Eleanora E. Tate
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 Shaka Zulu (aka Shakaleg) will be adding his dog tales to the web site. Upcoming are his notes after meeting Bill (Bubba) Clinton in his cowboy boots. Bill's cowboy boots, not Shaka's... I was named to the Brown Book Shelf's "twenty-eight days later" list of the "best and brightest authors of children's literature," a "black history celebration of children's literature." What an honor! The Brown Book Shelf is sponsored by the National African-American Read-in Chain; the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English; the African-American Children's Book Writers & Illustrators; and the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. The Brown Book Shelf team includes Paula Chase-Hyman and Varian Johnson (founders), Don Tate, Kelly Starling-Lyons, and Carla Sarratt. Thank you so much. Makes this old writing warrior feel so good. For a poster and more information, go to: http:/ NEW! A discussion guide is now available for Celeste's Harlem Renaissance. Hooray! Go to my Books pages. AUTHOR VISITS I make Author Visits to elementary schools, selected middle schools, writers and reading conferences, churches, bookstores, book clubs, libraries, universities and colleges. When you have me, my books, and the film Just an Overnight Guest based on my book (same name), you've got a winning combination!When sending me an e-mail for more information, please include your name, title, and mailing address.Students, if you e-mail me for information, please include your full name, the name and an email address of your teacher, and the name of your school. Institute of Children's Literature I'm an instructor with the Institute of Children's Literature, headquartered in West Redding, CT.Go to: InstituteChildrensLit.com 2008 National Black Storytelling Festival and Conference This is a unique, enthralling, traveling national festival sponsored by the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc. (NABS), headquartered in Baltimore, MD. I was a national board member 1988-1992, was NABS' national president from 1990-1992, and national South Carolina festival co-director in 1991. For info about the 2008 festival and about the life of the late Mother Mary Carter Smith, NABS co-founder, go to: www.nabsinc.org |
Wazzup! AAUW Award for Celeste Is an Award Winner!!! Hooray! Celeste's Harlem Renaissance has been named an International Reading Association (IRA) 2008 "Teachers Choice" Award winner! It's also the 2007 North Carolina Book Award for Juvenile Literature. This award is sponsored by the NC Chapter of the American Association of University Women. This award recognizes the year's best work of juvenile literature by a North Carolina resident. It's one of four distinguished awards that make up the North Carolina Book Awards. On behalf of Celeste and the other characters in my book, thank you very, very much. Onward and upward! When Celeste Lassiter Massey must travel to Harlem to live with her actress Aunt Valentina, she's not thrilled at all to leave her friends, home and Poppa in comfortable Raleigh, North Carolina for New York's 1921 fast life. While Celeste absorbs the grit and glamour of Aunt Valentina's lifestyle and the excitement of the Harlem Renaissance, she constantly wonders and worries about Poppa, her friends, and even her cranky Aunt Society (her Raleigh live-in aunt-in-charge) back home. Talk about dangers, hard work, and romance! What about that fine, bald-headed boy Big Willie from Eagle Rock, NC that she meets on the train to Harlem? Will she ever see him again? And what about Miss D (Miz Ripsey Dillahunt), a Gullah lady from the islands around Charleston, SC, who helps Celeste understand Aunti Val? And what about Miss D's looney 8-year-old granddaughter Gertie, who thinks folks get tapeworms from drinking milk? Will Celeste ever see North Carolina again? And will she ever have to deal with ole Aunt Society again??? Publisher: Little, Brown & Co. Pub. Date: April 2007.ISBN-10: 0-316-52394-1 ISBN-13: 978-0-316-52394-3 Great Books for Girls blogspot wrote "... A whole cast of fascinating, well-developed supporting characters surround Celeste as she embarks on this journey from girlhood to womanhood. You'll learn to love Aunt Society, laugh with Miss D., and enjoy Celeste's ever-growing circle of friends." North Carolina School Library Media Association in Info Tech Review wrote, "During her stay in New York (Celeste) encounters famous Harlem Renaissance artists such as Duke Ellington and James Weldon Johnson. These encounters enrich the story without disrupting the coming-of-age theme that is at the heart of Celeste's experiences." "This is an excellent coming-of-age novel with so many added attractions you forget that Celeste, her friends and family aren't real, that all this didn't really happen as you are swept into Harlem in its heyday with theater, jazz, blues and music that enriched our lives. Rating: Recommended 10 Plus." -- Ruth Moose, Raleigh News and Observer "It is a pleasure and a privilege to hang out with Celeste as she grows up. Her world is full of color and music, even when it has to come only from her soul." -- http:/ "In Celeste, Tate has created a fully realized heroine, whose world expands profoundly as she's exposed to both the cultural pinnacles and racial prejudices of her era. Readers will likely happily accompany Celeste on her journey." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY "...readers will connect with her strong, regional voice ..., her ambitions, and the enormous responsibilities she confronts at such a young age. Both sobering and inspiring, Tate's novel is a moving portrait of growing up black and female in 1920s America." -- Gillian Engberg, BOOKLIST. "Tate has an eye, and an ear, for the ambience of the era as it is reflected in both the strictly segregated South and the new ideas emanating from Harlem. Celeste and her friends and family are well-conceived individuals, both real and imagined, and represent the wide variety of characters and personalities of African-American society without reverting to stereotypes. Absorbing. -- KIRKUS REVIEWS. Tate's "... large ensemble of secondary characters is complex, distinctive and well developed. Celeste's wide-eyed observations, organic to her strong but somewhat sheltered character, pull readers into the thrills and fears of her rapidly expanding world." -- Claire E. Gross, the HORN BOOK MAGAZINE "She draws her characters with charming humor and multidimensional candor... fans of historical fiction will stick with Celeste, eager to see her true blossoming at the end." -- Joyce Adams Burner School Library Journal Now about The Secret of Gumbo Grove: Raisin Stackhouse of coastal Gumbo Grove, South Carolina loves history so much that she's willing to face being grounded in order to know more about her family's and her hometown's hidden secrets. And what about Gumbo Dickson, the founder of Gumbo Grove? Gumbo Grove is now a popular family resort by the Atlantic Ocean and millions visit it every year. Who knows this town’s real history? Raisin doesn't know anything about this mysterious Gumbo Dickson, and nobody wants to tell her about him or about the town’s past. And what about the girl nicknamed Big Boy, who's out to beat up Raisin? Does Raisin stand a chance against this overbearing neighborhood bully? It's up to Raisin and her friends Big Head Jeff, Bunny, Sin-Sin, Raisin's sisters Hattie and Maizell -- and yes, even Big Boy -- to solve the mystery. A teacher’s guide is available. Click on A Blessing in Disguise on my home page. A Parents Choice Gold Seal Award Winner A California Young Reader Medal Finalist A Georgia Children's Book Award Nominee Featured in USA Today and on NPR's "All Things Considered" A “Give a Child a Book” SC Public Radio read aloud selection Available as an Audio Book from Recorded Books, Inc. "A warm, humorous, and wonderful story centered around an intellectually curious and spirited black girl... " -- Starred, School Library Journal "A vividly evoked piece of Americana that should be widely enjoyed." -- Pointer, Kirkus Reviews Did you know that my books Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! and The Secret of Gumbo Grove are also Audio Books? That means you can listen to them and free up your hands to do other stuff! Check with Recorded Books (see below). And Remember... Reading is knowledge and knowledge is power, and with positive power you can do almost anything positive that you want to in this world. In the meantime, pray for angels and stay away from devils. They're everywhere. Films: Just an Overnight Guest, starring Richard Roundtree, Rosalind Cash, Fran Robinson, Tiffany Hill, and Elinor Donahue. Phoenix Learning Group: 1-800-221-1274 (more info on Books page). Audio Books: The Secret of Gumbo Grove , narrated by actress Kim Staunton. Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., narrated by actress Kim Staunton. Ms. Staunton makes my characters really come alive! Contact Recorded Books, Inc., 270 Skipjack Rd., Prince Frederick, MD 20678; 1-800-638-1304 Celeste's Harlem Renaissance Front Porch Stories at the One-Room School Retold African Myths To Be Free The Minstrel's Melody (out of print) Just an Overnight Guest A Blessing in Disguise The Secret of Gumbo Grove Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! African American Musicians Don't Split the Pole: Tales of Down-Home Folk Wisdom (out of print) |
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