EXCLUSIVE: Kirby Howell-Baptiste's Debut as an Author Involves a Powerful Message for Black Children Around the World

Alyssa K. Davis
·8 min read

Kirby Howell-Baptiste has taken the TV and film industry by storm, but her creative skills go far beyond her talent as an actress. The British-born entertainer is gearing up to make her debut as an author this month, and she’s got a powerful message to spread to Black children around the world through two beautifully illustrated, poetic children’s books.

Little Black Girl and Little Black Boy respectively celebrate the joys of being a Black girl and boy while empowering children to believe in the many possibilities waiting for them in their bright futures. During an exclusive conversation with SheKnows, the Cruella actress shared, “I wrote Little Black Girl first, and I wrote it as a bit of a love letter [to my niece], my younger self, and little Black girls everywhere.”

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Delving into her inspiration for the books, Howell-Baptiste mused, “I think there’s an untapped market in the aunt and uncle space. I think so many people now are choosing when they start a family and choosing how they have a family. Not everyone’s family looks the same, and I do think there is this sort of digging down into the idea of community and ‘It takes a village to raise someone.'”

The Good Place alum continued, “This book is something for both parents and carers, but I also think that there’s a special relationship you have when you’re an aunt or an uncle. You’re not quite a parent; you’re not quite a friend — you’re somewhere in between in this really beautiful safe space, so I wrote these for [my niece and nephew for that reason]. Naturally, after Little Black Girl, the companion book followed, which is Little Black Boy.”

While the books contain a message that’s always been relevant, now more so than ever, it’s been a long road to publication for Howell-Baptiste. She explained, “I wrote the first book pre-pandemic — quite a few years before the pandemic — and at that time, I had sent it to the team I was with and was told ‘We don’t really think there’s an appetite for it,’ so it kind of got shelved for years.”

The Sandman star continued, “Then during the pandemic, I had a lot more time at home, so I went through my files and screenplays I’d written and sketches I’d written, and I went back in and I saw this book and I re-read it. With everything that was happening — and is still happening, but we were really in the midst of a real social swing, the social justice movement during the pandemic, and I think it just became even more relevant then. So I sent it to the team I’m with now and they were like, ‘This is excellent, we have to get this started.'”

‘Little Black Girl’ by Kirby Howell-Baptiste

Price: $18.99

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She mused about why it’s taken so many years for the books to be seen as worthy of publication, citing the tragic murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter revolution that followed as pivotal events. “[The message has] always been relevant, but I think for the longest time, when it comes to any sort of social justice movements or oppression, the people who are steeped in that oppression understand what’s going on, and it took a world-changing, life-changing experience for everyone else to have the time to stop and see what we were talking about.”

“Now that we’re sort of back to normal, or ‘new’ normal, I think the challenge is keeping conversations going and keeping people’s minds open both in terms of learning new things and also having tolerance for different people’s pace in which they learn,” the Mr. Harrigan’s Phone actress said.

With the desire to encourage disenfranchised Black people to believe that they can absolutely achieve their wildest dreams despite centuries of racist societal oppression, Howell-Baptiste explained that spreading the message specifically to children seemed the most promising place to start to make a tangible difference in Black folks’ outlook on life.

“I had this idea and this story and this message I wanted to tell, and [the books] became the most natural vehicle for it both in terms of the poetry and in terms of it being for kids,” she said. “I think that what you read when you’re younger stays with you; what you absorb, what you watch, you’re just a sponge when you’re a child, so I think it stays with you a lot longer. To me, it made sense that if I had something to say, to say it to a generation of people who are very open to receiving it.”

While the message in the book’s written word is very ambiguous, encouraging little Black boys and girls to pursue whatever their dream achievements may be, the illustrations in both books predominantly feature STEM careers. The Killing Eve alum explained, “We have this text, this poem essentially, and there’s a message, but there’s not a clear visual that goes with it. When we went with the idea of robotics and STEM for Little Black Girl, it weirdly kind of opened this door that I didn’t know when I wrote it was the direction that it was going to go in, but it was so exciting when we opened that door to go, ‘What other avenues [can we explore]?'”

She continued, “Larry [Fields III], who co-wrote the second book, Little Black Boy, had an aunt in marine biology, and he absolutely loved marine biology and loved sciences growing up, so we sort of took his own influence both in the writing and the illustrations. We made it this world of marine biology, which I think is rarely ever explored in general, but certainly not explored as a viable career for young Black boys. Then it just made for absolutely beautiful illustrations; Paul [Davey] has done truly a spectacular job, beyond anything we could have ever imagined.”

‘Little Black Boy’ by Kirby Howell-Baptiste & Larry Fields III

Price: $18.99

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Expanding on why the visual element of the children’s book is so meaningful to her, Howell-Baptiste explained, “There’s a number of ways in which people digest information; we don’t all learn in the same way. We just don’t all think in the same way, and I don’t know that we always pay attention to the fact that there are billions of us here, and of course we know that none of us look the same, but really none of us think the same.”

She continued, “For some people, just seeing beautiful, uplifting images of Black people is enough to reinforce the message, even if they don’t re-read the book. You might read it a couple of times, or you might just really want to flip through and have a beautiful visual experience. I think you can genuinely lose yourself in the illustrations Paul has done.”

The debut author’s enthusiasm is palpable, with her gushing, “I’m so passionate about getting this book out into the world, but I also understand that this book, for some people, there’s a financial barrier, so I would be so excited if people can give this book as a gift, or if people can buy and donate one.”

The Queenpins actress continued, “What I’m really excited to do is get this book into the hands of the people that need it the most and need to hear these words and need the inspiration, and that doesn’t always correlate with the people that can afford to get these things. We’re really fortunate that [the books are] coming out around the holidays, so if you can gift a book or give one to a school or foster home, I think that would be both in the spirit of the season and the spirit of the book.”

She added, “We hope that the books are of course read and given as gifts for kids, but also for adults as a sort of like, ‘Hey, go forth and be in your new career after graduation.'”

Both Little Black Girl and Little Black Boy release on November 15 — be sure to add a few to your holiday shopping cart for the kids and loved ones in your life, and spread the spirit of the season by purchasing and donating a few for local schools, shelters, and foster care agencies in your area as well.

Add these beautiful children’s picture books by Black authors and artists to your kids’ shelves.

Childrens books black authors
Childrens books black authors

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