I'm Anna Gilchrist and I am the author and illustrator of the children's book, Daffodil Grey and the Colorful Parade, my second book in a series that focuses on diversity and children's human rights. My mission with this book is to allow children to be more aware of their rights as young people, and with the proper funding, have it reach as many families and schools as possible.
As for me, I have both clinical and practical experience working with children both in education and nonprofits in the US and abroad, and I hold a Masters in Childhood Studies. Since this is my second book, I have learned a ton about self-publishing, and even founded my own publishing company called Sandfish Publishing.
I wrote this book and my first one of the series for two reasons: first, there is a lack of children's books involving protagonists of color being written by actual authors of color. Many books are being published by white authors where the characters are "melaniated" or "choco-fied" to make them appear multicultural, but their stories tend to lack authenticity and misrepresent the cultural experience of those characters.
According to the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, about 24% of children's books that were published in 2018 were multicultural, an increase from previous years. However, less than half of those were actually created by authors/illustrators of color.
Illustration demonstrates data from the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education.
Secondly, there are very few books available in the U.S. about children's rights, as listed in the 54 articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This international agreement established in 1989 lists the political, religious, social, and cultural rights of children, and stipulates how our world governments should protect them. Unfortunately, the U.S. is currently the only nation that has yet to ratify this agreement, setting an unsettling precedent of children's lives being unprotected.
In Daffodil Grey and the Colorful Parade, a young girl of color named Daffodil and her cat , Teacake, show some twin brothers that making friends with children who are different in appearance, beliefs, and abilities can be fun! With this book, I hope to bring children's rights to the forefront, focusing particularly on a child's right to freedom of expressing one's beliefs and associating with other children. These two rights, along with others, are significant for a child's social development.
My target audience is elementary school-aged children ages 5-10 years. The National Center for Educational Statistics states there are currently 32.5 million school-aged children in the US, so I believe there is a real opportunity to reach many young minds, with adults willing to share this book and its message with their young ones.
With my first book, The Extraordinary Day of Daffodil Grey, I had just finished my Masters and needless to say, I was broke! Although I still managed to self-publish my book with minimal resources - and even received 5 stars on Amazon - I had a ton of trouble getting it printed and distributed to various libraries and bookstores. This time around, I want to make sure I have the funding necessary to ensure my message of love and diversity gets into as many classrooms, bookstores, and libraries as possible.
There are some really cool, fun rewards for you to take advantage of her on my campaign page including swag filled backpacks and a family getaway! Of course, no contribution is too small and is well appreciated.
Thank you so much for your support in helping me launch my new book, Daffodil Grey and Colorful Parade...
And remember, like Daffodil Grey, make every day EXTRAORDINARY!
