1. An Interview with George and Bernette Ford
- Author
-
Sutton, Roger
- Subjects
Cartoonists and animators -- Interviews ,Children's writers -- Interviews ,Books ,Career opportunities ,Book publishing ,Children's books ,African Americans ,Children's stories ,African American children ,Children's literature ,Publishing industry ,Editors ,Literature/writing ,Publishing industry - Abstract
George and Bernette Ford are two icons of African American children's literature. George is the winner of the first Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, in 1974, for Ray Charles (written by Sharon Bell Mathis) and a past president of the Council on Interracial Books for Children. He and Bernette were also active members of the organization Black Creators for Children [see Dianne Johnson-Feelings's article on page 41]. Bernette's long career in children's publishing began at Random House in the 1970s. At Grosset & Dunlap, she became the first African American vice president of a major children's publishing house. She is the founder of the Cartwheel Books imprint at Scholastic, where she also served as a VP, and in 2003 founded Color-Bridge Books, a book packager specializing in multicultural books for children. In February 2018, Horn Book editor in chief Roger Sutton spoke with the Fords by phone about the fiftieth anniversary of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards and the history and future of Black children's books., ROGER SUTTON: What was publishing like before the Coretta Scott King Book Awards were founded? GEORGE FORD: It's a lot to think about. And I have been thinking about it. [...]
- Published
- 2019