Bookmarks and the Winston-Salem Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. recently brought children’s author Tameka Fryer-Brown for a reading at Kimberley Park Elementary School.
Before she was an award-winning author, Fryer-Brown was a medical supply salesperson, and before that, she spent much of her childhood planning to be a lawyer because that was the type of job she was told to pursue. Now, she uses her platform to encourage students to nurture their creativity and chase their dreams, whatever form they may take. Her book “All the Greatness in You” explores this theme through childhood milestones centered on trying new things, asking questions, making mistakes, and learning to appreciate one’s inner greatness.
“It doesn’t take anybody else to celebrate you and what you’re great at,” Fryer-Brown told students at Kimberley Park. “What I want you to do is think about what you’re great at, own it, and celebrate yourself.”
After the reading, Bookmarks and Jack and Jill donated 150 copies of “All the Greatness in You” to Kimberley Park for students to take home, as well as 150 copies of "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer” by Lamar Giles, which also celebrates childlike imagination and aspiration. Bookmarks Youth and Schools Manager Lupe Penn says that every student with every interest deserves books that encourage them, and the non-profit is happy to help supply those books.
“Whatever book they end up with, we hope that they find comfort in it and that they see themselves in it,” Penn said.
Jack and Jill was founded nearly a century ago by African-American women striving to advocate and improve the lives of children, and the Winston-Salem Chapter is part of that proud legacy. Program Director Candice Brown says learning more about books and authors helps students understand their own abilities to use their voices and advocate for themselves. Connecting a Black author with a majority-Black school helps drive home the message that those students can be whatever they want to be.
“The Winston-Salem Chapter of Jack and Jill thinks it’s very important that books and authors are present and visible to all students,” Brown said. “There’s so many different ways for you to use your voice.”