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Caroline Brewer Author · Artist · Literacy Advocate

Category: Caroline’s Blog

  • It Was Love

    It Was Love

    So often children ask, “What inspired you to write Darius Daniels: Game On!?” In this and future posts, I’m going to expand on my answer.

    First and foremost, what inspired me to write Darius Daniels: Game On! — a journey that took 14 years! — was love. In particular, my mother’s love for me and my love for her, which led to so many other expressions and observations of love.

    Witnessing every day, my mother’s love for her children, our family, and community made me want to write a book about just a small sliver of her life. I first tried tell her story with a picture book, but  couldn’t get it to work. In a surprise twist, Darius Daniels: Game On! turned out to be the ticket.

    I’m so happy that I found the strength to persevere because now I get to see how the love that lifted me is now lifting children, teachers, librarians, and people from all walks of life.

    What has love inspired you to do for someone else?

  • What would you say?

    What would you say?

    Poetry, poetry, poetry!
    All around outside & flowin’ in me!
    I have no hate in my heart,
    because it’s all loved up with poesy!
     
    Darius Daniels: Game On! & poetry are what’s up in coming days for students at
    Lake Ridge Middle School in Woodbridge, VA. They’ll be reading the book for weeks to come, and during my author visit today, we’re going to talk about the power of our own voices, communication breakdowns, the worlds we can make with our words, why we read and write, and poetry as survival. Our goal is to dramatically expand the number of voracious readers at the school because we know words can avert wars, birth peace, and grow gardens of grace in the thorniest space.

    What would you say to these students about the power of words? Have a story about how words changed your life? Please share.

    *Shoutout to royalbydesign369 for the inspiration of Mantra – Photo credit: Cheriss May

  • It’s National Family Literacy Month & Here’s What You Can Do About It!

    It’s National Family Literacy Month & Here’s What You Can Do About It!

    Today, November 1, is the beginning of Family Literacy Month and the Happy 2nd Book Birthday to Darius Daniels: Game On! I hope you’ll celebrate with me over the course of the year as I share reading tips, free downloads, and opportunities for families, teachers, librarians and tutors to participate in virtual celebrations!
    Tip #1- No matter your child’s age or reading level, rhymes are a super-power!
    One super-power of rhymes is that they improve children’s ability to recall words and story concepts. So feed your hungry readers some rhyming books, such as Darius Daniels: Game On!, today. Ask them some questions to see how well they recall a chapter or story and repeat with them their favorite rhyming sections.  Have fun, and share this blog with friends and family, and ask them to join you and the Hungry Readers campaign here!
    Click link to FREE literacy downloads and to order the book.
  • What September 11, 2001 Gave Birth To

    What September 11, 2001 Gave Birth To

    September 11, 2001 was partly responsible for the birth of my first children’s book, Kara Finds Sunshine on a Rainy Day. The book’s theme is “the sun is always shining, even when we can’t see it.”   I was living in NJ, just outside NYC, and wrote a poem in response to the tragedy. A friend who taught second grade read it and wanted me to share it with her students. I decided to turn it into a story of hope and healing. The children responded so beautifully, I created newer editions.

    The 2006 edition was created with artwork from Harlem School of the Arts students. These pages are in the 9/11 section. This section tells the story of a group of firefighters who were trying to lead people out of the building. They ran into Josephine Harris, a worker who had been in a car accident months before and was left with a limp. She slowed them down but they moved at her pace, until, suddenly, the entire building – more than a million tons of rubble — crashed around them. They eventually made it out alive because rays of light poured in through the debris.  The firefighters who survived thanked Josephine for saving their lives.

    One of the first children to hear me read Kara was an 11-year-old boy named Miles, who was living in a group home for abused and neglected children. He told me the book “changed his life around.” His counselors said he had not spoken to anyone or made friends for six months prior to my visit. After hearing the story, “he opened up like a flower.”

    During one of the darkest times in his life, Miles discovered the sun was shining, and so did I.

    May we all discover light on our darkest, rainy days.

  • Five Things You Should Know About Barack Obama: A Hip Hop Tale

    Five Things You Should Know About Barack Obama: A Hip Hop Tale

    In honor of President’s Day and the need to learn about presidents 365 days a year

    ***

    Five Things About Barack Obama:

    A Hip Hop Tale of King’s Dream Come True

    In a nutshell: The artwork is a conversation starter; it has 60 sets of rhyming words (sure to send any child’s vocabulary and comprehension soaring); you can teach  more than a dozen English language learning skills; it’s full of surprises, including fun facts about animals; and opportunities to learn about social activism and politics in ways that are very cool. (To purchase, click here.) (more…)