Virtual Black Books Fair to benefit Shoreline Schools' libraries

January 31 – February 13

Virtual Black Books Fair

This year’s Black Books Fair will be held virtually in partnership with Third Place Books. Beginning on January 31, 2022 you can view the Black Books Fair here. Proceeds will benefit school libraries throughout our district. 

Be sure to put “Black Voices” in your purchase notes so our book fair gets credit.

Join us as we kick off our annual (Virtual) Black Books Fair! Every purchase will benefit putting titles in schools. We are thrilled to have Kwame Alexander and Jewell Parker Rhodes join us in discussing their novels, including Alexander's Crossover books and Rhodes's newest title, Paradise on Fire.

Why Black Books?

Though they make up approximately 40% of the US population, less than 10% of children's books released the last 24 years were written by and for people of color. 

Even more, the Cooperative Children's Book Center of the University of Madison-Wisconsin discovered that children's books published in a given year were 3x more likely to feature an animal or other character than a Black character. 

When children see mirrors of themselves or positive windows into the world of another, they are able to better develop empathy, more well-rounded narratives and critical thinking skills needed to talk about matters of identity. (diversebooks.org) 

Lastly, books can communicate JOY! There is much to celebrate about community, and by featuring selected books, it helps change the narrative for everyone.

Please purchase a book, support a local bookstore and help put titles back in schools!

Special thanks to Third Place Books for their partnership on this endeavor, and a special thanks to the Shoreline Equity and Family Engagement Department, Shorelake Arts, Shoreline PTA Council, Jewell Parker Rhodes and Kwame Alexander.

Click here to buy books, beginning on January 31st: https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/black-voices-book-fair

**Please don't forget to put "Black Voices" in the notes so that our Book Fair gets credit!**

Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, publisher, and New York Times Bestselling author of 35 books.

He is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, Three NAACP Image Award Nominations, and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award. 

In 2018, he founded the publishing imprint VERSIFY, and opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program he co-founded. He is the writer and executive producer of THE CROSSOVER TV series on Disney plus.