For the past 13 years,
The Brown Bookshelf, a website launched in 2007 by children’s authors Varian Johnson and Paula Chase, has promoted Black authors and illustrators with such initiatives as 28 Days Later through which, on each day in February, the site spotlights a different children’s or YA book creator, with a focus on books that otherwise might be overlooked. This summer,
Brown Bookshelf launched the Generations Book Club, which twice a month (except in February) recommends four books by Black authors for readers of all ages. The recommendations include a picture book, middle grade and YA reads, plus a book for adults. A link to Brain Lair Bookstore is pumping up sales of these titles at that Black-owned indie in South Bend, Ind.