In this episode, author Andrea Davis Pinkney and her husband, illustrator Brian Pinkney, join host Suzanne McCabe to talk about their new picture book: Bright Brown Baby: A Treasury. Andrea and Brian have created dozens of acclaimed books for children, including Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America, Martin Rising: Requiem for a King, and illustrated biographies of Alvin Ailey, Duke Ellington, and Ella Fitzgerald.

Andrea, who is an executive editor and vice president at Scholastic, wrote the libretto for an operatic adaptation of Ezra Jack Keats’s 1962 classic, The Snowy Day, which had its world premiere at the Houston Grand Opera in December 2021.

In the episode, Andrea and Brian talk about their creative process, trends in children’s literature, and the recent loss of Brian’s father, Jerry Pinkney, an award-winning illustrator of more than 100 books for children.

Books by Andrea Davis Pinkney: See more titles by the Coretta Scott King award-winning author.

The Art of Brian Pinkney: See more of Brian’s illustrations.

Share Black Stories: Scholastic has curated titles ranging from picture books to young adult novels that center around Black lives and Black joy.

Remembering Jerry Pinkney: The New York Times calls the late children’s book illustrator “one of the most revered artists in the genre.”

Picture the Dream: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement Through Children's Books: Learn more about the first exhibition to delve into the events, people, and themes of the civil rights movement through children's books, which Andrea curated. 

Producer: Bridget Benjamin

Associate producer: Constance Gibbs

Sound engineer: Daniel Jordan

Music composer: Lucas Elliot Eberl

Celebrating Women’s History Month with Artist Bisa Butler and Educator Gholdy Muhammad