Yesterday was Bob Marley's birthday.  He was born on February 6, 1945 in Nine Mile, St. Ann parish, Jamaica.  If he were alive today, he would be 73 years old.  I am particularly partial to Bob Marley and his birthplace.  Not only because I used to wear my hair in dreadlocks, played keyboards and sang back up in a reggae band having performed some of Bob Marley's songs.  Or the fact that I was married to a musician and we have performed reggae songs together or that Bob Marley's birthday was declared a Toronto holiday by former mayor David Miller (see here), or that Redemption song is the only song I can play on the guitar or that it was inspired by a St. Ann's-native the late Honourable Marcus Garvey and a famous speech he made in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.  Or the fact that my father went to one of Bob Marley's final concerts at Maple Leaf Gardens in  1979 which you can listen to here.  These are plenty reasons to be partial but first and foremost my parents and family are from St. Ann parish, not far from Bob Marley was born.  In fact several years ago, I visited the Bob Marley Museum in Nine Mile, set in the Harbour Mountains.  There, I was asked if I was a cousin to the family.  I graciously said "no" but you never know.

Happy birthday, "Uncle" Bob Marley!  Here are some picture books that celebrate Bob Marley's birthday. 

​3. I and I 
Written by Tony Medina, illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson (2009, Lee & Low Books)
This book is a personal favourite.  It is full of luscious, scrumptious, gorgeous poetry and the illustrations are lifelike, rich, and "give life" .  I have had copies of this book in my classroom and they are so popular that I take them out for special displays so they don't end up in tatters.  The children love this book too.

​​4. Greetings, Leroy
Written by Itah Sadu, illustrated by Alix Delinois (2016, Groundwood Books)
This is an immigration story which chronicles the experience of a young Jamaican boy coming to Canada.  Through letters, Leroy shares his very earliest experiences and attachment to things from home like his love of Bob Marley's music.

Dear Readers,
​Happy New Year!  2017 was an eventful year full of challenges and triumphs.  I now enter a new year with the anticipation of wonderful things to come.  I have chosen ACTIVATION as my word for this year but I also wish to add FINISH, LOVE, and REPAY as well.  I am in the midst of FINISHing projects that I have begun in the last two years.  What are you planning to do this year?  I also wish to include balance.  I look forward to sharing some exciting developments with you my readers as well.  Hopefully the winter will not freeze out motivation and initiative.
Sincerely,
Nadia

1. Book Tour 
     I am currently in the process of gearing up for a very busy next few months.  I will be doing author visits, book signings, and story times in the following cities this January and February: Brampton, Kingston, Montreal, Mississauga (Malton), Toronto, Manhattan, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, and Brooklyn.  Plans are also in the works to visit Bolton.  Please stay tuned for details.  You can find tour dates here or listed below.

2.  Malaika #3 in the works
     I am excited to share that I am working on a Malaika… sequel.  I first began writing Malaika’s Costume first as a course project and than as a stand alone book that was published in 2016.  However, the story of this Caribbean little girl developed into what would become Malaika’s Winter Carnival  and eventually there will be a third.  Please stay tuned for details.

3. Malaika… the Play and OAC Recommenders Theatre Creators from YPT
​     My goal for 2017 and 2018 was and is to finish a full draft of Malaika: A Carnival Play. I began it in 2015. Although I haven't finished my complete first draft yet, I'm almost there. This week, I reached two milestones. 1) I received a letter from Young People's Theatre (YPT) announcing that I'll be a recipient of a Recommender Grant for Theatre Creators. This will help me with my goals with the manuscript. My second time receiving this grant from YPT (2016). Thank you. 2) Yesterday, I had my first workshopping of this almost completed full first draft of this manuscript on the last day of my Playwriting class at the Tarragon Theatre. It's my second time taking this class with Paula Wing. I laughed, trembled, and even shed a few tears. My very talented classmates, most of whom are actors or theatre professionals, did an amazing read and I received wonderful and helpful feedback. Thank you. Thank you. Dreams do come true. Stay tuned!

4. Words of Advice
     Take care of your health.  To be a successful writer, I feel that this is your number one priority.  When you are healthy, you have more energy to do things like writing.  Get health insurance.  If you are fully self-employed, find a cost effective plan.  If you are a member of the Writers Union of Canada or CANSCAIP, you can access a health plan for writers.  You want to be writing for a long time and many books at that so take care.

5.  Presentation dates in January to May 2018 (Book me! nadialhohn@gmail.com)
See event link here for details, times, and addresses
Thursday, January 25, 2018 Literacy Week school presentation, Thornhill, ON
Friday, January 26, 2018 Literacy Week school presentation, Kingston, ON
Saturday, January 27, 2018 Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, Montreal, QU
Sunday, January 28, 2018 Babar Books, Montreal, QU
Friday, February 2, 2018  Malton Library, Mississauga, ON
Saturday, February 3, 2018 11am-12pm Richmond Hill Library, Richmond Hill, ON
Saturday, February 3, 2018 Totsapalooza in Toronto, ON
Sunday, February 4, 2018 Chapters Brampton in Brampton, ON
Friday, February 9 Bank Street Book Store, New York, NY
Saturday, February 10 Books of Wonder (location, time TBA)
Saturday, Febraury 10 Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn, NY
Sunday, February 11, 2018 Books of Wonder (location, time TBA)
Friday, February 16 School presentation, Markham, ON
Saturday, February 17 2-5pm Yonge & Eglinton Indigo bookstore
Tuesday, Febraury 20, 2018 1-2pm Parkdale Public Library in Toronto, ON
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 1-2pm Barbara Frum Public Library in Toronto, ON
Thursday, February 22 and Friday, February 23 School Presentation, Brampton, ON
Saturday, February 24 High Park Public Library in Toronto, ON
Sunday, March 18 Vaughan Chapter’s Bookstore in Vaughan, ON
May (date, time TBA) Eric Carle Museum, Amherst, MA

I tend to read a lot even though I am very busy.  Between being a full-time teacher, published-author, writer, and part-time student, I find creative ways to get books into my literary diet.  Mostly, I get my "books on" through audiobooks and Kindle-on-a-treadmill. 

​I listen to audiobooks in my car.  Audiobooks are books narrated onto compact discs (CDs). I read during my drives to work, class, and everywhere I go.  I live in Toronto which has an amazing public library system with over 100 branches.  Wherever I find myself in the city, I visit the local library.  (I love visiting my local branch too.)  There, I borrow several audiobooks.  Of course this means my selection is restricted to what is available at the branch.  Also, not every novel becomes  an audio book but that is part of the fun.  I get to read things that I normally do not read like The Grapes of Wrath (I rated 5 stars on Goodreads) and Pride and Prejudice (2 stars).

Another way I get books into my busy schedule is my Kindle.  The Kindle is a brand of e-reader which one can read electronic books.  I find it useful for reading novels due to its portability and its size.  I purchased my Kindle before taking my first international trip to Europe in December 2016.  Since then, I use my Kindle when I go to the gym.  I put it on the treadmill, increase the font size to one that is large enough to see, and then start running (I am currently training for a 10km).  I love doing this because it actually makes running fun for me.  Instead of staring out the window, the minutes I have left, or some dessert-making reality show on the Food network (yes, the Food network at a gym), I get to inhabit the world of my characters, read work by my favourite writers, and get more inspiration for my own books.

All that said, I do read regular books.  I have quite the collection and it always seems to keep growing.  However, I read real books much more slowly (much, much more slowly).  

I love to write reviews of what I read on Goodreads and I have written several and share them on my Facebook page.  (Check out my Goodreads page.) I am a little slow with technology, it dawned on me that I could put these reviews on my Goodreads blog.  So I started doing that.  And then, this morning, it dawned on me, I can write reviews of What I am Reading? on my blog.  So today will be the first official day I do that.

I read Clayton Byrd Goes Underground on my Kindle while on my treadmill mostly and the last couple pages in my bed, under the covers (the best place to read).  Author Rita Williams-Garcia books are so catchy.  I have read almost all of them.  I truly felt the music in Clayton Byrd Goes Underground-- the blues, the tunes from Clayton's blues harp (his harmonica), and Cool Papa's guitar Wah-Wah-nita.  This book took me on an emotional journey.  It felt like one continuous thread as the reader follows one day in the life of Clayton Byrd that changed everything for him.  Having dealt with my own grief over the past six months (sudden deaths of my younger brother passed in July and my publisher passed away in November), I completely related to Clayton's desire to hold on to what little physical reminders he had left of the man who had the most influence in his life, Cool Papa.  I felt Clayton's pain and his desire to run away from it all when those around him did not understand the losses he experienced, his emotions, or even his narcolepsy.  Like all of Rita's books, there is this realism and sadness but also tons of hope and humour.  I don't want to give it all away here either so I will stop describing here.  I was so happy to learn this week that Clayton Byrd Goes Underground also won the 2018 NAACP Image Award for Young Adult and Middle Grade Literature.  Congratulations, Ms. Rita!  Lastly, I really loved the afterword as well that gave the background, research, and inspiration for this story as well as history of hip hop and the blues.

After a certain statement was made by a certain president about Haitians coming from an expletive [s*&%#@!e] country (which he denies), I felt the need to share part of my world.  There are Haitian people in my friendship circle and family and also in my world as a writer.  I wanted to share the marvelous contributions that people and people of Haitian descent in the field of kidlit (and I snuck a few other genres in, as well). These individuals are rockstars in their own right and since I know there are many who I have missed, I will continue to update this list.  Since I am not Haitian however, I have a huge respect for this nation and its accomplishments.  (We Caribbean people often say that it was only a difference of which slaveship we arrived on or which ports they stopped off at or sold Africans to which made a difference in which Caribbean island one originates.) Besides the connection of Haiti being the first free Black republic, a nation built by self-emancipated former slaves, I have a love for Haitian dance and zouk music and kompa.  I was even the first to propose and teach a Creole French course in the Toronto District School Board, where I work.

But I digress.  In this article, you will also individuals with whom I have had the pleasure of meeting and/or working  (hence the photos that include me). I will be updating this blogpost with news from Haitian-born and Haitian-descended authors.

And for more reading about Haiti, check out these children and young adult books on the Keryolicious blog here.

So without further ado, I present to you Haitians in KidLit.  

Edwidge Danticat
Best known for her award-winning debut novel Breathe, Eyes, Memory and writing books selected for Oprah's Book Club, Edwidge Danticat is also often called on to comment on the events of Haiti and the Haitian-American diaspora which is a breath of fresh air and clearly thought-provoking.  She is humble and both times I met her (once in New York City and the other in her hometown Miami(, I was starstruck.  She also does a lot of work in Haiti.

Ibi Zoboi
Ibi Zoboi (left) is an author and scholar based in Brooklyn, New York.  Her debut novel American Street was met with accolades and many awards and nominations including the National Book Award in 2017.  For more news about her upcoming books, check out her website here and Twitter at @ibizoboi.

Leonicka Valcius
Leonicka Valcius is a publishing professional who has whose work encompasses children's literature and other genres.  She is the founder of DiverseCanLit, a growing online resource promoting equity and inclusion in Canadian publishing and literature. She is also the Chair of The FOLD Foundation Board of Directors. For more information visit www.leonicka.com and follow her on Twitter @leonicka.  Leonicka is an amazing person to work with and knows the publishing industry so well.  She is based in Toronto.
​

Alix Delinois
Alix Delinois (left) illustrated many books for well-known authors including Edwidge Danticat (Eight Days: A Story of Haiti pictured above), Itah Sadu (Greetings Leroy pictured below), and Walter Dean Myers (Muhammad (Muhammad Ali: The People's Champion).  He is an illustrator, visual artist, and teacher based in New York City.  Check out his work here.

Dany Laferrière
Unlike anyone on this list, I have never met Dany Laferrière in my life however his picture books are entertaining and the film adaptations to his award-winning novels are amazing. He is an author, journalist, and the first Quebecer and Black person to the Académie française, a council that meets on matters pertaining to the French language.  Dany is Haitian-Canadian and lives in Montreal.

* Please note that I had to remove Dany Laferrière's images from my website.  Unbeknownst to me, there was a copyright infringement and I had to pay a fine.

While living and working in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, I was blessed to meet several talented people.  Two of them were women poets of the Haitian diaspora who have writing in the works.

Christine Jean-Blain 
Although I lived in Dubai for 3 months, I started a writing group for women of colour during Ramadan and I called it Ramadan Write-In.  These were a series of 5 workshops in Abu Dhabi and Dubai usually in air-conditioned cafes which were a huge welcome to the blazing white-hot 45 degree Celsius days.  While in Dubai, I met my co-worker Christine Jean-Blain and was pleased to learn that she was a poet, spoken word artist, and aspiring author.  Christine has a way with words, so much so that she has been published in a variety of online mediums. You can check out her work here.

Dajena Victor
Now based in Montreal, Dajena is a lover of spoken word especially the Christian spoken word variety.  Currently she has a project "in the works" which is coming out in March.  You can check her out on Instagram at @dajvic.  You can see an interpretation of her poem La Voix below.

According to statistics from the University of Wisconsin's Cooperative Children's Book Center in 2016, less than 6% of books were by written by people of colour and 2.8% by Black people in the United States.  Zetta Elliott's list showed 59 middle grade (MG) and young adult (YA) titles by African-American authors in 2016. As low as these stats were, how did the numbers compare in 2017? And how do we compare in Canada? As small as these American statistics may seem, the numbers in Canada are much more concerning and I feel like it cannot only be attributed to our smaller population. ​