Children’s Book Press Turns 50!
Children’s Book Press, founded by Harriet Rohmer in 1975, published my second picture book, Chachaji’s Cup, a story set against the history of India’s partition, at a time when American picture books with brown characters were about as rare as flying pigs. When the press closed and the CBP list was acquired by another of my publishers, Lee and Low, it felt like predestination.
This year, Children's Book Press turns 50. In honor of this milestone, I'm reviving an old post from 2010, the year they turned 35, when I traded emails with editors I’d worked with, Janet del Mundo and Dana Goldberg.
[Uma] Congratulations! Thirty-five years seems like a telescoped history of modern-day children's publishing. Can you talk about the history of the press and its founding by legendary writer, activist, visionary Harriet Rohmer? What does that beginning mean to you all today?
[Dana] CBP was founded by Harriet in 1975 with a government grant. Her original project was to use the grant money to produce 12 paperback bilingual books (all stories taken from the oral folk traditions of various Latin American cultures) which were to be given away to Head Start programs. It was a beautiful concept, and after the grant was over Harriet knew that the need for those kinds of books like that was still there, so she decided to continue the work she had begun that initial grant. When I think about CBP’s earliest beginnings, I’m amazed at both how far the publishing industry has come, in some ways, and how far it has to go to ensure that all children regularly see themselves reflected in the pages of the books they read. Only a very small percentage of children’s books published every year feature protagonists of color, and only a very small percentage of those books are written or illustrated by people of color, so there is still a lot of work to be done. The industry’s output still does not (not by a long shot!), represent or reflect the real demographics of our nation, and that has to change.
“Harriet Rohmer...was really a pioneer.... She recognized the shifting demographics in our country and saw the need to represent children of color in literature. ”
[Janet] I am so proud to be part of the important work of Children’s Book Press (CBP). CBP was the first nonprofit press in the country established to focus solely on multicultural and bilingual literature. Harriet Rohmer, our founder, was really a pioneer in that regard. She recognized the shifting demographics in our country and saw the need to represent children of color in literature. Many other presses have come along since with a similar mission, but I think Harriet and CBP deserve credit for being the first, for paving the way. I think CBP and our work continues to be significant, 35 years later. We’re still publishing books that push boundaries, books that fill an important need. The country has changed a lot since 1975. How people talk about race has changed, and certainly how children of color see themselves has changed. I think our books have always been and will continue to be part of that conversation.
“Every book is a challenge, every book is a learning experience, and every book is a delight. ”
[Uma] CBP books have won awards, been turned into plays, and found their way into many classrooms and homes. Talk about projects, past or current, that were particularly delightful to work on.
[Dana] Every book is a challenge, every book is a learning experience, and every book is a delight. A few projects in recent years that come to mind, though: On My Block, an anthology that brought together a wonderfully diverse group of 15 artists, all writing about & illustrating different places that hold particular meaning for them; My Papa Diego & Me, which allowed us very special access to Diego Rivera’s work and legacy via his daughter (the author), Guadalupe Rivera Marín, and her stories about her remarkable childhood; and From North to South…about a boy whose mother is deported back to Mexico because she doesn’t have the proper papers – it’s an issue that is so very topical right now, and the author, René Colato Laínez, has done an amazing job gently and tenderly expressing a child’s perspective on the trauma of family separation due to a parent’s immigration status.
[Janet del Mundo] There are so many things I find rewarding about working here, but I think one thing I’ve really enjoyed is seeing how our books can achieve another life beyond the page. For example, Uma, when your book, Chachaji’s Cup was turned into a musical and I actually got to see the production, I was blown away! (I’m not just saying this because I’m writing for your blog!) To see one of our own books brought to life on stage, with actors, musicians, dancers, it was really breathtaking, and I almost cried. Or when a number of our books were produced into bilingual audio books. It was great to be able to listen to our stories in multiple languages and to know that children all over the world could enjoy the stories in this way.
[Uma] Anything else you'd like to say?
[Dana] Thirty-five years is a significant milestone for any nonprofit, and I’m so humbled and thrilled to participate in the work we do. I have to express my deepest gratitude to the authors, artists, designers, librarians, teachers, parents and kids who have been part of the CBP family for the past 35 years. Their talents, energy, passion, creativity, and commitment to children are boundless and amazing, and make what we do possible!
And this from Lorraine García Nakata, then publisher at Children’s Book Press:
[Uma] As I understand it, Children's Book Press began with a commitment to authentic retold tales from communities of color. How has that vision guided the organization, and how has it been expanded over the years?
[Lorraine] Founded by Harriet Rohmer in 1975, Children’s Book Press entered a stubborn U.S. social landscape. On the heels of the 1950s, when individuals in the U.S. were expected to set aside their ethnic and cultural identity, the 1960s and 70s were nudged forward by cultural movements offering a platform of self-discovery, recognition of cultural history, and a fundamental redefinition of community. In the field of education, literary tools hadn’t yet begun to reflect the cultural spectrum of the students they were charged to serve.
It was a very different environment when Harriet Rohmer began stirring the children’s literary soup. During a conversation, Harriet shared, “My children were young and I told them stories. It was a natural thing to do because there weren’t books at that time that were relevant to their experience or to the other children in their lives. Once our first books were printed, teachers and librarians liked them because the kids responded so well to them. Those that were having a hard time with our books said they were ‘nice, but they are not children’s literature’––at least children’s literature as they knew it. These new publications were not in the ‘tradition.’ Children’s books at that time used subdued colors, pastels for kids. Bright colors were considered peasant or unsophisticated. Of course that changed. Kids love colors. What a surprise,” Harriet went on to state.
Intent on changing the landscape of children’s literature, Children’s Book Press became the first U.S. nonprofit independent press focused on publishing first voice multicultural and bilingual books for children. Through their own stories, art, and home languages, underrepresented African American, Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native American communities could finally speak for themselves, in first voice. While some US publishers now offer bilingual books for children, countless educators, parents, childcare providers, and librarians keep coming back to Children’s Book Press. And why is that? It is because most of our books are authored and illustrated from within the communities represented in our books. It makes a difference in the stories’ content, who is telling them, and what is depicted in the illustrations.
Children’s Book Press continues to inspire kids to read while also changing the publishing landscape. Currently, a growing number of literacy initiatives are exploring not only how children acquire language, but also how learning styles are unique to various cultures. Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District Carlos A. García shared that a young child’s “enthusiasm to read and parent participation in the support process, is increased when they can see themselves reflected in books they are provided.” This is how Children’s Book Press moves to the front of the line. When you see yourself reflected in the reading experience, you feel you are a part of that experience.
[Uma] What do you see as the next frontier?
[Lorraine] Children’s Book Press continues to explore the dynamic cultural terrain unique to the United States and this will continue to be key in “multicultural” publishing. Now rounding midway toward its fourth decade, our small but influential press is gaining steam because the message of “culture as asset” is once again important given the mercurial nature of current national commentary and public exchanges on race and identity. While everyone is still standing and blinking or worse yet injecting ill-founded assertions about cultural populations, home languages, and outright deletions of history, Children’s Book Press keeps moving forward publishing yet another book that will make a difference. As the push and pull over the American cultural identity continues, it becomes more evident that our many cultures are in fact the foundation of the American identity. This is an avenue that multicultural publishing in this country is yet to fully grasp. Interestingly enough, the rest of the world recognizes the pluralism of the American face. However, as a country, we are still coming to terms with who we really are. But, I have faith it will be recognized and we will continue to work with that in mind. To think otherwise stunts the vision and the potential of this country and our relationships here and abroad.
“With all the bad news we are hearing and the good sense that is so easily traded away for anxiety and just getting mad, we need to hear about what is working. So, take a deep breath, a really deep one. Then, clear a spot, a great big area, to sit, share, and enjoy the children’s books that continue to read wise and change the world through words and pictures.”
[Uma] Anything else you want to add?
[Lorraine] Children’s Book Press is in the business of illuminating ideas, cultures, and interrelationships that were formerly unrecognized or considered. Over three decades, this award-winning press has illuminated diverse cultural perspectives and experiences so that young children, their families and community, can explore their own cultures and those of other cultures of our nation.
So, from one day to the next, from year one to the celebration of our 35th anniversary, Children’s Book Press will continue its forward momentum. It is a miracle that such a small Press can influence the national arena to the extent that it has and also survive for so long, during tough economic times, while remaining on the “A list.” With all the bad news we are hearing and the good sense that is so easily traded away for anxiety and just getting mad, we need to hear about what is working. So, take a deep breath, a really deep one. Then, clear a spot, a great big area, to sit, share, and enjoy the children’s books that continue to read wise and change the world through words and pictures.
Parts of these interviews feel like a snapshot of 2010, yet other passages read like a commentary on our own time. Who could have dreamed that From North to South, René Colato Laínez’s beautiful book about family separation, would take on such a dreadful urgency in 2025? Stories are gifts—and sometimes they are lifelines. Time has made Harriet Rohmer’s publishing vision more significant, more necessary, than even she might have dreamed, back in 1975.
