Author: KRLemmons

Many, many wonderful sessions and signings at BEA this past weekend but the diversity sessions are what mattered most to me. The diveristy sessions were not all listed in the official program and all schedule within an extremely tight time frame (some at the exact same time!)  yet the #WeNeedDiversity session managed to fill the room. Other sessions included “Where are All the Kids of Color” and “Multicultural Publishers in Conversation”. My presence was in spirit and via Twitter. I leave it to  Lyn Miller Lachmann who was there to give a recap.

Both panelists reminded the audience that in our quest to get the major publishers to take on more diverse books, we cannot lose sight of the diverse books that are available today. Nearly half of those books, according to John, are published by small presses. And those small presses need our love. If it turns out that the…

Sunday was a glorious spring day and I had a great time hanging out with Jacqueline Woodson (right), Kwame Alexander, and Bryan Collier (center) at the Studio Museum in Harlem book festival (photo by Andre Ware). My presentation wasn’t fantastic, but I’m learning to be more flexible—if you expected to present before a group of kids and instead you have an audience of adults, what do you do? Improvisation isn’t one of my strengths so I need to work on that. I’m heading to California in a few days and will have a chance to speak to a class of 3rd graders while I’m in Berkeley. Last week I presented before two fifth grade classes and they were amazing—lots of energy, lots of questions, and before I even began the principal handed me this letter:

Not every class will have that reaction so I have to learn to feel out…

Skipping Stones is a nonprofit magazine founded in 1988 for youth that encourages communication, cooperation, creativity and celebration of cultural and environmental richness. Published 4 times each year, it provides a playful forum for sharing ideas and experiences among youth from different countries and cultures. Each year,Skipping Stones recognizes outstanding books and teaching resources with the Skipping Stones Honor Awards. The honored books promote an understanding of cultures, cultivate cooperation and encourage a deeper understanding of the world’s diversity. They also encourage ecological richness, respect for multiple viewpoints and closer relationships within human societies.

2014BookAwardsPR.web

Well, I had an opportunity today to test the elementary waters I wrote about yesterday. I went to Bushwick to drop off a book order at a school that I love—I’ve worked with this charter school for years and they always roll out the red carpet for me. Today I wasn’t expecting to stay long but the librarian wanted me to speak with the principal so I took a seat and watched as 25 first grade students buzzed about the room. There were a lot of small fires to put out but the librarian was up to the task. One boy came up to me and asked, “Are you Marshawn’s mom?” I explained that I was a visiting author and then pulled out the new books—within seconds I had a small cluster of kids around me and little hands reaching for the four books. They stroked the covers—“Oooh! They’re so…