My first children’s book, Jim Limber Davis: A Black Orphan in the Confederate White House, will be in print the first of May. If you live in Monroe, Louisiana, you’ll be able to purchase it at Windows: A Bookshop. I have a signing scheduled there, Saturday,  May19, 2007 from 2-4 in the afternoon.  On thinking about all of the work that lies ahead of me in the promotion of this book, I came upon a great little site giving aspiring authors 10 tips on writing children’s books. You can read the author’s suggestions here: http://www.wvculture.org/arts/artworks/Fall01/childrens.html

The book will be published by Pelican Publshing in Gretna, Louisiana. I was fortunate to partner with a fantastic illustrator, Judith Hierstein. Here’s a little note about her from the book’s Amazon.com page:

Judith Hierstein believes that “pictures should begin where the written word ends.” She encourages children to share in her love of learning about other cultures through illustrated books. Ms. Hierstein holds a B.A. in art from the University of Iowa. A former elementary-school teacher, she now teaches high-school graphic and media arts. She sees digital art as “another exciting media to explore when illustrating for children.” Aside from teaching and learning,Hierstein has also illustrated a number of children’s books for Pelican Publishing. Ms. Hierstein resides in Tucson, Arizona.