- "I am a nonstop ball of energy,
powerful
and full of light.
I am a go-getter,
a difference maker,
a leader."
Those are the powerful words
written by one of my favorite children's authors,
Derek Barnes from his brand new book,
"I am Every Good Thing"
illustrated by the incredible artist, Gordon C. James.
Derek and Gordon have made it their mission
to feature young black boys and girls in their stories
and celebrate them to remind readers
that we are all worthy of love,
and their message of hope
matters now more than ever,
it always has, it always will.
Derrick and Gordon, are you here with me?
- Hey, how are you doing?
- How's the going Drew? - [Drew] Hi guys.
How're you doing? - [Drew] How are you?
- Excellent.
It sounds good to hear you reading, man.
I can listen to you read it all day, man.
It's beautiful.
- Well, I mean, you guys know crown is
one of my very favorite books in the world.
The thing that you guys do
is you make an empowerment
that feels like a different language for kids.
I reading it as an adult,
feel like I am feeding my children this rich,
beautiful, nourishing meal
that is going to set them on a trajectory of empowerment
that feels not in the ego,
but truly in the soul.
And do you guys make a conscious effort of that
when you create these books?
- You know, each and every time I sit down,
I try to come up with something that is a
universal experience for everyone,
but with this project, you know, in particular,
I wanted to create something that counters
all the negative stereotypes that exists
about black and brown boys in this country.
So I wanted to make something that
we can all relate to no matter where these babies come from.
Whether they come from the suburbs
or they come from the projects, USA,
that there is a whole group of people
that care about you
just as much as every other parent cares about their son,
grandson, nephew,
that we have high expectations for our sons as well.
So this is an offering for black and brown boys,
but also for parents who may not be black
and they have children who have black friends and,
or maybe you don't have any black or brown boys
in your life at all.
And I want to counter all those negative stereotypes
and just offer this to let them know that,
we love our babies
and we care about them
and we want them to achieve
the most impossible dreams that they possibly can.
- I just wanted to do work where I leave this legacy that
my kids will be proud of,
that my parents who were sacrificed,
that my grandparents came over here
from the islands as immigrants
will be proud.
Like, when they made the sacrifices
that they put me in this position to do this thing,
and I'm leaving something good behind in the world.
- Well,
I think you make every young boy and girl
and every man and woman feel like there are possibilities
whirling around inside of us.
And I think that you guys just do it in a way that is
the absolute sort of perfection of that.
In fact,
I have a little surprise video for you guys,
so you don't have to just take my opinion for it.
- Oh men.
- Derek Barnes' books make me feel like a young black king.
- Thank you Mr. Barnes, your books make me happy.
- Thank you so much Gordon James
for these fantastic illustrations
that really bring the story to life.
- Thank you, Derek Barnes for another amazing book.
It makes me so excited to see my kids so excited
to read your stories.
These are the stories that I wish I had when I was a kid.
- I like your books because the characters inspire me
to be confident.
- I like Derek book
because some of the characters look like me
and it makes me feel happy.
- Thank you, Mr. Gordon for your beautiful illustrations.
I love them.
- We love the Ruby Booker series.
She was a leader and an African American.
So please write the next book.
- You continue to inspire my children.
They see themselves in your work,
and I'm so excited for more to come from you.
- Thank you, Derek and Gordon
for making these books with teamwork.
They really inspire me.
- Oh man, why you do that to us Drew?
Come on now.
That was beautiful. - But you know what Drew?
- We have a little surprise for you.
- [Derek] Yes we do. - Oh my God.
- You had written a novel and there were no illustrations.
So
I curled up with your book for a little bit,
and we have a little something for you.
- Oh my God.
Oh my gosh.
(man giggling)
Oh my gosh.
I have
a Gordon C. James original, are you kidding me?
Oh my gosh, look at this.
Of all the pieces of art I could ever, ever have
from Derek and Gordon, it includes my daughters.
Thank you.
That is what means the world to me.
And that is what I love about what you guys have done.
You have found a language, a narrative and illustration,
a world that makes children feel worthwhile.
Thank you guys.
- Thank you Drew.
- I am so grateful that I have an original piece of art.
Your pieces of art are museum worthy and
your words are that of lyrics and poetry.
Thank you guys so much.
I was so excited to talk about your very special new book,
"I Am Every Good Thing",
and I cannot wait for the next one.
Please, I hope you'll come celebrate it here with me.
- Oh, that'll be an honor.
Thank you Drew, thank you for having us.
(upbeat music)