©DON TATE
ILLUSTRATION
The printed bookGetting a final printed product seemed to take a lifetime. I grew impatient waiting on my copies to arrive in the mail, so I bought one from Book People (a local bookstore), which somehow was able to stock them before everyone else and a month before the official release date.
I was very happy with the color reproduction. Mary Ellen Hanley, a designer at Houghton Mifflin, did a fantastic job with the font selection, and her color choices were right on.
Because of the characters (animals) Sure As Sunrise has quickly become the favorite book of my career. That's because I find myself with a problem that Sure As Sunrise may be the answer to. I hope this does not come across too negatively, but I often find myself in the minority at a book festival, book fair or similar literary event -- the one and only African-American author/illustrator at a particular event. And I have no problem with that. I've built my book-making career by helping fill that niche that publishers have for books by and about African Americans.
My books are primarily created with the African-American child in mind, but African-American parents are scarce to nonexistent at most of the events I have participated in. I usually find myself sitting at a book signing table between two white authors and a crowd of white people. Although whites tell me they like my artwork, they seem to be shy about purchasing a book for their child that features a black person on the cover. One guy even hinted that although he liked my work, purchasing a book that features a black person might be confusing for his child. I look around the crowd for my book-buying public, and they aren't there.
Most African Americans who are present give lots of positive feedback, glad to see a brotha represent, but pass on purchasing a book.
Maybe the problem is economics, the average picturebook being in the range of $16.00 - $18.00. Maybe advertising these events to the black community could be improved. Possibly its a regional thing, most of the events I participate in are here in Texas. Or possibly theres a general lack of interest in children's literature by black parents. I hate considering that one. But once again, this past weekend, I find myself at a community children's literary event, and once again, blacks are scarce in attendance (Ok, let's be honest, there were none). But Sure As Sunrise sold well at this event to the parents who did attend. So I am excited to have finally had the opportunity to illustrated a book that everyone can enjoy and relate to regardless of the racial makeup of the book-buying public.