Black History Month: Black Books

Welcome to the first annual Black History Month Hop hosted by Reflections of a Bookaholic and Mocha Girls Read a month long blogging event which focuses on giving black authors, books, and those who support them a month in the spotlight.

For the fourth week of the hop we have a few things planned for you. What’s a hop you ask?  At the bottom of each post you will find a list of other sites participating in the hop.  This way you can easily hop from one blog to another.

Weekly Topics for the Black History Month Hop
1st – 7th Black History Month Giveaway Hop
2nd – 4th Around Town
    5th – 11th The Business of Black Books
   12th – 18th  Black Love
    19th – 25th  Black Books
26th – 29th  The Best of…

We have a lot of giveaways going on right now from great Black authors.  All winners will be announced on 2/29/2012.

 Anna Black’s “Who Do I Run To?”  (Ends 2/19)

Terri D’s “Yesterday Lies” (Ends 2/20)

Beverly Jenkins’s Book (2 winners) (Ends 2/21)

Delaney Diamond’s “The Temptation of a Good Man” (Ends 2/22)

Reene Jacob’s “Regina’ Story” & “Brandon’s Story” (Ends 2/24)

Monda Webb’s “7:33am” (Ends 2/25)

This is the week we introduce you to books by Black authors or with Black character.

Princess Atelai and the Wishing Star

Princess Atelia And The Wishing Star is not an ordinary princess tale. Atelia is not like the other girls in her neighborhood and school. Some may consider her to be a tomboy. When faced with the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up”, in a class discussion, Atelia made an unexpected choice that caused her to be teased and taunted by her classmates.

Going through ups and downs, trying to be something that she’s not. Atelia soon realizes that she is okay with being who she is. My story touches on gender issues, self-esteem, and confident in a fun way. It’s very relatable to children on the elementary level. It’s a must have for your child’s personal library.

Snippet of Princess Atelia and the Wishing Star..

After recess, Atelia sat at her desk drawing superheroes until Mrs. Wellington the
English teacher got ready to start the lessons. “Good afternoon”, Mrs. Wellington
cheerfully said, “today we are going to have a class discussion on When I grow up,
I want to be a…. “Great”, Atelia depressingly thought to herself. She never
thought about what she wanted to be when she got older. All she cared about was
being ten. After listening to how Sabrina wants to be a nurse like her mom and
how Michael wants to be the most exciting lion tamer of all time, it was now
Atelia’s turn.

She thought and thought and thought some more, but she couldn’t think of what
she wanted to be. She glanced at Mrs. Wellington and saw her impatiently tapping
her fingernails against the desk. With a big smile Atelia blurted out “when I grow
up I want to be a princess!” “A princess!” one of the boys snickered. “Boys can’t
be princesses!” another boy teased. The class roared with laughter.

Lynette Roberts

Lynette Roberts was born and raised in Savannah, GA. Currently reside in Atlanta, GA. Growing up, writing was always one of her favorite pastimes. She self published her first book, Princess Atelia and the Wishing Star in early September 2010. However, the story was written in 2006. Lynette wants to represent a princess of color who was also a little girl, facing problems that many children deal with. This isn’t an ordinary princess tale, it touches on gender issues, self-esteem, and confidence in a fun and entertaining way. Princess Atelia and the Wishing Star www.princessatelia.blogspot.com

You can get a copy of Lynette’s book at Lulu.com which is a company that helps Authors self publish.

Check out the other blogs and the books they are talking about. Bloggers add your link to the linky as well. One lucky blogger will win a great prize for joining this week.