Meet Charles R. Smith, Jr., winner of the 2010 Coretta Scott King Book Award for Illustration for MY PEOPLE; it is a book featuring the 33 words of Langston Hughes’ 1923 poem. The book received starred reviews from both School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. All of these accolades…and is it any wonder when you simply gaze upon the cover?
Charles R. Smith, Jr. considers himself an artist who creates in music, acting, writing and photography. Artist he is.
He is featured today on The Brown Bookshelf’s 28 Days Later, the final day.
Here is another really good reason I’m happy I “got it” this year having been in blogging long enough to learn about The Brown Bookshelf’s 28 Days Later: I did not know about Millner and Miller’s Hotlanta series. Teen friends with whom I have today discussed the series say a line from a Scholastic press release I read describes the series best: HOTLANTA is filled with all of the drama of teen life, set against Atlanta’s most fashion-forward and privileged residents. From The Brown Bookshelf’s 28 Days Later on Day 27:
Denene Millner & Mitzi Miller hit the scene with the Hotlanta series in 2008. A series that screams potential for not only adaptation to big or little screen but also best selling or break out. However you choose to define it, the series should be among the most well-recognized brown YA series out there alongside it’s mainstream counterparts.
The fact that it’s not is the very reason 28 Days Later exists.
So, what can we the readers of The Brown Bookshelf do? Help me.
Oh, my, if you have never held and turned the pages of Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard’s Aunt Flossie’s Hats (and Crab Cakes Later), savoring both the story by Howard and the illustrations by James Ransome, then you have missed an American classic. You really must treat yourself to this book soon!
Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard was born December 28, 1927 in Baltimore, Maryland; she is the featured author on Day 26 of The Brown Bookshelf’s 28 Days Later; this graduate of Radcliffe who has a doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh taught for years at the University of West Virginia and now lives in Pittsburgh near her three daughters and their families. A lifelong reader she notes she identified with characters she liked and only much later realized she was missing something- reflections of her people, herself. And so, she became a writer. And Elizabeth notes “…I recognized how important it truly was for NON-BLACK kids to have access to books showing how black kids were basically like them…I am convinced of the power of books in developing self-worth. Librarians and teachers have a responsibility to work to foster this.”
Blue Mountain Trouble is the title of first time author Martin Mordecai’s middle grade book, and he notes in this Day 25 interview on The Brown Bookshelf’s 28 Days Later the book ”started as a bedtime story to a child.” With that I was hooked. My late grandmother told us three girls bedtime stories she made up about first two little girls and then when our baby sister was born, there was a baby that joined the family. And I have always wished we had her voice on tape telling those stories and/or had a written record of the stories. What a special treat for a child, a story that parallels her/his life. As Mordecai noted in this interview: The magic in books, even in non-fiction, is a shared magic between the author and the reader, — it’s interactive. You bring yourself to the author’s and character’s selves, and something quite alchemical can happen.
While being pleased with the Kirkus starred review of this “coming of age” novel set in Mordecai’s native Jamaica, he says he considers it a great moment when a “review” came from his 9-year-old grandniece “whose mother reported that she had to wrestle the book away from her in the shower!” High praise indeed for a book!
Read more about this writer now living in Toronto, Canada…interesting comments about his online writing and critique group, immigration, multicultural literature and more.
Am I behind? Yep! Between the activities surrounding our RIF winter Board meeting, my necessary escape for some R and R this weekend, well, yes, I got behind. BUT, never fear, Rasco from RIF is near…and I want to make sure you are reading the full interviews for the last of the authors/illustrators featured on The Brown Bookshelf’s 28 Days Later!
Day 24 featured Nikki Grimes, and I found it interesting the person interviewing Grimes noted:
What hasn’t a long-time author answered in an interview? What haven’t they already divulged about themselves? I’d venture to guess, not much. Still Nikki was game to indulge me. We talked about the industry and her latest baby, the Dyamonde Daniel series – chapter books about an inquisitive, up and coming, young poet.
For me there were some lines Grimes gave in her answers that are significant “food for thought” – join me in the buffet:
I don’t wait for opportunities I make my own.
I would love to see more diversity in editorial and management positions. That would, quite literally, change the face of children’s poetry.
Good stories should be read by all children. Books are one of the chief ways we learn about other cultures, other ways of seeing the world. Stories also teach us that we are all the same beneath the skin. We do readers a great disservice by isolating the stories of any one culture from all the rest.
Last Friday, RIF celebrated reading with an extra special twist during the second distribution of the school year for D.C. Initiative, the Washington, D.C. RIF program that serves more than 16,000 children with more than 50,000 free books each year.
You may remember that the D.C. Initiative kicked off in November with an event at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Southeast D.C. Students participated in a cultural exchange via Skype with students from the RIF program at William Tyson Elementary School in Anchorage, Ala., in observance of National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month. Fast forward to February 19 when the King and Tyson students reconnected via Skype to celebrate Black History Month!
Fifth-grade students from King Elementary performed a “doo-wop”-filled interpretive reading of the children’s book, Jazz on a Saturday Night by Leo and Diane Dillon. The students also discussed the roots of jazz in African American culture, along with a lively Q & A session about Washington, D.C. Second and third-grade students from Tyson Elementary eagerly raised their hands for a chance to ask the King students questions. They most wanted to know: Have you ever been to the White House? What was the most exciting thing you saw there? Is it fun to live in D.C.? What are the most fun things to do?
The event continued to heat up with excitement when legendary D.C. musician Chuck Brown, also known as the Godfather of Go-Go, made a special guest appearance. Brown performed for the students and shared his personal affection for music and reading. The students clapped, snapped, and swayed with joy as Brown played a few of his popular tunes customized with reading–themed lyrics. He shared with the students that go-go music, a genre he created in the 70s is a blend of syncopated Latin beats with elements of jazz and African rhythms. Brown told the students that reading was an important part of life. He exclaimed, “Music may have made me famous, but reading has made me successful!”
To commemorate the day, each student selected a new book to keep and received a copy of Jazz on a Saturday Night signed with a personal note of inspiration from Brown.
Without a doubt, lasting impressions and connections were made on this jazzy day! Stay tuned for our next D.C. Initiative event on May 10, 2010 when we celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!
Happy Reading!
Ernestine Walls Benedict
VP, Marketing and Communications
Each month at the All-Staff meeting, RIF honors our employees for gold star customer service as well as makes awards quarterly for the embodiment of our founders’ passion for improving the language and literacy skills of young children. This week awards were presented for the month of February as well as the quarter 2 McNamara Award a month early due to the unique nominations we received.
The Gold Star of Customer Service was presented for the month of February to Lisa Estrin who recently moved into a new role as Special Initiatives Coordinator. In that position Lisa had to hit the ground running as two projects were at critical junctures: RIF Ambassadors and Volunteer of the Year Awards (VOYA). She jumped in and got to work immediately ensuring that these important volunteer engagement efforts continued seamlessly. On top of that she has overseen a process that drew a record number of VOYA nominations! Thank you, Lisa!
I mentioned in the opening paragraph “unique nominations” received for the quarterly McNamara Award for quarter 2. Normally our nominations come from internal staff; however, during the recent VOYA nominating period a DC RIF coordinator at an elementary school nominated two RIF employees as Community Volunteers of the Year for the national competition! Quite frankly we had never anticipated such nominations but knew immediately we could not truthfully consider internal candidates for VOYA. However, the senior managers at RIF felt these employees deserved a special award for the recognition this coordinator gave them. Congratulations to Henry Crawford and Kathryn Jackson!
Henry Crawford according to the coordinator’s nominating statement “has volunteered in more than one school in which I have served as the school librarian. He is always willing to read stories. I admire his commitment to children. He is always willing to assist with the learning activities with the students no matter what grade level…. he has chosen to come and enhance the reading of our children.” Great job, Henry!
The same coordinator wrote about Kathryn Jackson that she “has been a devoted RIF volunteer. She is very creative in setting up the RIF day distribution activities. She is always willing to go beyond what is required to make a successful distribution day. I admire her efforts when she engages every single student in total participation for the reading activities. She clearly enjoys promoting reading.” Go, Kathryn!
I am sorry Kathryn was out of the office and unable to join Lisa, Henry and me as we donned special reading hats and enjoyed a celebratory story!
I’m so proud to announce that RIF has a new public service announcement featuring Rachael Flatt, RIF supporter and 2010 U.S. Figure Skating National Champion. Look for Flatt’s PSA on TV, radio and the Web. What’s more, Flatt will continue to support RIF’s activities to support literacy throughout 2010.
As followers of Rasco from RIF know, RIF is extremely excited and honored to align with Rachael to help spread the joy of reading to children across the nation. Rachael is an international figure who represents the very best in sports. We are grateful to have Rachael as part of our team, and we wish her all the best at the Olympics! Keep watching for her in the days ahead. Her first skate is tonight!
For those who might have missed it: At the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane, Wash., the 17-year-old Flatt became the first U.S. female skater to break 200 points, winning the gold medal behind a personal best short program and free skate.
Happy Tuesday! It’s time to introduce two more of our RIF Ambassadors. This week, our two featured Ambassadors come from the snowy east coast states of Maryland and New York. We hope these Ambassadors have been able to keep warm with some great books during the recent snow storms!
Maryland Ambassador, Ana Bolden, has been the RIF coordinator for the Prince George’s County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority for the past four years. Ana manages RIF book distributions for five elementary schools in Maryland, providing high quality RIF books to over 1,600 students. Ana has been honored to collaborate with concerned individuals focused on strategies to enhance literacy levels among children. Working with principals, teachers, parents, volunteers, local politicians, school board members, and independent authors, Ana identifies countless opportunities to introduce diverse books into her growing program. Although Ana’s professional background is not in education, she considers herself to be an educational advocate. She understands the importance of introducing reading in the life of a child as early as possible, and the role RIF plays in providing this foundation for many children who lack access to books and libraries in their homes.
Mrs. Reid’s 1st grade class with their selected RIF books and the featured book, House Mouse Senate Mouse
New York Ambassador, Ellen Halliday, is the RIF coordinator at Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York. BPL is the country’s fifth largest library system, and is proud to be RIF’s largest library-based program. BPL has partnered with RIF for over 30 years. Ellen has seen the number of children participating in BPL’s RIF program more than double since she became involved in RIF as a part-time employee in 2000. Through a combination of dedicated BPL staff and volunteers, the program is available in all 58 branch libraries and a central library, as well as at 32 hospital and clinic sites. BPL’s newest RIF site is the Bibliobús, a traveling Spanish-language collection serving the Spanish-speaking communities in Brooklyn. The best part of Ellen’s job is being able to participate in a RIF distribution. She loves to see children smile when they’re told they can keep the book they chose.
Brooklyn Public Library honored author William Steig's 100th birthday by reading Pete’s A Pizza, eating pizza donated from local pizzerias, and doing fun pizza craft activities with RIF parents
