Here’s an art project I received from Northeast School in Montclair, NJ. Students created portraits inspired by the “The Granddaughter Necklace.” As you can see, each portrait is wearing its own handmade necklace!
My Very Own Library
At a recent visit to Newark Public Schools, Sharon spoke to elementary-school students and signed copies of The Granddaughter Necklace at book fairs sponsored by My Very Own Library and Scholastic Book Fairs.
“Thank you…You were fantastic! The kids were really enthralled listening while you were presenting! The gift you gave the children today was priceless!”
Johnny Y., General Manager, Northeast Region, Scholastic Book Fairs
“On behalf of the Foundation for Newark’s Future, MVOL, Scholastic Book Fairs, Peshiny Avenue School, Hawthorne Avenue School, and Chancellor Avenue School–just wanted to extend another HUGE THANKS AGAIN to you for playing such an important role inspiring so many Newark students this week. We have heard wonderful feedback from your school visits–and have seen a ton of pictures filled with happy students smiling ear-to-ear!”
Shannon B., Project Director–My Very Own Library, Foundation for Newark’s Future
CBC Diversity Blog
Q & A on Diversity with the Children’s Book Council
Here’s an excerpt from a recent interview posted on CBC Diversity.
Tell us about your most recent book and how you came to write it.
My most recent book is The Granddaughter Necklace. It’s a picture book based on family stories I collected from childhood on up. I am African American but discovered when I was an adult that my maternal line goes back to a woman in Ireland. This woman is featured in The Granddaughter Necklace along with six other generations in my maternal line. It’s a book I feel as if I’ve been writing my entire life.
Do you think of yourself as a diverse author?
For the major part of my career I’ve created books with protagonists of color. Primarily, because much of my work has its source in real life experiences I had growing up in the Black community. Early on, I also began to think very strongly about my readers and how important it was for those who were children of color to see protagonists of color in some of their literature. I also felt and continue to feel that it is equally valuable for the rest of our readers. So, yes, I would say that as an author I could be categorized as “diverse” (an African American becoming more and more diverse everyday now that I’ve discovered my Irish heritage and had my DNA traced back to tribes in Cameroon!). As a writer, diversity in literature is one of my missions and has characterized my career.
Who is your favorite character of all time in children’s or young adult literature?
Very difficult, since I now also teach Children’s Lit and have read so much good stuff. Yet again, I go back to my own formative reading years and say for children’s books: it’s a tie between two pigs. Wilbur in “Charlotte’s Web” and Freddy in the Albert Brooks series “Freddy the Pig.” Freddy was so resourceful and could do just about anything he set his mind to, even though he wasn’t a “human.” “Ramona” by Helen Hunt Jackson was a book written long before I was born but I found it by myself in the public library at around the age of ten. It’s young adult. That book was so important to me because Ramona was a girl of color and I’d never seen that in a book before. I found it all by myself and so identified with her! TO READ MORE