 KLiC: What was your inspiration for A House in My Barrio? PS: When I was 10 or 11 years old, there was a house near my school that I loved to visit. After school, I would open the gate to this tiny house, knowing that inside, I would be welcomed with warmth and greeted with open arms. This story is a tribute to those who are the heart of their barrio, serving their communities through simple acts of love. But it is also a call to action to care for those who once looked after us and who, because of illness or old age, can no longer care for themselves. Can we give back the same love they gave us? KLiC: Please tell us about your writing process. How long did it take you to write and sell this book? PS: For me, the writing process starts with a childhood memory. Then I write a loose draft, and finally I begin building the structure. With A House in My Barrio, though, I struggled to find the right structure and to express the message in a way that felt true to the story. Then, one day, the shadow lifted, and I could clearly see the heart of the story once more. Writing the book took longer than I expected, a little more than a year! I had just sold How to Eat a Mango, and another manuscript wasn't selling at all. I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to do it again! As a result, the writing process was somewhat painful: beautiful as a creative force, but as slow as fear could make it. In the end, though, everything worked out. While the writing took over a year, the submission process was incredibly fast. It took less than two days to receive an offer!  KLiC: What are your favorite illustrations by Olivia Sua in the book ? PS: The first spread is my favorite! I believe Olivia’s illustrations truly capture the feeling of infinite love, care, and kindness. Olivia Sua brings the text to life with rich colors and incredible detail. I’m grateful for her work, and I’m sure readers will be effortlessly transported into the story of Mamá Elena and Manuel.  KLiC: What’s the one thing you want children to take away from your book? PS: That, despite what the news might show, we humans are capable of beautiful gestures and heroic acts, so I hope that when readers close the book, they will feel uplifted and inspired, knowing that building community and sharing love are in our own hands. KLiC: What’s next for you? PS: On June 1 of next year, my third picture book will be out in the world! Vida Dreams, illustrated by the incredibly talented and fellow Venezuelan Marianne Ferrer and published by Kids Can Press, is a story about the reasons behind immigration and the resilience that accompanies those decisions. It is a powerful story that I hope will touch the hearts of every reader.  Paola Santos is a children's book author born and raised in Venezuela. After moving to Canada, she found the courage to share the words and stories that had long been enclosed in her imagination. Her stories are now woven with her culture, experience in a new country, hope, happiness, and diversity. Paola holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in Literature and Children's Literature and Reading Promotion. She is the author of How to Eat a Mango / Cómo se come un mango (Neal Porter Books / Holiday House), 2024, and A House in My Barrio (Henry Holt / Macmillan), 2026. She lives in Edmonton.
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 Many years ago, I was researching Black New Yorkers in the 19th century and stumbled upon a line about the Colored Orphan Asylum. I had never heard of the institution before and was stunned to learn that rioters intentionally targeted the orphanage during the Civil War Draft Riots. I had to learn more. The Colored Orphan Asylum (COA) was the first of its kind for Black children in New York. Before then, orphaned Black children lived on the streets or in asylum institutions for adults in unsafe environments. Quaker women saw the need for an orphanage for Black children and opened the asylum in 1836. The children quickly outgrew that first noble building, and the founders acquired land to have a larger building constructed. This is the setting of my book, The Four Seasons of Florence Wallace. Florence spends a year at the orphanage living, learning, growing, and nurturing a dream within her. But all that changes with the Civil War draft lottery. The lottery took place on July 11, 1863, in New York City. Many Irish immigrants were upset at being drafted to fight a war for enslaved Black people. Rich men could pay a surrogate $300 to take their place in the draft, but no such luck for poor men. For months the press had fueled this anger and rage. The newspapers published outlandish stories of every freed slave making the journey north to steal Irish and other immigrant jobs. This was untrue and akin to the fake news that is spread today. This bubbling tension erupted on the second day of the draft, with men, women, and even children taking to the streets to riot.  They targeted the orphanage, believing that no Black person, including Black children, deserved to live on 5th Avenue. This wasn’t the luxurious 5th Avenue of today, yet the rioters didn’t believe Black orphaned children even deserved the basics of shelter, food, and clothing. Imagine feeling that way toward anyone, but especially children. This story has been in my head and heart for many, many years, and I am grateful it is finally out in the world. With America’s 250th birthday fast approaching, I hope readers discover this little known piece of history and delve even deeper into our collective and complex American history.  Kirstie Myvett is the author of several books for children. Kirstie is the co-founder of KidLit in Color, a blog that amplifies BIPOC and indigenous voices in the publishing industry. Kirstie believes that representation matters in all places and spaces, especially in the pages of books. When Kirstie isn't writing, she's spending time with her family in the unique city of New Orleans.
To learn more visit: https://www.kirstiemyvett.com/ We've had the privilege of featuring many Black books on the KidLit in Color blog written and illustrated by Black creatives. Below are some of our features and favorites in picture books. We hope you'll check out the author interviews for those we've featured to learn about the inspiration and writing process behind these remarkable titles. We also hope you'll help readers find these titles and more to curate a diverse home and school library.  Brown Baby Lullaby by Tameka Fryer Brown, illustrator AG Ford Together We Ride by Valerie Bolling, illustrator Kaylani Juanita Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins Bigelow, illustrator Luisa Uribe Jayden’s Impossible Garden by Mélina Mangal, illustrator Ken Daley Better Together Cinderella by Ashley Franklin, illustrator Ebony Glenn Under the Clam Moon by Kaitlyn Wells, illustrator Mariyah Rahman Everybody in the Red Brick Building by Anne Wynter, illustrator Oge Mora Prince: A Little Golden Book Biography by Nikki Shannon Smith, illustrator Don Tate Josey Johnson’s Hair and the Holy Spirit by Esau McCaulley, illustrator LaTonya Jackson Fly by Brittany J. Thurman, illustrator Anna Cunha Opal Lee and What it Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Fay Duncan, Keturah A. Bobo, illustrator The Bronx is My Home by Alyssa Reynoso-Morris, illustrator Kim Holt Not Done Yet by Tameka Fryer Brown, illustrator Nina Crews Stella Keeps the Sun Up by Clothilde Ewing, illustrator Lynn Gaines The March of Hope by Valerie Bolling, illustrator Monica Mikai The Juneteenth Story by Alliah L. Agostini, illustrator Sawyer Cloud All Aboard the Schooltrain by Glenda Armand, illustrator Keisha Morris All Because You Matter by Tami Charles, illustrator Bryan Collier Hold Them Close: A Love Letter to Black Children by Jamilah Thompkins Bigelow, Patrick Dougher, photography Jamel Shabazz Six Triple Eight by Tonya Abari, illustrator Lance Evans Keyana Loves Her Family by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, illustrator Charnelle Pinkney Barlow The ABC’s of Black History by Rio Cortez, illustrator Lauren Semmer Big Tune by Alliah L. Agostini, illustrator Shamar Knight-Justice Peaches by Gabriele Davis, illustrator Kim Holt Elijah’s Easter Suit by Brentom Jackson, illustrator Emmanuel Boateng Zara In the Middle by Erika Lynne Jones Miles of Style by Lisa D. Brathwaite, illustrator Lynn Gaines They Built Me for Freedom by Tonya Duncan Ellis, illustrator Jenin Mohammed Old to Joy by Anita Crawford Clark A Season for Fishin’: A Fish Fry Tradition by Pamela Courtney, illustrator Toni D. Chambers Leo Wakes Up Grumpy by Corlette Douglas William Still and His Freedom Stories by Don Tate Ripening Time by Patrice Gopo, illustrator Carlos Vélez Aguilera Dear Star Baby by Malcolm Newsome, illustrator Kamala Nair Jump In! By Shadra Strickland Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrator Floyd Cooper Locs Not Dreads by Tonya Abari, illustrator Chasity Hampton BIG by Vashti Harrison The Walk (A Stroll to the Poll) by Winsome Bingham, illustrator E.B. Lewis There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds, Illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey and Jarrett Pumphrey A Walk in the Woods by Nikki Grimes, illustrators Jerry Pinkney, Brian Pinkney Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller, by Breanna J. McDaniel, illustrator April Harrison Our Joyful Noise by Gabriele Davis, illustrator Craig Stanley A Voice of Hope: The Myrlie-Evers Williams Story by Nadia Salomon, illustrator London Ladd Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrator James Ransome Blues Boy: The B.B. King Story by Alice Faye Duncan, illustrator Carl Joe Williams I Love My People by Kim Singleton, illustrator Kim Holt Not Quite Snow White by Ashley Franklin, illustrator Ebony Glenn Sing A Song: How "Lift Every Voice and Sing" Inspired Generations by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Keith Mallett Because Claudette by Tracey Baptiste, illustrated by Tonya Engel You So Black by by Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D., illustrated by London Ladd CeeCee: Underground Railroad Cinderella by Shana Keller, illustrated by Laura Freeman The Story of We by Nikkolas Smith Extraordinary Magic: The Storytelling life of Virginia Hamilton by Nina Crews Yvonne Clark and Her Engineering Spark by Allen R. Wells, DeAndra Hodge illustrator Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement by Angela Joy, Janelle Washington, illust. Sparrow Loves Reptiles by Murry Burgess, Tamisha Anthony, illustrator A Cup of Quiet by Nikki Grimes, Cathy Ann Johnson, illustrator The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes, Vanessa Brantley-Newton, illustrator The Last Stand by Antwan Eady, Jerome Pumphrey (Illustrator), Jarrett Pumphrey (Illustrator) A Place For Us by James Ransome  If you missed the webinar, So You Want to Write Children's Books: The 4-Essential Steps to Getting Started, we have the key takeaways below. To view the slides and webinar, please fill out this form.  (4)- Essential Steps to Writing Children's Books 1. Read 100+ children's books 2. Invest in classes and books on craft 3. Join or build YOUR own kidlit community 4. Keep Writing Special thanks to our presenters, Tonya Abari and Kirstie Myvett. You can connect with them on Instagram at @iamtabari and @kirstiemyauthor.  KidLit in Color will host several FREE writing webinars in 2026. You'll find more information and how to sign up in our newsletters.
Thank you and keep writing! The Kidlit in Color Team  KLiC: What was your inspiration for YOU'RE OUT OF LUCK, ALINA BUTT? ABH: You’re Out of Luck Alina Butt is largely inspired by my own childhood. Since a big part of this book takes place in Pakistan with Alina’s family, my summer trips back home were a huge inspiration - along with all the colourful and warm memories I made there with my grandparents and cousins. I wanted to show a real version of Pakistan - not what is always shown in the media, rather Pakistan and the two very different worlds of the rich and the struggling that exist there, alongside the beauty and love which the country exudes. KLiC: Please tell us about your writing process. How long did it take you to write and sell this book? ABH: My writing process starts with a lot of thinking. I take time to think about my story for quite a while - what I want it to be, where I want my characters to go, what I want them to discover, before I start officially planning. Every time I get a great idea, no matter where I am, I jot it down. Then I begin planning the story - the beginning, middle, end, and some but not all of the details in between. I don’t spend too long on this part, as I like to give myself some freedom to be creative and change things up as I write. I go back and forth between my outline and story, being flexible about adding and removing parts. You’re Out of Luck, Alina Butt was sold very quickly as it was the second part to the Alina Butt series. My publisher was very interested in continuing on with Alina’s journey! KLiC: What Kind of research did you do? ABH: Even though I am from Pakistan, and I have visited there many times, I had to research the different sites Alina explores in the city of Lahore. I wanted to make sure I did the country justice and didn’t get anything wrong, in terms of the names of sites, accurate descriptions of places/ buildings/ traditions. I had lots of fun doing it! KLiC: What’s the one thing you want children to take away from your book? ABH: I hope this book helps kids focus on the blessings in their lives, and helps them to learn to always look for the bright side in every situation, establishing a positive/ growth mindset. KLiC: Do you have any tips for pre-published authors? ABH: Just start writing - do not wait for the perfect time, because there is none! And once you start, don’t stop! Keep at it! Please don’t worry about making it perfect, because you will have plenty of time to do that (during the hundreds of edits you do after you finish). Let your creativity flow, and get those thoughts that turn into words onto that Google doc! KLiC: What’s next for you? ABH: I am currently working on the third part of the Alina Butt series!  Ambreen Butt-Hussain is the author of the middle-grade Alina Butt series, which consists of the books, The Unlovable Alina Butt and You’re Out of Luck, Alina Butt. Ambreen was born in Pakistan but lived in England and Scotland before finally settling in Canada for many years. She has a bachelor of science from the University of Toronto and a master of education from Queen’s University. She continues to move around and has recently made Princeton, New Jersey her new home, with her husband and two sons. She teaches middle schoolers by day and writes for them by night! Ambreen is currently working on the third part of her series.
You’re Out of Luck, Alina Butt Book cover: Julie McLaughlin  In the summer of 1975, I was ten years old, and the only things I had to worry about were keeping my comic books untarnished, getting tennis balls off roofs, and keeping up with the increasingly bold stunts of my best friend David. And then Jaws came to town. Growing up across the street from your best friend is both joyous and convenient. But ten years in, diverging interests can get harder to ignore, especially as you stumble toward “manhood.” You might find yourself trying to bridge the divides in any ways possible. In my case, it was by watching a movie about a giant killer shark. For a boy who was barely keeping up as it was, going to this movie was a test of my manhood that could not be avoided. So I asked my dad to take me.  Once I’d made the decision to go, I was excited to see it — partly to prove my bravery and partly to become part of a massive cultural phenomenon. There were parodies, games, a hit novelty song, even a Saturday morning cartoon based on the shark. Everyone was seeing this movie. How bad could it be? Turns out, pretty bad. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. The poster was rather clear. Far from proving my courage, Jaws left me a cowering mess. All seeing it did was further underline the growing gap between myself and David, as well as the distance between where I stood and the world’s expectations of a boy’s “manliness.” I couldn’t go near water of any kind. I saw sharks everywhere. Jaws himself took up residence in my closet and became the manifestation of all the fears and demands that were overwhelming my life. Not to mention getting salt water all over my comics.  I’ve never been very good at manly stuff. Car engines were Dr. Seuss-ian contraptions, bikes were best used with both wheels on the ground, and the scariest thing I could handle on TV was Grimace from the McDonald’s commercials (that guy was nuts!). And things didn’t change much as I got older. I’m still going nowhere near a “suicide hot wing.” My individual tastes butted up against my need to fit in, and there was a growing realization that who I was didn’t line up with who some people thought I should be. It hadn’t occurred to me that I was supposed to be “macho” until I was confronted with all the ways I wasn’t.  Sifting through those days for this memoir made me realize how much of our youth is still swimming around inside us. I guess we’ve all got some version of a giant shark living in our closet. Confronting and overcoming them is part of the process of becoming who we really are. I’ve come a long way since then — I can go in pools now! — but like many of us, whenever I enter a large body of water, I still hear some faint “du-nuh du-nuh du-nuh” music. But I remain determined to keep any sharks from pushing me around, or getting salt water on my comics.  Paul Gilligan writes and draws the syndicated comic strip Pooch Café, which has been twice nominated by the National Cartoonist Society for best strip. He’s the author/illustrator of the early-reader graphic novel series Pluto Rocket, the chapter book series King of the Mole People, and the graphic memoir Boy Vs. Shark. He lives in Toronto with his wife and kids, where he quite comfortably swims in lakes and pools, as long as nobody makes any “du-nuh” sounds.
 Essay by Sonja Thomas: Dreams, Nightmares, and Magic Dreams What do you want to be when you grow up? My answer was never the same. A backup singer like Wendy and Lisa in Prince’s the Revolution. A cartoonist for The Simpsons. A writer like Judy Blume. A dancer, a photographer, a Broadway actor . . . The main character in my new book, OLIVE BLACKWOOD TAKES ACTION!, dreams of directing award-winning movies, just like her dad did before he passed. Eager to apply to an elite summer film camp, Olive’s excited when her film teacher promises a personal recommendation to the winner of the class project. Nightmares In college, I was too afraid to pursue anything creative. So, I became an accountant instead. Eventually, I rediscovered my love of writing. But I was tormented with depression and anxiety. I wrote. I was rejected. I cried. A lot. After a decade, I sold a short story. Then several more. And soon my first novel. What if no one reads it? If they do, I’m sure they’ll hate it. My fear ballooned. Unlike her dad, Olive’s anxiety has her avoiding the spotlight. Staying behind the camera is much easier than having to interact with people. Speaking in front of an audience makes it hard to breathe. She’s plagued with catastrophic thoughts, nausea, sweating while shivering, and diarrhea attacks. Sometimes the fear’s so crippling, she stays in bed. Or it knocks her out with a panic attack. Olive and I share all these anxiety symptoms. Magic Olive and her best friend Kayla started their Book of Enchantment in the third grade and filled it with spells. They do their best to follow the rules of magic. Like life, magic is a mirror of what you believe. It’s stronger when done together and the possibilities are infinite. Magic is a verb. It only happens when you take action, unfolding in its own time and way. Olive and I live with anxiety, but it doesn’t define who we are. Family and friends make us stronger, reminding us that we’re never alone. That strength helps move us toward our dreams, one step at a time. We can’t control other people’s actions or the stuff that life throws at us. So, we try not to take it personally. Instead, we create boundaries, trust our gut, and open to all the possibilities. Magic is make believe. Our belief in ourselves is the most powerful magic there is.  A silly introvert ruled by coffee and cats, Sonja Thomas (she/her) writes stories for kids of all ages. Her debut middle grade novel, SIR FIG NEWTON AND THE SCIENCE OF PERSISTENCE, is an Oregon Book Award finalist, an Oregon Spirit Book Award Honor recipient, and a Washington State Book Award finalist. She’s also a contributing author for GOOD NIGHT STORIES FOR REBEL GIRLS: 100 REAL-LIFE TALES OF BLACK GIRL MAGIC. Her second novel OLIVE BLACKWOOD TAKES ACTION! received “Two thumbs up for this necessary novel about anxiety and self-advocacy” from Kirkus Reviews. www.bysonjathomas.com
 We are proud to feature member Valerie Bolling on the blog today! Valerie shares her latest early reader book, RAINBOW DAYS: THE ORANGE WALL, illustrated by Kai Robinson. KLiC: What was your inspiration for RAINBOW DAYS: THE ORANGE WALL? VB: I wanted to write a Scholastic Acorn series and needed to come up with an idea that would interest young readers – a book that they’d be excited to read on their own. Since most children enjoy being creative and adore animals, I decided to write about a girl and her pup who enjoy making art together. Once I decided on my characters I had to choose their names. Zoya’s name is a combination of my nieces’ names, Zorah and Anyah. My younger niece, Anyah, loves art, so she’s part of the inspiration for art-loving Zoya. I pictured a brown dog, so Coco seemed like a good name for a pet-friend. (There’s no “a” at the end of Coco’s name because it needs to be spelled in an accessible way for early-readers, which is also why there’s no “h” at the end of Zoya’s name, even though my nieces’ names end with an “h.”) KLiC: What’s the one thing you want children to take away from your book? VB: I want children to make art! Perhaps, if they’re fortunate enough to have their own bedroom, like Zoya, they may choose to give it a makeover, or do something on a smaller scale, such as decorate a notebook, t-shirt, or dessert. All children should see themselves as artists, knowing that with their imagination and some paint, markers, frosting, or whatever they’d like, they can make something fabulous! KLiC: What’s next for you? VB: On June 4, my co-author, Kailei Pew, and I are excited to welcome I SEE COLOR, into the book world. This book is illustrated by Laylie Frazier, edited by Luana Horry, and published by Harper Kids. We’re honored that it has been selected as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and has received a starred review from Kirkus. If you subscribe to the KidLit in Color blog, you’ll have the opportunity to read an upcoming post about our book. In the meantime, feel free to find out more about this book here.  Valerie Bolling is passionate about creating stories in which all children can see themselves and feel seen and heard, valued and validated. She is the author of six picture books: LET’S DANCE! (SCBWI Crystal Kite Award winner), TOGETHER WE RIDE, TOGETHER WE SWIM (2023 Kirkus Prize Finalist), RIDE, ROLL, RUN: TIME FOR FUN!, BING, BOP, BAM: TIME TO JAM!, and I SEE COLOR (a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection). She also wrote RAINBOW DAYS, a Scholastic Acorn early reader series.
A graduate of Tufts University and Teachers College, Columbia University, Valerie has been an educator for 30 years and is an active member of the kidlit community – teaching picture book classes (independently and for the Highlights Foundation), serving as a mentor, and presenting at conferences. Valerie lives in Connecticut with her husband where they enjoy traveling, hiking, reading, going to the theater, and dancing. Learn more about Valerie: Website: valeriebolling.com Twitter: twitter.com/valerie_bolling Instagram: instagram.com/valeriebollingauthor Facebook: facebook.com/ValerieBollingAuthor Author Visit Information  We're thrilled to welcome Paola Santos on the blog to discuss her upcoming book, How to Eat a Mango with illustrations by Juliana Perdomo. What was your inspiration for How to Eat a Mango? My inspiration for How to Eat a Mango was my abuelita, my grandmother, and everything it means to return to my roots in Venezuela, the country I was born and raised in. I remember my Abuelita, sitting in the backyard of our house, completely immersed in the experience of eating a mango. Every time she offered me one, I would refuse, but I also remember watching her and wishing I liked them as much as she did. In Venezuela, the matriarchal presence is crucial. Mothers and grandmothers are the center of the home. My Abuelita lived with us. She had a strong character and was always bustling around the house. Abuelita wasn't as sweet as Carmencita's grandmother, the protagonist of my book. Still, every time she ate a mango, it was like watching a poem in motion: her delight, eyes closed enjoying every bite, hands bathed in pulp, her fingers and teeth opening the mango skin. I love that memory! In those days, however, mangoes meant work for me, picking them up when they fell heavily from the tree, breaking and scattering across our yard. The rancid smell of the sun-drenched rotten mangoes was a sensory assault. The ripest ones were squashed, becoming a feast for the bugs waiting for something to eat. But it wasn't all unpleasant. There were moments when I enjoyed watching the come and go of our neighbors, acquaintances, or even some occasional passersby who would take away bags of mangoes. That act of sharing and community has been a memory that has also been imprinted in my mind. Today, mangoes have taken on a different meaning for me. The memories of work or foul smells have been replaced by nostalgias, nostalgia for knowing I won't enjoy those moments with my abuelita again, and the nostalgia for knowing that perhaps I won't be able to return to my country and see it prosperous and full of dreams like in the memories of my childhood.  Please tell us about your writing process. How long did it take you to write and sell this book? I had never thought about this! First, I daydream and search through the nooks of my memory and emotions for what filled me and made me reflect when I was a child. After that, I crawl under my sheets and write in my notebook. I let the words come to me in an endless mix of Spanglish without looking at grammar or spelling rules. I let out, first, what I remember and then loose ideas that could serve as the foundation of a story. This part is very intuitive. When I finally have a picture of the structure and the beginning/end of the story, it's time to go to my computer. There, I shake off my ideas, remove the excess, and write them down. Ready to subject them to a long rewriting process that varies with each story. In this process, I evaluate the technical aspects, the rhythm, and the musicality (which I love to apply to my manuscripts) and the layers that can add depth. After that, I rely on the help of my fabulous critique partners, who help me see things that have gone unnoticed. Then comes the best part, working with my agent in a back-and-forth of ideas that bring out the best in each of my words. Phew, it's a long process, which tires me out just writing about it. "How to Eat a Mango" was four years in the making, from the initial idea to its publication, which is slowly approaching! The moment that helped me find this memory was in 2021, during Tara Lazar's Storystorm, which I'm sure most of you are familiar with. That specific exercise was about exploring How-to's. Immediately, the image of my abuelita eating a mango came to mind, and I couldn't let it go. Right away, I started working on it, dedicating approximately a year to the process I described above until my agent and I considered it ready and started the submission process. The waiting period after that varies from one manuscript to another. With "How to Eat a Mango," I consider myself lucky. In 2022, a month after starting the submission process, Neal Porter Books made me an offer. The book will finally be released on July 16, 2024. This year! I cannot wait to see it out in the world and connect with readers. I hope you enjoy reading it! What are your favorite illustrations in the book? All of them are my favorites! Now, if I had to choose, I would choose the moment when Abuelita speaks to Carmencita about the sensation of tasting a mango. The first time I saw this illustration by the talented Juliana Perdomo, I cried. Seeing the joropo, the national dance of Venezuela, I felt the same as Carmencita. My heart seemed to beat with the stomping, the movements of the skirts, the sounds of the cuatro and maracas. It was an indescribable experience. But what moved me the most was how well the emotions of my words were conveyed in it. The music, the sweetness, and the culture are palpable in this spread. What’s the one thing you want children to take away from your book? I hope they take away a deep sense of respect toward nature and family and how they connect with every aspect of our lives. With this story, I wish young readers would slow down, pay attention to their surroundings, and treasure the moments that make their lives unique and fantastic. My goal with this book is to build a bridge between these moments and the present so they can create future memories.  Paola Santos is a children's book author born and raised in Venezuela. After moving to Canada, she found the courage to share the words and stories that had long been enclosed in her imagination. Her stories are now woven with her culture, experience in a new country, hope, happiness, and diversity. Paola holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in Literature and Children's Literature and Reading Promotion. Her debut picture book, How to Eat a Mango (Holiday House), illustrated by Juliana Perdomo, will be released on July 16, 2024.
You can learn more about Paola here. Twitter & Instagram: @pgsantosb. To preorder How to Eat a Mango visit here. Interior from How to Eat a Mango. Text copyright © 2024 by Paola Santos. Illustrations copyright © 2024 by Juliana Perdomo. Reproduced with permission from Holiday House Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.  What’s Already Been Told By Tonya Abari The market is becoming oversaturated with diverse children’s books about hair. In 2019, when I began querying Locs, Not Dreads for the second time since I first wrote the manuscript in 2013, much of the feedback that I received was that the market was becoming oversaturated with books about Black hair. With the success of Matthew A. Cherry’s Hair Love, Derrick Barnes’ Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, Natasha Tarpley’s I Love My Hair, author/illustrator Sharee Miller and independently published natural hair series by Crystal Swain Bates – and with growing national support for The Crown Act – traditional book publishing and mainstream media further showcased the special relationship that Black folks have with hair. I didn’t have one picture book about Black hair as a child, so I’m ecstatic to fill my daughters’ bookshelves with mirrors. In this house, there is no such thing as too many! We buy them all. Growing up in salon culture (my mom was a career cosmetologist), I’ve been around hair all my life. At one point, after returning my hair from its relaxed state to its natural state, I even thought I wanted to open up a natural hair salon. Although I never took that route, I knew as a children’s author that hair would be one of the many topics I wanted to explore. I queried many agents, cold pitched editors, and participated in Twitter pitch events. I did receive some initial interest, but I also was told that in the coming years there would be way too many books about Black hair. Was I too late? At first, I took this advice with a grain of salt because how many anthropomorphic books are out there? How many books with unicorns and princesses and ladybugs? Yes, there are now more books than what I had growing up about Black hair – but I haven’t seen my book yet. I had to keep this energy alive in my soul. But as rejections rolled in one by one, I wondered if there was enough room for my story. I finally found a great home for the book – with an indie editor/publisher who understood its significance from the jump. And I now realize that if I would have taken those words “it’s already been told” to heart, there might not be a Locs, Not Dreads publishing on September 5, 2023. While Locs, Not Dreads is based loosely on my niece and her mom, who loc’d their hair well over a decade ago, the manuscript is littered with familiarities that I’ve experienced as a girl, woman, mother, student, and educator who is unapologetic about rocking natural and/or loc’d hair. In fact, as a teacher, I taught many lessons on denotation and connotation relating to Black hair terminology – and those lessons are ones that I’ll never forget (they are now memorialized in the pages of my debut picture book). I knew that fact alone separated Locs, Not Dreads from the other picture books that were on the market even if no one else had picked up on these nuances. This brings me back to my original point. There can never be too many stories that exist, especially for groups that have historically been marginalized in traditional publishing. My advice to new writers who have stories that have seemingly already been told: tell your story anyway. The spectrum of our experiences run so deep. Perhaps the topic has been written about before – but it definitely hasn’t been written by you.  Locs, Not Dreads written by Tonya Abari, illustrated by Chasity Hampton publishes on September 5, 2023 with The Innovation Press. For additional information, be sure to follow Tonya online at www.tonyaabari.com or on Instagram.
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