African American Review promotes a lively exchange among writers and scholars in the arts, humanities, and social sciences who hold diverse perspectives on African American literature and culture.

The voices of African American children’s book writers, illustrators, and scholars come together in this collection of essays to talk about what they do, how, and why.

Along with Catherine E. Lewis, it was a great thrill to edit this special issue of AAR. It includes articles by respected scholars such as Roberta Seelinger Trites and Nancy Tolson, as well as by children’s books writers such as W. Nikola-Lisa and Eleanor Tate. The essays explore writers, illustrators, the publishing world, the library world, and more. Our hope is that this project generates enthusiasm for the continued study of a long neglected but rich part of African American literary history.