It’s time for another Generations Book Club lineup and I can’t believe how fast the summer is flying by. Some of us are already thinking about back-to-school. Some of us are trying to squeeze in a little more summer vacation time before we return to our normal routines in September. But all of us could [ Read the full article... ] The post Generations Book Club: Summer! appeared first on The Brown Bookshelf ..read more

We are proud to support Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools as they commemorate the 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer of 1964. To mark that milestone, they are recruiting 60 traditionally published children’s book creators to read at Freedom Schools around the country on the morning of Wednesday, July 17.  Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati of the African American Children’s Book Project is helping with the recruitment effort. Learn more about the project, where schools are located and sign up here: Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools: 60 For 60: Protecting the Freedom to Read in Honor ..read more

June is full of celebrations: Father’s Day, Juneteenth and Black Music Month to name a few. But a beautiful one that needs more support is LGBTQIA Pride. There are so many amazing Black authors whose work deserves to be in schools, libraries and homes around the nation. Banning. Discrediting their work. Quietly pulling their books from shelves. It’s happening all around us. In troubling times like these, it’s even more important to stand up against hate and show love for their work. From picture books to middle-grade, YA to adult, we have outstanding reads for everyone in the family. If you’d ..read more

Happy 2024, Friends! We were on hiatus most of last year. Happy to be back celebrating outstanding Black children’s book creators. This time, we’re doing something new. We’re collaborating with our Amplify Black Stories fellows to salute their work and give you an update on the members of The Brown Bookshelf team. Not familiar with Amplify Black Stories? It was an amazing 2021 initiative co-sponsored by The Brown Bookshelf and The Highlights Foundation that offered a year-long program to empower two dozen published Black children’s book creators with classes, community, resources and more ..read more

Two years ago on social networks, librarian Elizabeth Bird suggested that someone write a biography on Jerry Lawson—the self-taught engineer known as the “father of modern video gaming.” Back in the 70s, Lawson successfully lead the team of engineers who developed the first interchangeable video game cartridge (recently featured on Google). I hadn’t heard of him, and I was surprised that his story hadn’t already been told. Game on!—I started researching that very same day. Months later, the story sold to Catherine Laudone at Simon & Schuster. At that time, I wanted to devote more time to ..read more

When The Brown Bookshelf launched 28 Days Later in 2007, our goals were simple – honor Black children’s literature creatives who blazed trails in publishing and highlight Black children’s lit creatives who were not getting a significant level of recognition and promotional support for their works. We’ve accomplished those goals year after year and are proud that 28 Days Later has the special honor of featuring individuals who have blessed children’s literature with classics, as well as those who have picked up the baton and broken new ground with new storytelling styles and topics. Over the la ..read more

Looking for outstanding children’s books featuring Black boys? Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati has you covered. Check out her guest post and list. From board books to young adult novels, she gives us wonderful titles by Black authors to read and share.   By Vanesse J. Lloyd-Sgambati, Founder of The African American Children’s Project   In 2022, books that featured Black boys and young men rose to the top of the shelf. In the words of Lizzo,“It’s About Time!”   For the past several years, books with Black female lead characters dominated the children’s diverse book industry. Finally, the ..read more

Award-winning picture book author and BBS fam Tameka Fryer Brown is well known for her lyrical and spare but gorgeously poetic prose. From her early Around Our Way on Neighbors’ Day and My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood, to the more recent Brown Baby Lullaby and Twelve Dinging Doorbells, Tameka’s words are truly music to our ears, her stories sing a uniquely powerful song. Her latest release, NOT DONE YET: Shirley Chisholm’s Fight for Change, illustrated by Nina Crews, is no exception, called “a perfect introduction to young readers everywhere” by Kirkus in a starred review. It was an honour ..read more

Today, the Brown Bookshelf is thrilled to celebrate the release of Desiree Cooper’s NOTHING SPECIAL, her picture book debut! “Nothing Special is…about a Detroit boy named Jax, who travels to Virginia to spend time with his grandparents. He thinks he’s going to do all the city things he loves, but his PopPop has other ideas,” she writes. “An evocative picture book celebrating simple pleasures and family ties.” — Booklist, starred review In this post, she shares the poignant stories of the development of Nothing Special, and the real people who inspired it: In NOTHING SPECIAL:  “Jax disc ..read more

Last year, our friend Torrey Maldonado came up with a great idea – helping kids understand what Juneteenth means by sharing the reflections of Black children’s book creators. We’re thrilled that he’s back showcasing even more voices. The first federal holiday created since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery. It marks the date when General Gordon Granger arrived with the Union Army to enforce that enslaved people in Galveston, Texas were free – June 19, 1865 – 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Around the country, people will honor Junet ..read more