Art by Vanessa Brantley Newton

Picture the Dream: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement Through Children’s Books features artwork from over 40 picture books. The illustrations tell the story of how Black people and families were impacted by and resisted racism. The exhibition features civil rights leaders, foot soldiers, and everyday people, and celebrates organized protests as well as day-to-day joys. Painted Words books included in the exhibit are:

Let the Children March (Clarion) by Monica Clark-Robinson, illustrated by Frank Morrison

Parker Looks Up (Simon & Schuster) by Parker Curry and Jessica Curry, illustrated by Brittany Jackson

The Youngest Marcher (Simon & Schuster) by Cynthia Levinson, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton

White Water (Candlewick Press) by Michael S. Bandy and Eric Stein, illustrated by Shadra Strickland

The exhibit will be on display at the New York Historical Society through July 24, 2022.

Shadra Strickland’s work is included in the exhibit Imprinted: Illustrating Race at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. The piece is from the book Bird (Lee & Low) written by Zetta Elliot. The book was the recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in Illustrations and the Ezra Jack Keats Award.

To learn more about the exhibit, visit here

Get Bird here

Alyssa Bermudez‘s middle grade graphic memoir, Big Apple Diaries, has been shortlisted for the Comic Arts Awards of Australia (The Ledger).  Winners will be announced in August. You can view the full list here.

Congratulations Alyssa!

School Library Journal gave a Starred Review to Stand Up! 10 Mighty Women Who Made a Change, written by Brittany Cooper and illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson. SLJ writes, “Vibrantly illustrated and featuring a variety of justice-seekers, this book belongs in every library and classroom.” The book hits shelves in August 2022 from Scholastic. You can pre-order a copy here!

The Association of Illustrators’ World Illustration Awards announced their 2022 Long list, which includes Acamy Schleikorn‘s piece “Mother’s Love.” Her piece is one of 500 selected out of over 5,000 entries. Congratulations Acamy!

Juneteenth: Our Story of Freedom (Random House, Step into Reading) by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, illustrated by Kim Holt, has been featured on School Library Journal’s list of 7 titles to teach young children about Juneteenth!

See the full list here

Get the book here

Blueberry Cake, written and illustrated by Sarah Dillard, and published by Aladdin Books, has won First Place in the “Fruits Books” category of the Gourmand Awards.  The Gourmand Awards recognize the best books of food culture from around the world. This year’s award ceremony was held in Sweden on June 5th.

Congratulations Sarah!

Hitting shelves this Tuesday, June 7th, Because of You, John Lewis (Scholastic) has been selected as an Amazon Best Book of the Month for Ages 6-8. Illustrated by Keith Henry Brown and written by Andrea Davis Pinkney, Because of You, John Lewis has also received a Kirkus Starred Review and is a Junior Library Guild Selection.

Pick up your copy here.

Juneteenth: Our Day of Freedom, illustrated by Kim Holt, will publish on June 7th by Random House Books for Young Readers. In a positive review in their June 2022 issue, School Library Journal wrote, “An engaging narrative and powerful drawings make this book a standout choice for new readers ready to tackle more challenging content, and for lower grade nonfiction reading groups.”

Pick up your copy here.

Lynn Gaines appeared on Cleveland News Station 3 WKYC’s Education Station with Stella Keeps the Sun Up author Clothilde Ewing. Lynn, a Cleveland native, and Clothilde read Stella to students at Charles Dickens Elementary School in Cleveland.

In the interview with 3 WKYC, Lynn says, “It’s important for our kids to see that they can do and be whatever they want, if they apply themselves. They don’t have to be restricted to just certain things. It’s like hearing the kids, like ‘Wow! I can draw for a living and they’ll pay me?’ It’s like, ‘Yes, they will. You just have to practice this and apply yourself like you would any other job and you can do this.”

Watch the full video here. Pick up your copy of Stella Keeps the Sun Up here.