A Website of Color You Should Know About
When Paula Chase Hyman and four of her author colleagues, Varian Johnson, Carla Sarratt, Don Tate, and Kelly Starling Lyons began their careers as published children’s book writers, they found out quickly there was little to no support or infrastructure for books of color, let alone children’s books of color.
However, the children of color could not wait for an infrastructure to be created, they needed to read books now. Rather than shrivel in the corner as a defeatist, Chase Hyman and her colleagues got active.
They immediately discussed a way they could lend the sorely needed attention to these special books of color and created TheBrownBookShelf.com. The result? Immediate support from libraries nationwide and a site that is gaining ground, receiving nearly a thousand hits a day at times.
They also seem to have a knack for selecting and discovering debut authors who end up being recognized. Two years in a row they featured an author who was recognized during the annual ALA mid-winter conference.
Their hope is that TheBrownBookShelf.com will increase awareness to parents, aunties, uncles, and friends looking for books for the young reader of color in their lives.
Jeff Rivera is the author of Forever My Lady and founder of www.GumboWriters.com