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Caroline Brewer Author · Artist · Literacy Advocate

Tag: education

  • A Whole Other Twist on “Let Them Eat Cake!”

    A Whole Other Twist on “Let Them Eat Cake!”

    A Whole Other Twist on “Let Them Eat Cake!”
    DC Elementary Librarian, Local Author, and National Education Lawyer
    Team Up to Feed “Hungry Readers Chocolate Cake” Over the Summer!

    Donation of Books to Truesdale Elementary Library, Students and School’s Little Free Library
    Kicks Off Summer Reading Program and Extends Hungry Readers Campaign

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 21, 2021

    Contact: caroline@carolinebrewerbooks.com

    Washington, D.C. – In a whole other twist on “Let them eat cake!”, Truesdale Elementary Librarian Eboni Henry, National Education Lawyer Gary M. Ratner, and Caroline Brewer, Author of the Forthcoming Say Their Names picture book and Darius Daniels: Game On! have teamed up to feed “hungry readers chocolate cake” over the summer.

    The donation of more than 30 Books to Truesdale Elementary’s School Library, its students and the school’s Little Free Library takes place today at the school, 12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., 800 Ingraham St NW, Washington, DC 20011.

    The donation continues Brewer’s “Hungry Readers” campaign, where she has enlisted friends and family to help her donate books to schools, libraries, and youth programs in the DC Metro area and around the country. This iteration of the campaign has seen the donation of more than 250 copies of books, including more than 100 of Darius Daniels: Game On!, a book filled with rap, rhyme, and riddles, designed to get kids hooked on books. The donation includes picture books, chapter books, and middle grade novels, books with Black and Latino characters to feed the needs of the majority Latino and Black student population, books on the environment, and some Newberry Medal and Coretta Scott King Award winners. In years past, Brewer has donated thousands of books, mostly her own.

    Truesdale Librarian Henry said she’s noticed that children aren’t visiting public libraries as often so she created a “Little Free Library” outside Truesdale where students and any member of the community can take books home and keep them for their own. She and a colleague usually supply the “library” throughout the summer. New donations from Brewer, Ratner, and other friends will help edify the collection.

    “I’m a strong believer in the importance of reading to satisfaction and success in life.  Knowing that Caroline Brewer’s books for children help some of our neediest children to attain this goal, I was pleased to make a donation to expand the availability of the extraordinary middle grade novel: Darius Daniels,” said Ratner, Founder and Executive Director of Citizens for Effective Schools. Ratner has been a nationally recognized authority on school reform law and policy for more than 30 years and is a principal drafter of the Joint Organizational Statement on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the policy statement for overhauling NCLB endorsed by more than 150 national organizations and replacing it with the ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act). “Rich in cultural allusions and broadening vocabulary, Darius Daniels is an excellent way to engage, entertain and intellectually stimulate students this summer, while simultaneously combatting the traditional summer loss in reading skills.”

    Brewer says she’s never met a child who wasn’t hungry to learn to read, write, and learn and that’s why she calls her campaign “Hungry Readers.” The authors of a new book,  How to Raise a Reader, Pamela Paul and Maria Russo, the editor and the children’s-books editor, respectively, of The New York Times Book Review, have said that those who want to inspire reading love in children should present reading not as “spinach,” but as “chocolate cake.” Making books and reading fun has been Brewer’s calling card for the past 20 years as an author, literacy activist, and consultant. “I call rap, rhyme, and riddles ‘literacy accelerants,’ ” says Brewer. “When children get their hands on books that have meaning and are fun, many become brand-new and fall in love with themselves as human beings, whereas before they had lots of doubts. Good books feed children’s imaginations and inspire success and that’s all we’re here for.”

    Connect with Caroline Brewer on the following sites:

    www.carolinebrewerbooks.com * facebook.com/brewercaroline *twitter.com/brewercaroline

    instagram.com/carolinebrewerbooks

  • NEWS: George Floyd Protests Inspired Picture Book from Child’s Perspective

    NEWS: George Floyd Protests Inspired Picture Book from Child’s Perspective

    News Alert – June 6, 2022

    Picture Book from a Child’s Perspective inspired by George Floyd protests
    “Say Their Names” is about imagining and working toward love-inspired change

    Contact Caroline Brewer, caroline@carolinebrewerbooks.com, or Eileen Robinson, Editor, Reycraft Books, at erobinson@reycraftbooks.com for more information

    Washington, D.C. – Reycraft Books and D.C. Author Caroline Brewer have announced the cover reveal and promotional launch of Say Their Names, a new 32-page picture book written from a child’s perspective. “I wrote Say Their Names because of my 20-year-educational journey with children,” said Brewer, a literacy activist, former elementary school teacher, and author of 13 books. “ I know children are suffering and being traumatized by police violence and racial violence – as studies have shown – along with all others in their communities. I wrote it because children have been leading and engaging in protests movements all over the world, especially in recent history, and I wanted to center them and their voices as part of our healing work and conversations.”

    “I wrote Say Their Names from a child’s perspective because children give us the gifts of their imaginations. I wrote the book because imagining is one of the most important technologies that humans possess, and challenges such as police and racial violence require powerful imagining to defeat,” Brewer added.

    Brewer, who wrote a children’s book in 2005 in honor of a friend’s son who was killed by police, noted that Say Their Names emphasizes this one powerful act,  “because saying their names is a ritual observed by communities the world over and is an important cultural ritual for African Americans; because remembering helps keep loved ones alive and assists in the healing process; and because this book, more than anything, is about imagining and working toward a future free of police and racial violence.”

    Say Their Names is published by Reycraft Books and due out August 22, 2022. Media can contact the author or publisher for a digital ARC and more details.  Say Their Names can be PRE-ORDERED here.

    Follow Caroline Brewer on social media here:
    facebook.com/carolinebrewerbooks *** instagram.com/carolinebrewerbooks ***  twitter.com/brewercaroline

  • Say Their Names, New Children’s Book, Expands Movement for Love

    Say Their Names, New Children’s Book, Expands Movement for Love

    Say Their Names, New Children’s Book, Expands Movement for Love, Justice, Peace

    “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I hope I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything You gave me.’” -Chadwick Boseman

    And to that I would add, not a single bit of courage, conviction, peace, or love. I used ALL that You gave me. Say Their Names, my new children’s book about a 7-year-old Black girl’s response to police killings, is one example of how. It’s written through the eyes, courage, and convictions of a child — in the voice of a child.  I hope you’ll join the Reycraft Books team, Illustrator Adrian Brandon and me on this journey. You can pre-order the book on Reycraft’s site here. And please like, share, comment, tell teachers, parents, librarians, your family, friends, and neighbors. The whole world is needed. Thank you so much!

    -Caroline

  • Happy Teacher Appreciation Week – FREE Book!

    Happy Teacher Appreciation Week – FREE Book!

    Why I Teach: A Guide to Re-Discovering a Love for Teaching

    This inspirational e-book is my Teacher Appreciation Week 2022 gift to you. Why I Teach is dedicated to teachers everywhere and the infinite number of children whose lives they will change. Why I Teach is Part Poem-Meditation and Part Journal and it includes reflections, such as:  “I teach to enter a world where dreams come true,” and the reflection: “What dreams came true in your teaching today?” 

    Simply email caroline@carolinebrewerbooks.com for your free copy today.

    Happy Teaching, and thank you so much!

    Caroline

     

     

  • 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

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    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…)