Furqan's First -over 3k sold independently!!

Wow, I'm excited to announce that "Furqan's First Flat Top/ El Primer Corte de Mesita de Furqan" has officially sold out of its 2nd print run. That makes over 3000 books sold hand to hand, at events, or sent to folks all over the US and the world. 

Some day I'll do a video about what it took to do this independently without the help of a publisher or marketing team. At the time I decided to do it I was getting little to no love from the industry. I've since learned that this is partially what it means to be a beginning author/illustrator and that there is and was a huge problem with the diversity of kids books!

Here's the post I did about the book release at EastSide Arts Alliance w/ Kati Cepeda and Aya de Leon.  And the trailer for the book got over 5k views! Holy smokes.Never expected it to reach so many people but it has and folks are still learning about it today!

It all started with one or two books. Now I've worked on over 10 children's books as an illustrator and/or author with more on the way. Furqan is temporarily sold out but you can cop the latest book I illustrated for Jill Guerra "We Are Yoga/ Somos Yoga".

And if you missed my kickstarter you can cop my first book of art including 130 pages of sketch book art, character designs, tutorials, and more Art of Rob LINK.

Gift Box Feature 3 - Booklandia (Portugal)

 

BIG shout out to Maceo who is the founder and owner of "Booklandia" the first Gift/Subscription Box to give my book "Furqan's First Flat Top" a shot. When I first debuted as a kids book illustrator and author Maceo almost immediately started carrying my book, other books I'd worked on, name plates I'd made, etc and she even licensed work from me to make coloring sheets.

If you're not hip to her business it is one of the first bilingual and Spanish language subscription book boxes in the US (She now lives in Portugal). They carry books for children from newborns to middle grade kids. Not just that, she searches for books that reflect the diversity of Latinos (all colors). 

If you're new to this, I'm sharing some of the amazing small businesses that have featured my books, merchandise, or artwork in their subscription book boxes. Booklandia is not only a gift box, it's also a pop up bookstore that has filled a need in the kidlit world. Please go support the biz by purchasing books (physical or audio).

LINK: Booklandia Books

Dig this? Check out the last giftbox feature: Los Amigos Books (Chicago)

School visit at Bella Vista in Oakland

 

Two weeks ago I read at a local Oakland school called Bella Vista, and here are some photos from the reading which had over 100 kids, parents and teachers. Photo credit.

This was a tough one because the crowd was big so I had a mic and walked around with a student to show the kids the pages of the book in between reading. Since 2012 I've done 1-10 school, library, or event readings with my books. Sometimes by myself and sometimes with an author.

I've spoken to pre school, elementary, high school, and college students. If you'd like me to come speak to your students give me a holler. 

Dig this? Check out this visit to Columbus Ohio where I tabled at SOL Con and read to a local school. LINK

Video: Furqan's First read en Español

 

Hey folks, I realized it had been more than a year since I uploaded an English reading of my book. So here is a Spanish reading of "Furqan's First Flat Top/ El Primer Corte de Mesita de Furqan". Enjoy and feel free to share with Spanish teachers, bilingual students, etc. 

LINK TO WATCH

Where to purchase the book: My Shop

If you need more than 5 copies please email me at info@robdontstop.com

Dia De Niño

 

What up fam, I will be reading and speaking / reading at the "Dia del Niño" bilingual book festival. Please go to their website here: https://www.ninosbookfest.com/ and follow them so you can catch 1 of the 3 days with many creators such as Pat Mora, Nury Castillo Crawford, Juana Martinez -Neal, Patty Rodriguez, and more.

There will be readings, demo's, give aways, and more.

Reading w/ Tia Chucha- July 9th

Excited to announce that I will be reading online for Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural y Bookstore in 

the San Fernando Valley (North of LA) on July 9th at 12pm. I've been a fan of writer Luis J. Rodriguez's work since I read "The Republic of East LA" which I read in the early 2000's. Luis is a poet and writer who started Tia Chucha's because there was no bookstore in this area. Tia Chucha's is also a press so it's great to be reading in their "Lil Readers" program which you can catch live on their facebook or Instagram pg.

Bilingual Book deals

Yo, peace and blessings to you admist the chaos that is Amerikkka. I have just uploaded two new deals to my shop for those that are interested in sending someone a little love via bilingual books and such. The first one is a care package of books, bookmarks, and stickers. 

PURCHASE Here

The second deal is just the books. And if you search on here you can go through and find reviews for both Furqan's First Flat Top written and illustrated by me, and One of a Kind Like Me, written by Laurin Mayeno and illustrated by me. 

PURCHASE Here

Did you see the last pack of bilingual book marks for COMICS Readers?

Video - Furqan's First in English/ Spanish

Peace, this is for the folks who've been asking. Feel free to share this with your child, student, or relatives during this social distancing, distanced learning, pandemic times. Below is the Spanish reading of the book.

Tia Carla did a reading of the book in Spanish already so I figured I'd share that for families to watch as its done quite well! Please check out her other videos of books in English and Spanish.

School Visit at Cesar Chavez Elementary- Davis CA

 I wish I could go back to reading at schools! Hopefully again in the future. I was invited by author and friend Justine Villanueva (Jack & Agyu) to come read at this school. I read to six classes and as always it was lots of fun. I handed out book plates to all the students and then they asked me for my signature. They had lots of funny questions.  

Dig this? Check out this reading at Woodland Elementary in Oakland

Interview throwback - Tandem Early Learning

This was last summer in Oakland at the Tandem Early Learning office. The cool thing about this org is that they study and encourage early literacy. They are one of many organizations nationally that do this and here in the Bay Area they go out to a bunch of school and read to kids. They also lend books to families and give them free books. So that is how a bunch of families have gotten a copy of "Furqan's First Flat Top" a book I wrote and illustrated. It was great talking with Tandem!

Support of literacy in a child's life early has been proven to help them later in school in so many ways.

Podcast Interview- Papa Culture Pod!

Yo! Been listening to this laid back podcast run by two fathers. They talk about hip hop, sports, pop culture, dad fails, and dad triumphs! I was lucky enough to be a guest on their show. Check it out on Itunes, Stitcher, or whatever podcast app you listen to. 

Here is the link if you want to listen to it on your desktop. LINK

If you'd like to hear another interview check out The Stoop Podcast where I talked about Black Hair and kids books.

Furqan en Español

pretty cool to see this. You can cop at my store if you don't have it yet.

The Conscious Kid- 50 Books affirming Black Boys

Shout out to the "Conscious Kid" blog for mentioning so many amazing children's books featuring Black Boys from elementary to young adult, they have an extensive list for folks looking to build the pride of their young boys or to build the awareness of non Black folks. 

LINK

Also: Furqan's First Flat Top got a mention in here :) which is humbling because there are so many greats mentioned in the article!

Podcast Feature - The Stoop

Hey y'all, I was a guest on this amazing podcast called "The Stoop" with Leyla and Hana who have been talking about a whole lot of issues in the Black community for over a year now. Not only that, they just won an award from the National Association of Black Journalists for their work.

LISTEN

Furqan UPDATE 24 - More New stores 2018

Estellita's Library - Seattle, WA

Boogie Down Books - Bronx, NYC

Burning Books - Buffalo, NY

Kweli's Book Club (Formerly Nkiru Books) - Online/ Brooklyn, NYC

Libro Mobile - Santa Ana, CA

specializing in bilingual/ spanish books

Quimby's Books - Chicago, IL

Vroman's - Pasadena (LA) California

So, thank goodness for independent bookstores. If you are in Chicago, NYC, Seattle, or Los Angeles here are some spots you can get Furqan's First Flat Top from. If you must get books for someone or a specific book, order it from your local bookstore. Yes it costs more than Amazon, but the money you spend helps fund your local economy and give your city access to knowledge, community events, and more. Please visit or buy from these stores. #SupportIndependentBookstores

Shout out to Nia King of the Queer & Trans artists of color series for recommending stores!

LA Book Reading @ Mi Vida Shop

Hey, if you're in or around the Los Angeles area I'm doing a book reading at Mi Vida in Highland Park this coming Sunday. All ages are welcome! Come thru w/your babies for storytime and feel free to bring young budding illustrators/writers to ask questions about book making! And the homie DJ Spinorita will be playing music, so come support small local biz.The homie Oree brought me to this store back in 2010 and I loved their selection of kids books (curated by Sol, formerly of Imix Books) featuring latinx and bilingual stories. The store also has some great clothes, locally made art, and mo.

Facebook event link

Store Link: www.shopmivida.com

Reading- Multicultural Children's Bookstore Richmond

Hey yall, this Saturday I'll be reading with author Angela Dalton (If you look up to the sky) at the new West County Reads "Multicultural Children's Bookstore" at Hilltop Mall in Richmond California. If you're around,bring your children to the reading and check out the store, it has one of the most diverse collections of children's books in the Bay Area.

Boogie Down Books - Furqan's First

Yo, excited to get my book into this pop up bookstore "Boogie Down Books". If you're in NYC please support them and invite them to your school , organization, or event. Check out this article written about them recently.

ARTICLE LINK

If you know of any bookstores, pop ups, libraries, or offices that would be interested in my picture book "Furqan's First Flat Top" please let me know. info@robdontstop.com

Record Store Day - Furqan spread

Where all my father's that dig at? This is a scene from my book Furqan's First Flat Top. Had to put that in the book because I love music and records. I grew up with them and I plan to pass them on to my son some day.

Just wanted to remind folks that its record store day and to go support your local record store by buying vinyl, tapes, cd's whatever you can still play in your home or car. If you're in the Bay Area here are some spots I recommend:

Amoeba Records - Berkeley & SF
Down Home Records - El Cerrito
Green Apple Books - SF
Grooves- SF
Half Price Books - Berkeley
Park Blvd Records & Tapes- Oakland
Rasputin's- Fairfield & Berkeley
Streetlight Records- San Jose

Furqan UPDATE 23 - New stores 2018

Ok, so what follows is a bunch of brick and mortar actual physical stores from California to London. What I would like you to do is to visit them if they are near you. Buy my book there and buy other books from them. Support small businesses rather than the huge corporations. If they don't have a book you want, they can get it for you. Support these also because they have different specialties and tastes, which means you'll find things you weren't looking for when you shop. If you're an author or illustrator, contact them too.

1. Blue Willow Bookshop - Houston TX

2. Book Passage - Corte Madera/ Marin -CA

3. Diesel Bookstore - Larkspur CA

4. East Bay Booksellers - Rockridge CA

5. Green Apple books - San Francisco CA

6. Land Gallery/ Buy Olympia - Portland OR

7. Multiculturalism Press Pop Up - Davis CA

8. New Beacon Books - London UK (Black Owned)

9. Petunia's Place - Fresno CA

10. Skylight Books - Los Angeles CA

11. Spectator Books - Piedmont/Oakland CA

If you know an independent bookstore that should have the book, request it there or give the owners my email. Its is info@robdontstop.com