Don Tate Popular Books

Don Tate Biography & Facts

Don Tate (born December 21, 1963) is an American author and illustrator of books for children. He is also an activist promoting racial and cultural inclusiveness in children's literature. He notes that as a child he had to read the encyclopedia to discover a multicultural world; based on the children's books of his day he "thought the world was white". He co-founded the young African American blog The Brown Bookshelf and helps run the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign to improve diversity of material in children's books. Career Tate began his career as an illustrator with Say Hey: A Song of Willie Mays (Jump at the Sun/Hyperion, 2000), written by Peter Mandel. His first book as an author, It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, was published by Lee & Low Books in 2012. It is a "captivating" biography of folk artist Bill Traylor, a former slave. The book received numerous awards such as a Lee & Low New Voices Honor Award and an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor. It was selected as a Kirkus Best Children’s Books List Selection, a Booklist Editors’ Choice, 2012, and a New York Public Library Top 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing as well as one of Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year, 2012. Tate's 2015 illustrated picture book Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton tells the story of the 19th century slave in Chatham County, North Carolina who subsequently became the first African American in the Southern United States to write a book. Tate was inspired to write about Horton via a friend; he researched his life in the University of North Carolina archives. The Wilson Library at UNC hosted the national launch of the book on September 3, 2015. A review in the School Library Journal called the book "A lovely introduction to an inspirational American poet." The Boston Globe called it "a moving biography of a slave who taught himself to read using a discarded spelling book". In 2016, Tate won an Ezra Jack Keats Book Award, A Christopher, and a Texas Institute of Letters book prize. Tate was the recipient of the Texas Book Festival's Texas Writer Award in 2021, and was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters in 2022. In his work, Tate often writes about historical figures who persisted during the period of American slavery. In the New York Times article "'A Fine Dessert': Judging a Book by the Smile of a Slave," Tate was quoted on the topic, saying, "children's books needed to show a range of experience, including suffering and enduring." In 2016 television segment of Texas Country Reporter, Tate spoke about his work with stories of enslaved people and preserving these important narratives, stating the importance of telling children the truth and not sugar coating history. Bibliography Author Jerry Changed The Game: How Engineer Jerry Lawson Revolutionized Video Games Forever. Simon & Schuster. 2023 Pigskins to Paintbrushes: The Story of Football-Playing Artist Ernie Barnes. Abrams. 2021 William Still And His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad. Peachtree Publishers. 2020 Strong As Sandow: How Eugen Sandow Became The Strongest Man On Earth. Charlesbridge Publishing. 2017 It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Lee & Low Books. 2012 Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton. Peachtree Publishers. 2015 (for which Tate won the Carter G. Woodson Book Award) Illustrator Roto and Roy: To The Rescue (Little Brown, 2023), written by Sherri Duskey Rinker. Roto and Roy: Helicopter Heroes (Little Brown, 2022), written by Sherri Duskey Rinker. Swish! The Slam-Dunking, Alley-Ooping, High-Flying Harlem Globetrotters (Little Brown, 2020), written by Suzanne Slade. Carter Reads The Newspaper (Peachtree Publishers, Feb 1. 2019), written by Deborah Hopkinson. The Story of Carter G. Woodson, "Father of Black History.". No Small Potatoes: Junius G. Groves and His Kingdom in Kansas (Random House Children’s Books / Alfred A. Knopf BFYR), October. 2018), written by Tonya Bolden. Named a Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2019, assembled in cooperation with the Children’s Book Council (CBC). Stalebread Charlie and the Razzy Dazzy Spasm Band (Clarion Books, July 10. 2018), written by Michael Mahin. Par-Tay! Dance of the Veggies (And Their Friends) (Alazar, April 1. 2018), written by Eloise Greenfield. Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream on Inventions (Charlesbridge, May. 2016), written by Chris Barton. A Junior Library Guild Selection, 2016. The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch (Eerdmans Publishing, April. 2015), written by Chris Barton. A review in the School Library Journal said Tate was "the best possible artist for this story." The Cart That Carried Martin (Charlesbridge, Aug. 2013), written by Eve Bunting. A Junior Library Guild Selection, 2013. Hope’s Gift (Putnam Juvenile, 2012), written by Kelly Starling Lyons. A Winter/Spring Okra Pick by Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA). Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite (Charlesbridge, 2011), written by Anna Harwell Celenza. (Recognized in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times holiday guides.) She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story (HarperCollins, 2010), written by Audrey Vernick. A Junior Library Guild selection. School Library Journal said, "Both author and illustrator are on top of their games as they bring this inspiring story to life.” She Loved Baseball was honored by the Bank Street College of Education as a Best Children’s Books of the Year. Ron’s Big Mission (Dutton, 2009), written by Rose Blue and Corrine Naden, is a Junior Library Guild spring 2009 selection. I Am My Granda's Enkelin (Paraclete Press, 2007), written by Walter Wangerin Jr. The Hidden Feast (August House, 2006), written by Mitch Weiss and Martha Hamilton. Sure As Sunrise: Stories of Bruh Rabbit & His Walkin' Talkin' Friends (Houghton Mifflin, 2004), written by Alice McGill. Honored in 2005 with an Aesop Accolade Award from the American Folklore Society. Black All Around! (Lee & Low Books, 2003), written by Patricia Hubbell. The Legend of the Valentine: An Inspirational Story of Love and Reconciliation (Zondervan, 2002), written by Katherine Grace Bond. Summer Sun Risin’ (Lee & Low Books, 2002). Honored by the Bank Street College of Education as “Best Children’s Books of the Year for 2002.” It also received a Children’s Crown Award, 2003 by the National Christian School Association Master List. Say Hey! A Song of Willie Mays (Hyperion Books for Children , 2000), written by Peter Mandell. Short stories and essays Macaroni and Cheese — with Ketchup, in Cookin' 'N Bookin' Texas Style, written by Tara Henderson Forrest, published by the Texas State Reading Association, Jan. 2004. Stolen Jeans, Smoke Rings, and Self-Esteem in Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves, edited by Miranda Kenneally and E. Kristin Anderson, pu.... Discover the Don Tate popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Don Tate books.