Floyd Cooper Day 2023

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Keep Floyd Cooper’s legacy alive by watching the read-aloud of the books that Floyd illustrated for Memorial Day, and Juneteenth!

Watch Leah Henderson, Carole Boston Weatherford, and Crystal Allen read from A Day for Rememberin’, Unspeakable, and Juneteenth for Mazie, respectively.

The CBC will share more about the history behind each book on its blog. Let’s start with the first Memorial Day and A Day for Rememberin’.

VIDEOS OF READINGS OF FLOYD’S BOOKS

Share with young people Floyd Cooper’s bountiful body of work in the voices of beloved and well-known authors.

KidLit TV has produced original videos of Crystal Allen, Tameka Fryer Brown, Judy Allen Dodson, Patti Gauch, Nikki Grimes, Leah Henderson, Cheryl Willis Hudson & Wade Hudson, Sharon Langley, Torrey Maldonado, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Charles Smith, and Don Tate reading from their favorite Floyd Cooper books.

The videos are now available; prepare by selecting which ones you want to show in your classroom, library, or store on May 5 or anytime that week.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND TEACHERS’ GUIDES

• Download a one-page list of Floyd Cooper’s books in print.
• Download a one-page list of links to teachers’ guides.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Share any Floyd Cooper reading or events news with the community and us using #FloydCooperDay

• May 5 is #FloydCooperDay! We will be celebrating the beautiful children’s books written or illustrated by Floyd all day long. Learn more at EveryChildaReader.net

• Check out the #FloydCooperDay events, book lists, teacher’s guides, and read-alouds happening on May 5 –including one by Dolly Parton! We’ll be [say what you’ll be doing]. How will you join us in this celebration?

THANK YOU

The CBC wishes to thank KidLit TV, Floyd’s many author and illustrator friends, The Brown Bookshelf, The African American Children’s Book Project, Just Us Books, the Highlights Foundation, and the Dollywood Foundation for their participation in this celebration!

Please email Carl.Lennertz@cbcbooks.org with any questions.

ABOUT FLOYD COOPER

Floyd Cooper, a celebrated children’s book illustrator who explored the African American experience in stories rooted in history, died on July 15, 2021, but his memory and legacy live one.  Over 30 years, he illustrated children’s stories that not only carried his earthy and golden pastel impressions of Black life, but also strived to recount chapters of African American history that he felt weren’t taught enough in classrooms. He saw humanity in every subject, in people of all ages.

Floyd Cooper Day is sponsored by friends of Floyd Cooper, The Brown Bookshelf, the Highlights Foundation, The African American Children’s Book Project, the Children’s Book Council, and Every Child a Reader.

Join our community

Follow #FloydCooperDay and us on social media to see updates and celebrations across the country.

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More Resources and FAQs

• Sign up for our newsletter to get information on all of our exciting programs, Children’s Book Week, the Kids’ Book Choice Awards, Get Caught Reading, and the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

• Find Children’s Book Week Highlights and Resources from previous years here.
• Find Frequently Asked Questions here.