2011 Caribbean Children’s and Young Adult Books

This is a guest post submitted by Summer Edward.

Last year, I was fortunate enough to meet Zetta Elliott at the A is for Anansi conference at New York University. Since then, I’ve been a loyal reader of her blog, Fledgling. So when I saw Zetta’s recent post listing MG and YA novels written in 2011 by African-American authors in the U.S. I thought I’d follow suit and compile a list of English-language Caribbean children’s and young adult books published in 2011. While Caribbean children’s and YA publishing communities have their own unique struggles, they do share some of the same challenges faced by so-called “minority” publishing communities in the U.S. Like Zetta, I think a good way to gauge the status of a publishing community is to look at publishing statistics.

I found that 48 English-language Caribbean children’s and young adult books were released this year. Of those books, 7 titles were reissues and over 50% were self-published. Of the 16 books published by publishing houses, most were published by publishing houses located outside the Caribbean.  Also, only 4 of the books were YA books. Take a look at the list and let me know if I’ve missed anything.

Note: I’ve tried to supply as much information about the books as possible, but in some cases details like the publisher or the type of book are unavailable. I’ve coded the books as follows: BB- Board Book; PB- Picturebook; YA- Young Adult novel; MG- Middle Grade novel. Some titles have no web links because no links to the books are available. Reissued titles are indicated by an asterix (*)

English-language Caribbean Children’s and Young Adult Books Published in 2011

 Published by Publishing Houses:

1. Good-bye, Havana! Hola, New York! by Edie Colon (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books; August/PB)
2. Alicia Alonso: Prima Ballerina by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand (Marshall Cavendish Corp/Ccb ; September/PB)
3. One Love by Cedella Marley (Chronicle Books; September/PB)
4. Stir It Up! by Ramin Ganeshram (Scholastic; August /YA)
5. Bouki Cuts Wood: A Haitian Folktale by Amanda St. John (Child’s World; August/PB)
6. Marijuanaman by Ziggy Marley (Image Comics; May/YA)
7. Boy Boy and the Magic Drum by Machel Montano (DIP Publishing; January/PB)
8. Minding Ben by Victoria Brown (Voice; April/YA)
9. Island Princess in Brooklyn by Diane Browne (Carlong Publishers; August/MG/YA)
10. The Cloud with the Silver Lining* by C. Everard Palmer (Macmillan Caribbean; October/MG)
11. My Father, Sun-Sun Johnson* by C. Everard Palmer (Macmillan Caribbean; October/MG)
12. A Cow Called Boy* by C. Everard Palmer (Macmillan Caribbean; October/MG)
13. Riot* by Andrew Salkey (Peepal Tree Press; May/MG)
14. Earthquake* by Andrew Salkey (Peepal Tree Press; May/MG)
15. Drought* by Andrew Salkey (Peepal Tree Press; May/MG)
16. Hurricane* by Andrew Salkey (Peepal Tree Press; May/MG)

Published by Organizations:

1. The Discovery by Grace Nichols (Guyana Book Foundation; September/PB)
2. All the Joy in the World by Nasaria Suckoo-Chollette (Rotary Club of Grand Caman Sunrise; March/PB)
3. Daddy and I Explore…The Farm! by David Chapman (Sunray Publishing; April/PB)
4. Waldorf, the Water Drop: The Story of Water Pollution by Pamela O’Toole  (Guyana Book Foundation; September/PB)
5. Bri and Luk: Friends In Times of Changing Climates (Future Centre Trust; January/PB)

Self-Published:

1. The CP Superheroes of the Cayman Islands by Vinnette Mae Glidden (Caribbean Pirate Ltd; October/PB)
2. Island Girl by Khara Jhanielle Campbell (CreateSpace; June/PB)
3. Spooky Nights on the Island by Beverly E. Dyer-Groves (AuthorHouse; June)
4. Ping Pong by June Stoute (Wordways Caribbean; September/PB)
5. Sweet Dreams: El Yunque Dreams by Jo Anne Valle (CreateSace; May/PB)
6. Trapped in Dunston’s Cave (Caribbean Adventure Series) by Carol Mitchell (Caribbean Reads Publishing; June/MG)
7. Grommit– My Life and Times by Andy Campbell (Bob & Chris Books for Children; March/PB)
8. Squirrel Coconuts by Andy Campbell (Bob & Chris Books for Children; March/PB)
9. To Patos and Back by Andy Capbell (Bob & Chris Books for Children; March/PB)
10. The Reggae Band Rescues Mama Edda Leatherback by Jana Bent (Reggae Pickney; September/PB)
11. Why the Turtle and the Snail Carried Their Houses on Their Backs by Marilyn Laing (AuthorHouse; April/PB)
12. Kaa Kaa & Tokyo in Babysittin’ ‘Lil Kelly by Rabia Abdul Akim (ContessaBlack Entertainment; July/PB)
13. We Are Free: A Story About the Origin of the Garinagu by Ingrid and Ibo Cayetano (July/PB)
14. Sweet Jamaican Summertime at Grandma’s by Angela Brent-Harris (Xlibiris; May/PB)
15. The Night Nopat Was Left Out by Lynette Noel (AuthorHouse; February)
16. Money Basics for Kids: Financial Literacy for Children by Sharryn Dawson (Money Basics for Kids/PB)
17. Marcus and the Amazons by Geoffrey Philp (Mabrak; August/MG)
18. I Find It So Hard! by Rosheenna Beek (PB)
19. Who is Smarter Than Galiber Guess? by Anthea Bousquet (Maryli Publisher; April/MG)
20. Bahamian Lyrical Tales by Kirkland “KB” Bodie (Media Unlimited)
21. Satchi and Little Star by Donna Seim (Jetty House; August/PB)
22. The Adventures of Lisbeth by Liesel F. Daisley (AuthorHouse; August/PB)
23. The Magic Cave by Aarti Gosine (AuthorHouse; January/MG)
24. The Perfect Shell by Joanne-Mason (due December/PB)
25. Trixie Triangle by Kellie Magnus (Jack Mandora/Media Magic/BB)
26. A Book for Baby by Kellie Magnus (Jack Mandora/Media Magic/BB)

Summer Edward is the Founder and Managing Editor of Anansesem, a Caribbean ezine for and by children. She is a writer and Caribbean children’s literature activist from Trinidad and Tobago. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Temple University and an M.S.Ed in Reading, Writing, Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Philadelphia, PA.

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