6/12/07, New York, NY/East Orange, NJ—Steven Zacharius, Chief Executive Officer and President of Kensington Publishing, and Wade Hudson, Chief Executive Officer and President of Hudson Publishing, announce a joint publishing agreement and new imprint dedicated to children’s books with spiritual and moral themes geared to the African-American market, as well as similar projects targeting the multicultural audience. The new imprint, called Marimba Books, begins publishing in 2008 with six titles.
Both of the Hudsons are authors in their own right and some of their works are reflected on the 2008 list. The list includes two titles in the I Love To… series, From Where I Stand by Cheryl Willis Hudson (Illustrator: Nancy Devard), Prayers from the Smallest Hands by Lauriece Hudson, and Pudding, Jeffery & Leah: Best Friends (Illustrator: Nancy Devard) and It’s Church Going Time both written by Wade Hudson (Illustrator Peter Ambush).
I'm excited about this, because Selah begins reading Chapter books this year. I have searched the public library and bookstores for a series She would like. Cam Jansen isn't her cup of tear or Ivy & Bean. But when I showed her NEATE and Kid Caramel online this past weekend her eyes lit up. SHe's at an age where she knows she is different than her friends and she notices that there aren't many black people in school and in her school books, so this line is important for her self esteem and to get her reading
