Authors and children inspire each other at the Black Child Book Fair
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Imagine a book fair where you get to meet the authors, and they all look like you.
That's what the Black Child Book Fair is all about.
The Black Child Book Fair made a return over the weekend for its fifth year of connecting independent Black authors with kids from around the city and all the kids are given a $10 voucher to make sure everyone walks away with something.
Authors filed into Malcolm X College on Chicago's West Side, unpacking, unwrapping, rearranging, and setting up for the Black Child Book Fair.
Among them is independent author, Nia Obotette. It's her second year having a booth at the fair
"The first time I came, I only had one book and now I have four (in the) series," Obotette said. And my series focuses on sports that are not your most popular sports, Because it was important for me to have our children and have my readers see people doing things that are a little different."
A need for greater Black representation and exposure in children's literature sparked the creation of the Black Child Book Fair five years ago.
"Unfortunately, only about 10% of mainstream children's books have Black faces in them."
Daryl Harvey is the director and creator of the event. He's also an independent author himself.
"This is how I started the whole thing with my first children's book," he said.
Harvey knew when he created the Black Child Book Fair, that there were more Black authors out there than those typically available on shelves
"This event serves a double purpose. Not only does it help parents teachers and children find books that they wouldn't normally find, but it also gives the independent author a place to shine," Harvey said.
It allows exposure to self-publish authors who don't have big publishing companies behind them and want to get their books out into the world.
What started as a small, local, Chicago event has now made its way to 15 states.
"And we've even visited London," added Harvey.
He brings in three dozen authors from across the country and then invites grade schools to bring their classes in, filling up Malcolm X College with hundreds of elementary schoolers.
At each stop, Black kids have a chance to see themselves both on the page -- and off.
"They can come and experience not only good books but meet authors and illustrators," Harvey said.
"It inspires them to see outside of the box that we put ourselves in and let them know that there are other places. There are other cultures that they can explore," Obotette said.
This year, they anticipated more than 500 kids over the two-day event and their calendar for the year is just getting started.
Harvey is taking the Black Child Book Fair to California, Massachusetts, and North Carolina, and that's just through April.
If you're interested in bringing a Black Child Book Fair to your neighborhood, you can reach out to their team via their website Black Child Book Fair.
