ABSTRACT
“The problems that existed in children’s literature when my first book was published more than twenty years ago still face us today. Therefore, my major goals for my work have changed very little since that time. I want to depict African American people in the variety and complexity in which we appear in real life. I want to counteract the stereotypes with which we are bombarded daily by books, films, and television and provide a mirror in which African American children can find themselves and their families. I write with the hope that my work will inspire in readers a love for themselves, a love for language and literature, and a commitment to humane values.”
