Children’s bookstore makes representation in stories a main character
By Bo Evans
Click here for updates on this story
DECATUR, Georgia (WUPA) — The importance of diverse representation has been a focus of discussion for more than half a century.
One metro Atlanta mother has made it her mission to make sure her kids — and all kids — saw someone who looked like them in the stories they were reading.
Inside Brave + Kind Bookshop in Decatur, you’ll find books, stickers, and trinkets, everything you’d expect to find in a kids’ bookstore.
“It’s a special place, it’s bright and beautiful and airy,” owner Bunny Hilliard said.
But here, there’s more to discover.
Hilliard wants you to find yourself on these pages, no matter who you are.
“I think my favorite thing about books for myself, and for others, is when you find that piece of the book, that part of the story, that character that really resonates with you and makes you feel seen,” she said.
That wasn’t always easy for Hilliard, a Black woman raising two Black children.
“I found it hard-pressed to find lots of stories with main characters and stories that looked like them, and that really celebrated what it meant to be a person of color, a Black child, a Black family in the world,” she recalled.
That’s why she created Brave + Kind, to show all kids they can be their story’s main character.
It’s a story that she says is worth reading.
Hilliard and Brave and Kind Bookshop are hosting a children’s book festival, Atlanta’s Beautifully Black Children’s Fest, at the Alliance Theatre on March 28.
You can learn more about the bookstore on its website.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.