As a mother of an African American son I wanted to instill self-pride in him at a young age. One of the ways to do that was to read books to him where he saw other African Americans as the main characters. This was a problem for me though, as I read to my son every night and we would read several books a night. It was hard to find many picture books that had African Americans as the main character, let alone African American boys as the main character. I did read him books with other races as the main character and one of his favorite books was No David by David Shannon. I felt it important for him to see his likeness reflected in what I read to him. Due to the lack of books that I sought, I resorted to choosing books with animals a lot of the times. So, I decided that my first book should have an African American boy as the main character. At first glance my book is about plants and flowers, but the subliminal message in my book is the over use of technology, especially video games. This book also educates children about the life cycle and purposes of plants.
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I enjoyed reading your insights on child rearing (I’m sounding old fashion), especially our young African American boys as I have two that I’m raising with my wife 11 and 4 years old. I’m looking forward to purchasing your book and sharing it with my sons, keep up the great work that you’re doing.
ReplyI am very glad that you enjoyed reading my blog. Please keep visiting. I have several book signings coming up soon. I look forward to meeting you soon. Best regards.
ReplyKimberly,
Thank you for filling that racial gap in children’s literature. There should be more writers like you. Children need to see the world as it exists when they’re reading or having a book read to them.
I’m an 80-years-old white woman who taught music and reading to mixed races . Also, helped desegregate an all-black elementary school in 1968, four years after Federal Desegregation law passed. I’ll think about writing a children’s book about some of my experiences. They all exceeded any prior expectations. The year was fantastic. I only left because of an invitation to teach in Australia, my dream since leaning about the land "down under" in the third grade.
Keep writing,
Judith Norris
ReplyI read your blog. Having very use full information help me a lot. I will read more articles on your blog.
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