Today we’d like to introduce you to Latoya Turner.
Latoya, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I graduated from an HBCU Central State University in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. Right after college I became primary classroom teacher. I have 11 years of teaching experience and I’ve mainly taught African American students throughout the years. It’s so rewarding to be able to give children a gift that will last them a lifetime. Over the years of teaching I fell in love with teaching literacy skills. I became great at it. After reading many of children’s books to my students, I noticed a lack of African American characters represented in books. Children enjoy books that they are able to relate to and can see themselves represented.
In 2019, I graduated from Central Michigan University with a master’s degree in Reading & Literacy. Shortly after that I decided that I was going to write a children’s book. I had no idea where to begin but I began. I did the research. I pushed myself. And I recently self- published my first children’s book Brown Hands, White Sand. This book is to encourage brown boys and girls to fall in love with reading, to encourage families to travel the world, and to remind African American children that with their little brown hands they can touch and make a difference in this big world! I’m promoting literacy. I’m promoting black lives matter. “There is no such thing as a child who hates to read; there are only children who have not found the right book.” — Frank Serafini
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, smooth roads never make good drivers. Grad school was a struggle. Being out of school for so long, while teaching was difficult. With teaching you have to bring work home. So, I had double work. I wanted to give up but I pushed through it. While in the process of self- publishing Brown Hands, White Sand I knew no authors to ask for advice or to guide me. YouTube was my best friend. I doubted myself through the process but I was able to achieve my goal. I’m also expecting my first child. A boy! I’m currently almost seven months pregnant so as I was self- publishing my book I was dealing with pregnancy. My son is my motivation!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Brown Hands LLC – what should we know?
Brown Hands LLC is a new business as of May, 2020. This business promotes literacy. Besides publishing my 1st children’s book, I also created a free summer learning packet full of reading and math skills for children to stay engaged in learning over the summer. I’m proud that I’m making a difference in children lives. I’m proud that my African American students has a teacher who look like them and they can say my teacher is an author too. My plan is to promote literacy in different ways to help our communities and children. Reading is key!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Being a free spirit. Not letting anything discourage me and the willingness to push myself to the next level.
Pricing:
- Brown Hands, White Sand is available for purchase on Amazon for $11.99.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brownhands2020.wixsite.com/author
- Email: brownhandsllc@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brownhandsllc/
- Facebook: Facebook.com/brownhandsllc
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