy, and mystery manuscripts [ Read the full article… ]