I had such a great time meeting parents, students, and local authors at last weekend’s “book tasting” event in West Philly organized by the Black Child Development Institute of Philadelphia. I spoke with North Philly author Omari Baye about raising four young kids in the city and what it was like writing his book “Spaces” which aims to help reimagine how we think about young peoples’ emotional intelligence.
“Young Black boys are rarely the narrators of our own stories,” Baye said.
I also had the chance to connect with Stephanie Brown, an educator and children’s book author, who wants to equip Philly teachers with books, lesson plans, and resources to improve Black students’ representation in our classroom literature.
“If more teachers write books we can change the tide,” Brown said.
Nicole Edmonds-James from the Free Library of Philadelphia also gave me some great children’s book recommendations to pass along if you’re looking for a beautifully illustrated read: “Your Name is A Song,” by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and “Love is Loud” by Sandra Neil Wallace and Bryan Collier.
If you’re looking for free book giveaways in your neighborhood, get in touch with your local reading captain. If you’re not sure who your reading captain is, you can email info@readingcaptains.org.
As always, you can reach out to the bureau anytime at philly.tips@chalkbeat.org.
