ME! MY BOOKS! AND EYE!
My background
I am my mother's only child and Memphis is my home. I went to library school at the University of Tennessee (Knoxville). While there, Professor Glenn Estes introduced me to picture books. At the University of Memphis, I took a Children's Literature Class from Professor Ramona Mahood. She introduced me to author, Charles Turner, who inspired me to write WILLIE JEROME--my very first book. Macmillan published it in 1995. Picture books are my favorite to write! They allow me to "sing" without a music education or singing voice. YOU DON'T WANT ME TO SING. Really.
MEMPHIS, MARTIN AND THE MOUNTAINTOP
A 2019 Coretta Scott King Honor Medal
Also voted a "Best Picture Book in 2018' by Kirkus, SLJ and Booklist
My writing roots
I discovered the poets, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks, when I was a child searching the crowded shelves in my parents' personal library. While I loved each poet, my early writing was most similar to Paul Laurence Dunbar. I wrote for the ear to hear and the voice to speak words like I heard them spoken in school, church and the sundry store. Langston, Gwen and I, have Dunbar in common. It was Paul Laurence Dunbar who moved us early in life to make words our vocation. Words are my work and my pathway to words began with poetry.
HONEY BABY SUGAR CHILD
#1 Read-Aloud for Babies
Read this book with SOUL!
My style
I love shoes, clothes and eyeglasses. I also love sparkly nail polish and any kind of scarf or jewelry purchased in a museum gift shop. My "style" of dress is creative and sometimes what I'm wearing makes no logical sense at all! As for my writing style, I aspire to write a lyrical prose that is suited for read-alouds or a call and response. I seek to write books that children are compelled to read, "over and over again." This is my daily prayer when I take to my computer or sit with my writing pad. I want my words to be soul substance and a good time, mixed with a jolt of learning.
#1 CHRISTMAS BOOK in TENNESSEE!
2 cousins travel the Volunteer State in ugly Christmas sweaters.
Will You Give?
I am accepting kindness to create stickers and postcards for my children's book--A SONG FOR GWENDOLYN BROOKS.
Do you know Gwendolyn Brooks? She was the first Black American to receive a Pulitzer Prize. From her apartment window on the South Side of Chicago, the poet wrote about the Black experience. In nine biographical poems, I celebrate her life and work.
Virtual Book Signing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxEl2Qf8CX8&t=45s
