I’m on the New England Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (NESCBWI ) Inclusion and Diversity Committee and I’m excited to announce the newest children’s books by my colleagues on this committee!
Jeanette Bradley, who has lead this new committee, has a new picture book that she illustrated — When the Babies Came to Stay — written by Christine McDonnell. I’ve added it to my Life-Changing Librarians in Children’s Books list. It’s a very sweet story about four babies who arrive on an island and the people there don’t know what to do. The librarian steps up the plate and cares for the babies as if they were her own. And this diverse family grows up happily on the island, reading tons of books, of course!
I love Jeanette’s delicate illustrations that evoke emotion and the sweetness and innocence of a bygone time. Her illustrations style in this book is different from her picture book, Love Mama.
She also has No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History coming out in September 2020. She co-authored and illustrated this book about fourteen young activists who have stepped up to make change in their community and the United States.
Valerie Bolling who will be co-chairing our committee moving forward has a debut picture book that was just released, Let’s Dance, illustrated by Maine Diaz. Her book is a celebration of diversity and dance!
Lisa Stringfellow, our other co-chair, has exciting news! Dark Tide, Lisa’s middle-grade debut, will be published by Harper Collins/Quill Tree after a five-house auction! Publication is planned for winter 2022.
When Kelva salvages a mysterious, sea-worn box, she unknowingly opens a connection to a dangerous mermaid, Ophidia, who will stop at nothing to retrieve what is hers.
Our committee is hard at work on creating training sessions on anti-racism as well as trying to increase diversity among the membership. They kind of go hand-in-hand! This is much needed in SCBWI after the misstep recently in the Minnesota SCBWI chapter with a racist banner illustration.
I’m excited for these new books! How about you? Did any of these books catch your eye?
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My books:
BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 is a book that I created to highlight books written by authors who share the same marginalized identity as the characters in their books.
