3rd Annual Social Justice Children's Book Holiday Fair

What up family, this is the third year we've done the "Social Justice Children's Bk Holiday Fair" and the venue, date, and some of the guests are above. Please bring your children, families, teachers, librarians, friends, and activists to come meet some of these kids bk makers and hang out. The following is a list of some of the authors that will be present!

Laura Atkins

John Casselberry

Madeline Connor

Angela Dalton

Michael Genhart

Maya Gonzalez- Reflection Press

Daria Leavitt

Kamaria Lofton-Like The Moon

Janine Macbeth-Blood Orange Press

Innosanto Nagara

Beth Reichmuth

Lourdes Rivas

Matthew Smith-Reflection Press

Justine Villanueva- Sawaga River press

Khalid White

Here is the facebook event LINK please rsvp and share, share, share!

This year we're back at Chapter 510 in Oakland.

Latino Comics Expo - Modesto March 15-16th

This is the 8th annual Latino Comics Expo. I attended one of the first expos in San Francisco and since then, the organizers (Ricardo Padilla and Javier Hernandez) have created events in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Columbus Ohio, San Jose,  and Brownsville Texas. This is the schedule for panels and speakers.

I will be there selling my books and other goodies. Please come or invite someone you know who lives in Stanislaus county (Modesto, Turlock, Salida). If you'd like more info, please go HERE.

The LCE, has not only provided warm and welcoming environments for creators of stories and story seekers, they have also helped promote academic study of Latino Comics, animation, and film events. With their ground breaking collaboration "Sol Con" they are also bridging cultures by encouraging Black and Brown creators to join forces. Stay tuned and follow them on 

Instagram, twitter, and facebook.

Campaign worth supporting-They Call Me Mix (kids book)

Hey folks! Ok all my children's book lovers, authors, illustrators, librarians, bk sellers, advocates....come closer. This book is at 202 backers. We need to get it to 250. Doesn't matter if you donate $1 or $500. Let's get this book by a two POC authors made. Not only is it written and illustrated by them, it focuses on gender and what it means-especially for young students preschool to elementary school age. Put this on your networks and follow the page  and 

here is a link to the kickstarter

Author: Lourdes

Illustrator: Breena Nunez

Zombi Kid campaign

Support this dope project, el Zombi Kid!!! 

Who: 656 Comics! 

Where: Ciudad Juarez, Mexico > The world 

What: An incredible new graphic novel (in spanish) about loss of loved ones, bringing them back from the after life, etc by an experienced crew of illustrators, writers, and designers who’ve brought over 10 comics to life and continue to be a creative force in their city on the border of Mexico and the U.S. Middle grade

Why: Because we need to read more incredible spanish sci-fi/fantasy/horror/funny comics. 

When: Their campaign ends in 56 days (posted May 10th, 2017) 

How: Sharing, sharing and more sharing

LINK

If you'll recall I visited 656 Comics a few years back to talk about art making and have worked with them in the past as a contributor to one of many comics they've produced. Check out this old video where they talk about who they make comics for.

We Need Diverse Books roundtable

This is part one of a roundtable discussion online about best practices or advice for new illustrators in children's books. And it features people in traditional publishing and independent publishing. I get to chime in alongside some greats.

READ HERE

Furqan's First Flat Top UPDATE 20 (where you can buy the book AZ-DC)

Ashay By The Bay now has a shop in Oakland. Go to 1411 Webster Street, Oakland, California 94589

Ok, here are some awesome bookstores run by independent families and creatives where you can purchase "Furqan's First Flat Top". Also, for those who would like to get the book into your library locally, you can tell your library that the book is available through "Brodart Company" which sells books directly to libraries nationwide! So, go to your local library or bookstore and request it please. Also, go to these independent bookstores and patronize them, so that we continue to have bookstores run by people.

In New Orleans, you can purchase the book at "Community Book Center" 2523 Bayou Rd, New Orleans, LA 70119 or on facebook.

St.Louis-Missouri Please go to https://www.eyeseeme.com/ 7827 Olive Blvd, University City, MO 63130

Berkeley, CA-Go to http://mrmopps.net/books/ 1405 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Berkeley, CA 94709

Also in Berkeley, CA- www.mrsdalloways.com 2904 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705

Phoenix, Arizona- www.palabrasbookstore.com 1023 Grand Ave b, Phoenix, AZ 85007

Baltimore, Maryland- https://redemmas.org 30 W North Ave, Baltimore, MD 21201

Washington D.C. - www.sankofa.com/ 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001

Online/International- www.Booklandiabox.com A bilingual subscription service for spanish 

readers/learners

If you're in the town (Oakland) you can also get the book at E14 gallery run by the East Side fam. Go to https://www.e14gallery.com 472 Ninth St Oakland, CA 94607

National distributor-www.brodart.com/ Based in Williamsport Pennsylvania they have been doing books for over 

75 years. Hereyou can get your local library to purchase books from through them. Some folks like to 

purchase through a distributor, so there you go.

If any one has questions about getting the book or getting it into your local spot please email me at 

info@robdontstop.com

And please share the book trailer with your folks.

Sidney starts a book club for Black Boys

This is dope! First it was Marley Dias, now Sidney makes an organization called "Books n Bros"

Heres a link to the VIBE Article about the boy and here's a link to a radio interview with Sidney and his mother.

Panel discussion w/ Janine Macbeth, Maya Gonzalez, and Carole Davidson

Yo, I got a chance to speak with Maya, Janine, and librarian Carole Davidson at the central San Francisco librarian. We had a tiny audience but those who were there showed much attentiveness and respect and I had fun talking with everyone because Janine and Maya inspire me to keep going. In this talk we speak about what it takes to make books and what diversity means to us. Please listen.

San Francisco Public Library-We love diverse books

So I just read at the San Francisco Public library last week and Im thrilled to be a part of this amazing first year of "We love diverse books" program that is bringing in lots of cool books and authors. Please check out the image originally painted by Blood Orange Press founder Janine Macbeth.

 

To see some of the other authors or to find out more information go here.

Also, check out the article the SF Chronicle did about it so far. BIG shout out to Cristina Mitra who invited me to come read my book to the kids.

SF Chronicle article

Reading at LitQuake

Its pretty dope to have been a part of Lit Quake. I got a chance to read and talk about what I do in front of many classes of elementary school children in San Francisco. The kids were from all over the city and they were brought to the downtown SF public library to hear some authors show their books and to talk about how they do what they do. It was cool to be on that stage with some authors who were published by major publishers and here I am, the independent up there with them!

 I met Katrina Goldsaito ( The Sound of Silence), Maggie Tokuda-Hall (Also an Octopus), and Isabel Campoy (author or way over 100 books!) Check out some of the photos of kids getting books signed and the authors speaking. Big thanks to Christina Mitra who I had met previously and is an awesome librarian at SFPL. And thanks to Summer Dawn Laurie who coordinated us getting up there to share. For more info visit LitQuake!

Dig this? Check out this discussion I did with Prospect Sierra at Pegasus Books in Berkeley Ca.

One of a kind, like me 4 - Illustration process

This project is part of a much larger project by Blood Orange Press to bring more diverse books to the forefront, please visit bit.ly/ReadInColor and share, share, share it.

Ok, so I began work on Laurin Mayeno's (right) book over a year ago with publisher Janine Macbeth (middle) of Blood Orange Press. It has been a true joy and honor to work with both of them on this story and I am so proud to be a part of it. Laurin and I met up, she broke down the story for me and immediately I knew I wanted to illustrate this story. Why? I'd never seen a book like it as a child or as a parent. And although its just starting to reach people it is already getting tons of good reviews and responses from people. And the fact that it is bilingual means that it will reach even more families. Janine Macbeth was just starting to look for the next book that would come out of Blood Orange Press, a new home in the publishing industry for diverse books. But, lets talk about art process.

I generally start my work with a few pencils.

The first thing I do when imagining my own project or illustrating a story for someone else is make a set of very rough thumbnails. For BIG ideas like these it can be kind of daunting to start so its better to draw something really tiny just to get an idea for "placement". That means, where does a person stand, sit, talk, run, or yell in the frame? If there is a car, is it to their right, left, or directly behind them.

Next, after Ive done quite a few little doodles or thumbnails I ask the AD (art director), in this case author/illustrator Janine Macbeth and founder of Blood Orange Press to choose two of the 3 or 4 choices I've given her. This is the rough sketch phase.

She gives me feed back and i take four little ideas and condense them into one with little elements from the previous ones all in one usually. This is what I call the almost final phase because i'll need some feedback from the AD and sometimes the author to judge whether this is working or not. Then, i may even go back and redo something to make it fit better with the whole story over all.

Then i provide some color ideas for where I'd like to go with my reds, blues, yellows, etc. the AD gives me some notes and then.

I get my sketch ready on my light table/box to redraw it on water color paper. I generally use paper.
these are some of the different paints and I use when painting a spread.

Then I paint! Usually for several hours on one spread. Sometimes it takes me more than a day to paint one page or spread. Here's my palette on wax paper and cardboard.

Then I have the artwork scanned by a local printer or company. I adjust the brightness, saturation, and contrast and I send both the original and my adjustments to the AD. Then that is it for most pages.

After that you'll see it in the final book!

This is from the story "One of a kind like me/Unico como yo". It was written by Laurin Mayeno about her experience as a parent with her son Danny. She wrote about what that was like for her as a parent and I know it will resonate with a lot of families because it not only hints at children who may be gay, lesbian, or queer. It celebrates being yourself and loving who you are. And its in spanish too! Here's the cover of the book, which is starting to get a great response.

 If you enjoyed this and wish to support this book and other books like it please check out the kickstarter our publisher Blood Orange Press just launched to help create other new books and to help print, market, and promote this one. You can also learn more about the true story behind the book and how Laurin Mayeno is making a space for more parents to support their children HERE.

Watch:

                       

Kickstarter Launch!- Blood Orange Press

Ok, so this is the first of several posts about this campaign. If you've been following my blog for 1 month or 6 years I need you to share the content and information you hear about it coming in the next month. Here is the first bit to chew on and think about.

Less than 15% of the children's books published in 2015 had main characters of color, yet over half of children under 5 in the U.S. are kids of color. Join us in correcting the invisibility of people of color in children's books. bit.ly/ReadInColor

If you feel so inclined, you can use either of these two images to let folks know you're sharing the project.

Furqan's First Flat Top UPDATE 7- Book trailer

Here is the book trailer for Furqan's First Flat Top, enjoy!

Furqan's First Flat Top UPDATE 5-Books are on the way

Peace! Thanks to all of the wonderful people who have supported me on my journey to becoming a self-published children's book illustrator/author! A few weeks ago I got the shipment of my books from the printer and I couldn't be happier to tell you that yours (if you haven't received it) is on the way! Take a look at some shots of me getting the books, opening the boxes, and preparing stickers, envelopes, and the books to ship out. If you supported the project and put down an address thats the one I'm sending it to. If your address changed please let me know because I'm still sending them out. Thank you for your patience. If you know someone who would like to purchase a book, they can do so at http://furqansfirst.com
-Rob

PS: Got a new blog review/interview on Culture Chest ( a subscription service for diverse books)

Latinxs in Kid Lit-Pura Belpre

Hey! If you are not a regular reader of “Latinxs in Kid Lit” please go check them out. They blog about new books, history, and up and coming writers/artists. This is my second time contributing to the blog. Above is an illustration I did of Pura Belpre for women’s history month this year. Please take a look and read the article. Here is my favorite quote from it: “Storytelling as a means of resisting and challenging oppressive dominant narratives.”

Who is She? 6-Marley Dias

Two things come to mind when I think of Marley. 1. Each one teach one-an old saying. By doing what she's doing, she is using lessons she was taught i'm sure and she is teaching the next generation. 2. Do the work. There are a lot of people out here talking about solutions and problems, far less people actually doing the work to solve the problem.

Marley Dias, if you're off social media is an 11 year old young lady from New Jersey. Marley loves to read, and was tired of seeing the lack of books in her circle that reflected her face and her life. So rather than just complain about the lack of diversity in the books she was seeing, she did something. It was for her, but more importantly it is for other young people so they too can see themselves or see someone they don't know yet. Her campaign to get 1000 books featuring young black girls was started and quickly caught the attention of local and national media. The hashtag for it is #1000BlackGirlBooks. If you have written or illustrated a book that features a young black girl as a protagonist, send it to Marley, and her homies Briana, and Amina at welovebam.com/1000-black-girl-books/