It is always a humbling experience to talk to someone that wears her heart and her life’s passion on her sleeve. Such was the case when I interview Carylee Carrington last week. A Jamaican born, raised in New York City children’s book author on a mission to ensure that children have access to diverse literature wherever they live.
To that end, Carylee founded her 501 c-3 non-profit, Read with Carylee, with the purpose of supporting and championing the call for diverse literature for all children.
I invite you to watch our IGTV!
Known as the Queen of Tutus, (she wears tutus for her interviews and promos), Carylee is also a YouTube and podcast host. She was inspired to start this journey by her eldest son as he came home from school one day saying his classmates didn’t want to play with him because of the color of his skin. “One of my main goals as an author is to encourage children to embrace their differences and that of others, and to embrace their uniqueness.”
Carylee’s first book, Everyone, Just Like Me, is the story of a boy named Joshua that wears glasses. He feels different and doesn’t want others to laugh at him. It is a story that shows that everyone has something beautiful and unique, that each person is special regardless of wearing glasses, or the color of our skin, a birth condition, our gender, our culture, our language.
Her second book, Pretty Hair, is a story to teach girls that there are many varieties of styles and textures of hair and to feel pretty no matter what!
Tips for raising children to love diverse books:
- Explore diverse books, authors.
- Expose children to diverse cultural experiences
- Find ways to stop boxing kids – there is a whole world out there they need to know about.
For more about Carylee’s non-profit and her books, visit her website and follow her on Instagram.
Thank you, Carylee!
