Kuumba: Introducing The Brown Bookshelf
Introducing the Brown Bookshelf

According to the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC), less than two
percent of children's books published last year were written by African American
authors.

Want the raw numbers? That's just 87 children's books by African-American authors
out of an estimated 5,000 children's books published in 2006 overall.

When author Kyra E. Hicks shared that statistic on her blog and the African
American Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (AACBWI) yahoo! listserv, I
was shocked. I felt blessed to be a published, African-American children's book
author, but saddened that there were still so few of us in print.

Sometimes we're faced with big issues and it feels overwhelming, like the
enormity of it can just swallow us up. Other times, we search for small ways we
can chip away at the problem. I found a way I could contribute when I was
invited to be part of The Brown Bookshelf, a group dedicated to celebrating
African-American authors writing for young readers. It will take time for children's
book publishing to be more inclusive of African-American voices. But The Brown
Bookshelf has embarked on a mission we can tackle right now -- letting
parents, librarians, teachers and others know about wonderful black authors and
books they've written.

November 1, The Brown Bookshelf officially launched. Members include founders
Paula Chase and Varian Johnson, who are YA authors, illustrator/author Don
Tate, author Carla Sarratt and me. That morning, we also announced our first
campaign: 28 Days Later, an initiative to celebrate some of the best voices in
African-American children's literature and shine a light on new African-American
authors and good books that are being overlooked.

Our partners in this project are the Black Caucus of the National Council of
Teachers of English (NCTE) and AACBWI. We'd also like to count on you. We're
taking recommendations of African-American authors offering the best in picture
books, middle-grade and YA reads. Please nominate your favorite books and
authors at this link:

28 Days Later «

We can make a difference, one name at a time .

Happy Reading,

Kelly Starling Lyons
Kelly Starling Lyons - Home

Kuumba
www.brownbookshelf.com