POCOMOKE – The author and illustrator of a bestselling children’s picture book visited Pocomoke Middle School this week to encourage students to pursue their dreams with practice and patience.
On Tuesday, award-winning author, illustrator and filmmaker Vashti Harrison visited fourth-, fifth- and eighth-grade students at Pocomoke Middle to share of her journey into illustrating and writing and to read excerpts from her debut children’s picture book “Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History.” The book tells the true stories of 40 black women whose actions and beliefs paved the way for future generations.
Harrison, a native of Onley, Va., said the book was released in December, and has since become a New York Times instant bestseller. In January, “Little Leaders” received an NAACP Image Award, which lead Harrison to a special guest appearance on “The Daily Show” with Trevor Noah.
Harrison said Tuesday’s presentation at Pocomoke Middle is one of three scheduled school visits and coincides with Black History Month, observed each February to honor the accomplishments of black Americans throughout history.
“When Carter G. Woodson started Negro History Week in 1927 the idea was to celebrate the stories that have been neglected throughout history,” she said. “I felt like I could use this book as an opportunity to celebrate the stories of black women whose stories have been doubly neglected throughout history.”
In addition to sharing stories found in “Little Leaders,” Harrison took time to show students how she drew the illustrations for the book and share the steps she took to become an author and illustrator.
“I mostly want students to know it’s okay to take your time and try out a bunch of different things,” she said. “It may feel frustrating for a while and you may not know what you want to do, but if you can find the passion and patience to let it grow you can do incredible and amazing things like the women in this book.”
Fourth grade teacher Kim Dorn said she reached out to Harrison’s former high school teacher, Accomack County educator Carla Savage-Wells, to bring Harrison to Pocomoke Middle.
“Some of these children don’t leave Pocomoke, so we wanted to bring the outside to them,” she said.
Dorn said she hopes Harrison’s journey into book illustration and writing will inspire her students to pursue their dreams with equal devotion.
“I wanted them to meet her and be inspired by her, regardless of whether they wanted to be writers or illustrators or engineers,” she said. “I wanted them to be inspired and say if she can fulfill her dreams I can too.”
Dorn added lessons taught in Harrison’s presentation will coincide with lessons taught in class.
“I’m hoping to take the excitement they have here right back to my classroom,” she said. “I’m hoping they’ll build and grow from this and they’ll want to write even more. It’s not just about the writing, but practice. If you are good at baseball that’s awesome, but you have to practice. I want them to take that with them and build and grow from that. Study hard, practice hard and work to get better.”
