Today we grieve, we hug, we console. Tomorrow, we rise.The Buffalo shootings, the Irvine, CA church shootings, and the shootings in Uvalde have left me speechless, in tears, and angry. America is awash in guns and the means to annihilate every human being on her soil, many times over. Americans possess more than 350 million guns, as Gun Control Advocate Andy Pelosi shared earlier to day. And the amount of ammunition is probably immeasurable. The angels are weeping for us.Today is also the anniversary of the George Floyd murder. Police killings of innocent/unarmed people have not declined since his death.And yet, I know without question that we can imagine, work, and rise up out of this brutal reality. It is not natural for human beings to act with such depravity. We must fight harder, think higher thoughts, and strengthen our bonds. The world and the world’s children need us now more than ever. We know what ignorance and hate can produce. We must answer the question, “What can greater love of humanity produce?” I am here to link arms with every single person willing to ascend, to do things we have not done, have not thought to do, and perhaps, have not had the courage to do, in the face of these horrors. That gun violence is now the #1 cause of death for young people is sickening, and must motivate us to step up, speak up, and, if necessary, act up – more than we ever have! The angels, and John Lennon, will cheer us. #Imagine
Tag: love
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With Hearts Breaking, Let Us Come Together
Thank you!Caroline BrewerBeing Human, Children’s Book Author, Literacy Consultant and Activist, SCBWI Member, MAEOE and VAASL Presenter -
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
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Seeing Them Fall In Love with Themselves
This is Part II of my answer to the question, Why did you write Darius Daniels: Game On!? It’s a great question and one that I often get from readers, whether students, teachers, librarians, parents, or adults, in general.
In Part I, I said my mother’s love helped me find the strength to persevere over 14 years to finish Darius Daniels, because the book began as a tribute to her remarkable life.
And then, remembering what I regularly witnessed in children also helped me to persevere.
I’ve said before that I’ve never met a child who wasn’t hungry to learn to read or read better. Many either didn’t have a lot of experience with reading or they didn’t have good experiences. So, as the children and I worked together, I quickly saw their fears and angst dissolve. What held them back disappeared into the ashes of time as confidence with the force of a wildfire fueled them on. They had fallen in love. They had fallen in love with themselves as readers.
I watched them declare themselves capable, good, and motivated. And that pushed me to persevere, to keep going, to pick up the manuscript again after it had sat on that proverbial shelf for 10 years.
I persevered because I loved seeing children who were diagnosed with disabilities – mental, emotional, and physical disabilities, children four, five, six grade levels behind with no diagnosed disabilities – become inspired to open up books and explore new worlds. I loved seeing them discover that reading for pleasure was a form of play, and they were utterly qualified to participate.
I persevered because I wanted to write a book for these children that I call hungry readers. I wanted to write a book about these children. I wanted to write a book for and about all of us as human beings who need to go somewhere special and come back loving ourselves a whole lot more.
Have you ever seen a hungry reader transform right in front of your eyes? I’d love to hear the story.
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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?