One of the many missions of MCBD is to always be shining the spotlight on authors of diverse kidlit. Thanks to the talents of MCBD Team Member and long-time CoHost, Leanna Guillen-Mora, we are excited to announce the addition of a reoccurring Instagram Live feature! Every Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. ET., followers can tune in and learn more about these amazing authors and their books.
Here’s a look at who Leanna interviewed this week! [Read more…]
As you all know, more people than ever are online thanks to COVID. Experts say that the holiday shopping season is likely going to be online more than ever and we completely believe that. They are also predicting that there is a renewed surge in supporting independently owned small businesses over Big Box Stores and we LOVE that very much!
The deadline for all Sponsorship levels is December 31st…but here’s the rub; the earlier you sign up, the more time we have to market/P.R you and connect you with book reviewers for the event.
As a paid sponsor, you will have the opportunity to be matched with as many (or as few) book reviewers as you’d like. We provide you with their names and addresses and mailing a copy to each reviewer is your responsibility. All reviewers post their reviews on social media in January and MCBD uses its mega-social media presence to share far-n-wide. We always welcome all book donations to our FREE Diverse Books for Classroom Initiative as well.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Guest post from author Erin Dealey
You might know a child like me: one you’d NEVER expect to write children’s books. One who thinks of writing as very serious business–definitely not fun.
I loved school. I loved recess with my friends, playing outside. Huge thanks to my teachers who encouraged every spark of creativity. Oh how I loved reading to the kindergartners, or opening that box of brand new books from the Book Club. (I can still smell them! Can You?) Thank you, Mr. Markey, who assigned 6th-grade autobiographies, and did not grumble when I turned in a biography of me–written by my shadow…
Endless gratitude to growing up in Oakland CA, on a hill where you learned how to stop your bike or jump off your skateboard before the stop sign at the bottom; in a neighborhood where kindness was the norm, and we played together, looked after each other.
My favorite place to do homework was on top of our garage, where a sawed-off footstool (Thanks, Dad!) made the perfect desk, surrounded by the neighbor’s treetops. I liked Math because there was a process to follow to get the right answer and, if my answer was wrong, there was a formula to fix it. With writing, not so much. To me, it felt like you had to be psychic to figure out what the teacher wanted. So, nope, writing wasn’t my thing. [Read more…]
Sherri Graves Smith is an award-winning author of children’s books and a popular, motivational speaker. She currently has three picture book series with more than 50 titles in print: the Lil’ Sherri series, the Game Day Rules series, and a series of counting and alphabet books.
Is My Cup Empty? (Mascot Books, 2014), the first book in the Lil’ Sherri series, is about hope, optimism, and perseverance. Sherri’s inspiration for this series is very personal and best understood in her own words, which also provide some biographical information: “Many lessons instilled during my childhood prepared me for the adversity that I faced as an adult, including books that I read such as Happiness is a Warm Puppy and The Little Engine That Could. The lessons in my book stem from my outlook on life after battling Stage IV cancer for the past eight years. I was only 36 years old when I was diagnosed. I found out that the cancer had metastasized one week after returning from my honeymoon, and I found myself in a position where all of my hopes, dreams, and plans were empty.” [Read more…]
