By the time they finish high school, black children will have read countless books featuring white heroes and heroines. It's a common experience for young children to color these characters brown, wanting to see themselves as the protagonists of these stories. Yet there are many wonderful books by and about African Americans that portray them in a positive way, to build a child's self-esteem and to spur hopes, dreams, and imagination. "Great Books for African-American Children" lists 250 of these books, which provide uplifting and accurate images of African-American culture.
Pamela A. Toussaint
Pamela Toussaint began her career as an editor at Essence magazine (Time Warner) in 1987, where she wrote, assigned and edited lifestyle pieces for the "Living" section of the popular monthly for three years. In the early 1990's she was a beat reporter at the trade weekly HFD, covering the fast-paced consumer electronics industry. As part-time communications manager for New Life Fellowship in New York, she produced a bi-lingual newsletter. Pamela went on to write and edit quarterly publications for other organizations such as: Catalyst, for World Relief; Vision, for The King's College in NYC; and currently, Restorer, for the Christian Community Development Association. She also served as publicist and media spokesperson for the American Red Cross NYC, representing the organization's disaster relief efforts in numerous top media outlets. Pamela also provided public relations and editorial services for small businesses under Toussaint INK.
In 1995, Pamela entered the world of book publishing with Mama's Little Baby (Penguin Putnam), a comprehensive guide to pregnancy, childbirth, and baby's first year, co-authored with pediatrician Dennis Brown of Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. The book received favorable reviews in The Washington Post, Publisher's Weekly, Booklist and Library Journal. Her other literary contributions include Signs of Hope in the City (Judson Press, 1997), Boys Into Men (Penguin, 2000) with Drs. A.J. and Nancy Boyd-Franklin, and I Call You Friend (Broadman & Holman, 1999) with Jo Kadlecek, which chronicles the spiritual journeys of four friends from different backgrounds. She and Jo were featured on an ABC/Lifetime television special hosted by Cokie Roberts and Deborah Roberts. She is also the author of Great Books for African American Children (Plume, 2000). In her latest work, His Rules (WaterBrook Press, 2005), Pamela and co-author Chris Burge exhort singles to prepare properly for marriage. She most recently contributed a chapter to A Heart for the Community (Moody, 2009).
A 1986 graduate of Fordham University with a B.A. in Communications/Journalism, Pamela encourages budding authors through her "Get Your Book Published!" workshops. She is a graduate of Charis Bible College in Atlanta, Georgia where she was granted a ministerial license in 2010. Pamela and a team of fellow students recently served as guest instructors during a life-changing mission trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, where she hopes to someday return.
