Janet Costa Bates, illustrated by Lambert Davis,
Seaside Dream
Lee and Low Books, 2010.

Ages 5-10

When the whole family comes together for Grandma’s 70th birthday, it’s a time of joy and celebration. Yet underneath the smiles granddaughter Cora, who lives next door, is feeling anxious about what present to give her precious Grandma, and about missing out on their own special time together. And Grandma is hiding a deep yearning for her sister Aura, whom she hasn’t seen for nearly forty years, since emigrating from Cape Verde to the United States.

Seaside Dream, inspired by author Janet Costa Bates’ own grandmother and her Cape Verdean roots, takes these two strands of narrative and entwines them within the whole family’s encircling love. Grandma understands Cora’s concerns intuitively, and Cora’s youthful optimism is just what Grandma needs to bolster her spirits as she talks about why she left Cape Verde but Aura stayed behind. Grandma explains how she has kept close to Aura by sending her non-verbal mantenhas (explained in a short glossary as a “greeting sent with people travelling between Cape Verde and the United States, essential for keeping relationships strong between family and friends separated by distance”). That night, Cora dreams about the two sisters and wakes up on Grandma’s birthday knowing exactly what to give her. Her thoughtful gift is, of course, perfect and opens up all sorts of possibilities for the future.

Seaside Dream was a worthy winner of a Lee & Low New Voices Award Honor and the story has been further enhanced on publication by Lambert Davis’ illustrations, which perfectly convey the happy, relaxed sharing of the family get-together and the empathy between Grandma and Cora in particular. The blues of the sea and sky and the yellow of the sand are reflected in the interiors too, giving the whole book a welcoming feel that that draws readers into the celebrations. It is noteworthy that we don’t actually meet Cora’s parents in the course of the story, meaning there is no distraction from the focus on the grandmother-granddaughter relationship. An Author’s Note also provides some historical and personal background to the book, opening up the possibility of similar discussion – both in terms of immigration and grandparents’ roots. In the meantime, Cora and Grandma’s love for each other will spill over from the story to warm readers’ hearts.

Marjorie Coughlan
June 2011

Marcia Vaughan, illustrated by Derek Blanks,
Up The Learning Tree
Lee & Low Books, 2003.

Ages 6-10

In this moving story of simple heroism, a young slave and a brave teacher both take enormous risks in order to participate in something most readers take for granted: education.

It is hard for my children, who, like most of their peers, grumble about doing homework, to imagine a life so filled with injustice that a child risks losing his fingers if he is caught with a book. This is what makes the clever and determined young slave Henry Bell so admirable. “Before Pap got sold away,” Henry remembers, “he told me book learning would help us escape slavery…There must be something powerful in books, and I want to know what it is.”

The opportunistic Henry gets his chance when he is assigned to walk “Little Master Simon” to school. A leafy sycamore outside the classroom window affords Henry cover as he spies on the forbidden lessons and carves new words into the branches of his “learning tree.” When illness spreads through the area the following spring, Mistress keeps Simon home to avoid infection but sends Henry to collect and return her child’s completed lessons each day. This is when Henry gets to know Miss Hattie, a northern school teacher who “doesn’t believe in slavery or in keeping people ignorant.” Henry thrives, and Miss Hattie tells him “I’ve never had a student as determined to learn as you.” But the illicit act of a teacher educating a child on her own time is eventually discovered, and the pair must part.

Marcia Vaughan (Snap!, The Secret to Freedom) became inspired to write Up the Learning Tree while reading oral histories of former slaves, several of which are quoted at the back of the book. Successful photographer and first-time illustrator Derek Blanks’ rich oil paintings demonstrate a lush retreat from the stark, sun-baked cotton plantation in the green and leafy school grounds where Henry begins his education. Recognizing that Henry’s story could very well have happened and that real people took extraordinary risks in order to become literate will help children understand the true vileness of slavery and the freedom inherent in learning.

Abigail Sawyer
April 2011

Crystal Hubbard, illustrated by Randy DuBurke,
Catching the Moon: The Story of A Young Girl’s Baseball Dream
Lee & Low Books, 2005.

Ages 6 to 10

Could there be anything better than the sting of the ball in your palm, the taste of dust sliding into home base, the thrill of tagging someone out? Not for Marcenia Lyle. She loves baseball more than anything in the world. She dreams at night of playing professional ball, and lives for afternoon games on the playground, despite initial objections from the boy players and constant disapproval from her parents.  They want her to focus on school, and on traditional jobs for girls: teacher, nurse, or maid.

Then one day, Gabby Street comes to visit. Mr. Street is the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. He wants kids for his baseball camp! Marcenia has never run so fast, thrown so hard, or hit so far as she does that day. But despite proving herself the best player out there, Mr. Street says no. Girls don’t play baseball.  If she’s ever going to achieve her dream, she has to find a way to convince both Mr. Street and her father that girls should be able to play baseball, too.

Set in the 1930s, Catching the Moon tells the true story of Marcenia Lyle, the African-American girl who grew up to become the first woman on an all-male professional baseball team. Named one of Bank Street College’s Children’s Books of the Year, Catching the Moon is an inspiring tale of grit, heart, hope, and most of all, determination to dream.  Randy DuBurke’s luminous ink and acrylic images vibrate with Marcenia’s energy on the field, while the soft blues and browns of his color palette channel her sadness when it appears she has no options left. An afterward explains how Marcenia Lyle, under the name Toni Stone, became the first female member of an all-male baseball team, and even went on to fill in Hank Aaron’s place in the Major Leagues. Crystal Hubbard captures both the irrepressible obsession of the baseball fan and the challenges of being young and dreaming big, even if it means defying adult expectations.  Children will cheer for Marcenia as she succeeds despite the odds, in turn encouraged to follow their own dreams of greatness.

Sara Hudson
April 2011

From Lee and Low Books:

The Lee & Low Books eleventh annual New Voices Award is accepting submissions through September 30th (postmark date).

The Award will be given for a children’s picture book manuscript by a writer of color. The Award winner receives a cash grant of $1000 and our standard publication contract, including our basic advance and royalties for a first time author. An Honor Award winner will receive a cash grant of $500.

Established in 2000, the New Voices Award encourages writers of color to submit their work to a publisher that takes pride in nurturing new talent. Past New Voices Award submissions that we have published include The Blue Roses, winner of the Paterson Prize for Books for Young People; Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story, a Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People and a Texas Bluebonnet Masterlist selection; and Bird, an ALA Notable Children’s Book and a Cooperative Children’s Book Center “Choices” selection.

The contest is open to writers of color who are residents of the United States and who have not previously had a children’s picture book published.

To learn more, click here.

Lee & Low Books’ New Voices Award is now open for submissions!

The Award will be given for a children’s picture book manuscript by a writer of color, previously unpublished in the field of picture books. The winner receives a cash grant of $1000 and a publication contract, including basic advance and royalties for a first time author. An honor award winner will receive a cash grant of $500.

To learn more, please visit the website.

One of the few minority-owned publishing companies in the United States, co-founded in 1991 by Tom Low and Philip Lee, LEE & LOW BOOKS is an independent multicultural children’s book publisher whose goal is to publish stories all children can relate to. Since its first list, in 1993, LEE & LOW has published an impressive lineup of over 200 titles, many of which have been translated to Spanish and won a number of major awards and honors.

Jason Low, son of founder Tom Low and Lee & Low’s publisher, answered our questions about Lynne Barasch’s  First Come the Zebra, one of the seven books selected for inclusion in our Spirit of PaperTigers Book Set Donation Project; the company’s new developments; and other topics related to multicultural children’s literature.

PT: How did Lynne Barasch‘s First Come the Zebra come about as a project for LEE & LOW?

JL: LEE & LOW has enjoyed a long relationship with Lynne since publishing her two other books Knockin’ on Wood and Hiromi’s Hands. Lynne had returned from a trip to Kenya, which planted a seed in her mind about the story that would become First Come the Zebra. The rest of the story came from Lynne’s own research on Africa and the harmful effects of tribalism in particular.

PT: Are there any plans to create a classroom guide/lesson plans for the book?

JL: We usually bring out a classroom guide when the book comes out in paperback so teachers can fully utilize both the book and the guide with their students.

PT: Can you please say something about working with Lynne on this and other projects?

JL: Lynne is a pleasure to work with. She is a true professional. She possesses a unique, spare style of writing and illustration that conveys sophisticated themes in such a way that children can enjoy and understand them.

PT: What can you tell us about LEE & LOW’s new imprint, Tu Books?

JL: Tu Books represents a chance for us to bring diversity to the science fiction and fantasy genres for middle grade and young adult readers in the same way LEE & LOW has brought more diversity to picture books since we began publishing in 1993. Since announcing the acquisition of Tu, we have received a substantial amount of positive feedback and I am anxious to see how our debut list is received in 2011. More details about this new venture can be found in an interview with Tu Books Editorial Director Stacy Whitman, posted on Cynsations.

PT: About your New Voices Writers Award, given annually for a children’s picture book manuscript by a writer of color, who are some of the voices you have published so far, and what has the reception to both the award and these new voices been?

Some of the New Voices Award Winners have been:

Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story by Paula Yoo
Janna and the Kings by Patricia Smith
The Blue Roses by Linda Boyden

And these are some of the New Voices Award Honors:

Bird by Zetta Elliot
Ghosts for Breakfast by Stanley Todd Terasaki
Raymond’s Perfect Present by Therese On Louie

Two New Voices Award books are scheduled for release by the end of 2010 and two more are in production for next year.

The reception to the New Voices Award books published since the award was established, in 2000, has been strong. Two books in particular, Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds (Texas Bluebonnet Award Masterlist) and Bird (Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award, Ezra Jack Keats Book Award) have received tremendous awards recognition and have sold well.

The New Voices Award is important because not only does it promote diversity but it also introduces new authors to the world of children’s books, playing a vital role by infusing the children’s book industry with new blood.

PT: Can you tell us about your company’s social media presence and what benefits you have seen from developing it, so far?

JL: We started social networking in 2009 and can be found at:

The Open Book Blog
Twitter
Facebook

Our social media efforts have allowed us to communicate with our supporters and customers in a more open and frequent way. Since many of LEE & LOW’s titles are so topical it is an efficient way for us to build timely connections between our books and what is happening in the world. Before our social media channels, the people who were interested in what we were doing would only hear from us once a month via our E-News. Now people hear from us several times a week, which promotes a more fluid flow of information.

PT: Do you think the public’s attitude toward multicultural books for children has changed much since Lee & Low was established? How so?

JL: As the company continues to grow, the demand for the diverse books we publish has also grown. I would like to preface this by saying the growth we have seen has been a slow, steady increase—this is still book publishing and it takes a sustained effort and a lot of patience to sell books of any kind. It is difficult for me to get a sense of whether attitudes have shifted favorably toward diverse books since we began publishing. I will say the enthusiasm for our books renews itself every season, and the amount of awards and reviews we have received is the kind of encouragement that tells us we’re moving in the right direction.

PT: What would you say is the most challenging aspect of being an independent publisher of children’s books these days?

JL: Finding good stories used to be the biggest challenge, but I would have to say patience is the biggest challenge we face now. Exercising the patience to publish what we can afford to publish each year. Waiting to see if the books we have placed our faith in do well as they are released into the world. For us, the publishing cycle takes a few years to really see whether or not a book has found its audience. For this reason it is a good rule of thumb to step back every once in a while, and look back at the work that has been accomplished, rather than being too consumed by what still needs to be done.

PT: What are your hopes for the future of Lee & Low?

JL: I would like to see us grow more, so we can provide more opportunities for authors and illustrators to tell the stories that need to be told. I’m a big book person but I do see how e-books may significantly change the way books are read. In whatever future form we will be reading our books, the demand for good stories isn’t going to go away anytime soon, and I see LEE & LOW playing a crucial role in providing diverse stories for years to come.

PT: Anything else you would like to add?

JL: I would just like to thank PaperTigers for helping us spread the word about what we are doing. We appreciate your support.

PT: It’s our pleasure and honor to have such great books to help spread the word on, Jason! Many thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. We are very grateful for the copies of First Come the Zebra you’ve donated in support of our Spirit of PaperTigers project and wish you and LEE & LOW continued success!

…

Make sure to also read Nathalie Mvondo’s February interview with Jason Low at Multiculturalism Rocks!. And for an in-depth look at the history and philosophy of the company, read Jason’s article, Balancing Words, Pictures and Diversity: The Story of Lee & Low Books.

Lee & Low announced today that it has acquired Tu Publishing, a company founded by Stacy Whitman in the fall of 2009 to publish multicultural Middle Grade and YA fantasy and science fiction. Tu Books is now an imprint of Lee & Low, and the first books under the new imprint are due out in 2011. Here’s the press release.

Congratulations, Lee & Low, on this new development! We look forward to enjoying the books and helping spread the word on them!

To remind people that Black History is worth teaching all year long, Lee & Low is having a end-of-Black-History-Month book giveaway. For a chance to win one of three sets of six fantastic books, you must enter the contest by midnight of February 28th. So hurry up! There are four ways to enter, and the more actions you take, the better your chances of winning! Head on over to Lee & Low’s blog now for the details, and good luck!

The Middle Country Public Library in Centereach NY, USA, currently has an exhibition entitled “The Creative Worlds of Lynne Barasch” . Ongoing until May 2010 the exhibit features several of Lynne’s books with interactive stations relating to each title. Lynne will appear at the library this Saturday, January 16th, at 1 PM for lower school age children and at 2PM for teens. Click here to read PaperTigers review of Lynne’s most recent book First Come the Zebra and here to read our review of her book Hiromi’s Hands, published in 2007 by Lee and Low Books.