Library Visit – Philadelphia
Peace y’all, I just came back from a cool trip to Philadelphia to read the at the main branch of the public library. This is my first trip to the city and it was great to see it and connect with some old friends. Get ready, there A LOT of photos in this post!
I flew out on the red eye which I will not be doing again cuz I didn’t get much sleep. Once I landed I started hearing Black Thought lyrics in my head though because of street names and things like….
One of the things I loved about the city is the beauty and abundance of murals. I thought the Bay had a lot of walls but Philly is truly the mural capital. I didn’t get to meet up with her but Michelle Angela Ortiz is one of my favorite muralists out there. Another thing I love about the city is the styles of Graffiti which are distinct and historic. They often write tall and skinny tags!
On my way inside the library I met Lynne Haase, a Philadelphian librarian who answered the call when I set out to visit schools and libraries last year for the first time outside of the Bay. Me and my folks headed into the library (its amazing by the way), and headed down to the kids section where we saw lots of letters and drawings from children. Then we went into a theater where the children would listen to me speak.
First it was one classroom, then 2, then 3 whole classrooms full of children from a local school came on in to listen to me read. They had such great energy and questions!
The room was full, I introduced myself and I got down to business asking them questions and trying my best to engage them so they would not just be listening, but talking back and participating. That means questions, call and response, and good interruptions. I read my book Fresh Juice to the kids!
I wish I could show you photos with the faces of the children unblocked but I was not able to get permission slips for each child. But, they were there and thats the important part.
As I usually do, I brought some of the artwork from the book with me because its like a doorway to understanding how stories get made. Its a process and I try to drive that home with kids, not just about my story but about how the video games, cartoons, films, or other forms of media they consume are created.
Ok , the reading was awesome and if you’d like to see more visits I’ve made to schools or libraries I invite you to check out some of these:
- Library Visit–Detroit Public Library/ Grosse Pointe Library, Detroit, MI
- School Visit–Lila Bringhurst Mandarin Immersion, Fremont, CA
- Library Visit–Castro Valley Public Library, Castro Valley, CA
- School Visit– University of San Francisco, SF, CA
After that I walked around the library to check out the art books and music books.
The library is underrated yall. You can check out tools, seeds, films, records, CDs, musical instruments, and so any different types of BOOKS!
I love walking around libraries. Especially kids sections because each librarian, city, and region is different. I love seeing Bay Area creators work up in other cities too. Here are some fotos I took walking around and some of the librarians checking out my prints. If you would like to see my prints, you can see them here.
A few fotos from around the city from the downtown area, West, South, etc. My good friends who I stayed with took me to a place called Saad’s Halal Restaurant in West Philly that had some of the best Falafel and bean pie I’ve ever eaten:) My friend also took me on a hike around Cobb’s Creek park. I saw Osage ave, infamous for the bombing of the MOVE family, and I saw the famous Hakim’s Bookstore. One of the oldest Black owned bookstores in the country.
Next, I took a trip to Germantown to see my friend Sarah and Uncle Bobbie’s coffee and bookstore!
Uncle Bobbie’s was a beautiful store w/ lots of light and a strong curation. After that I went for a nice hike in a local park w/ my friend Sarah Kolker who is from Philly but lived in NYC and the Bay, where we met!
Lastly, I went to check out The Philadelphia Museum of Art; one of many museums! I also went to meet w/ my friend Dr. Li Sumpter before heading back to the Bay!
Dig this? Check out my trip to Detroit to read out there:)
