Atlanta, Georgia – While it is true that children today have black characters on their television screens in the form of Disney's Doc McStuffins and Princess Tiana of The Princess and the Frog, there's still a long way to go until the media offers a hearty depiction of African-American characters that girls can admire. It was this thought that spurred Crystal Swain-Bates, founder of Goldest Karat Publishing LLC, to open an online store that specializes in African-American children’s books and a wide range of gifts for black children.

The store, Brown Girls Club, features a diverse line of African-American children’s literature including black storybooks and black coloring books, t-shirts, wall art, pillows, magnets, party supplies, and tote bags, all with imagery of black characters, designed to help parents, teachers, counselors, and caregivers find options for positive reinforcement on identity and self-love for black children. In particular, the magnet series called, “Pretty Little Clings,” features full-color inspirational illustrations of black girls with messages like “I'm Proud to be Naturally Me!” and “I've Got Big Hair and I Don't Care!” With the constantly growing line of products in her store, Swain-Bates hopes to make it easier for anyone to find the perfect self-esteem boosting products for black and brown boys and girls.

“After writing several bestselling black children’s books, parents began asking me to expand my product line by offering dolls, t-shirts, etc. I realized how difficult it was to find products for black children so I decided to launch the Brown Girls Club. The response has been overwhelming and I now have eight black children's books and an entire line of products, with more on the way,” said Swain-Bates.

A report released by the Cooperative Children's Book Council investigated the number of diverse books in 2013. The report, released in February 2014, demonstrated the prevailing need for books for black children in this day and age, finding that out of 3,200 children's books published in 2013, only 93 had significant content featuring African-Americans.

ABOUT BROWN GIRLS CLUB

Brown Girls Club is the online store of Goldest Karat Publishing LLC, a boutique black-owned publishing company seeking to fill the racial diversity gap in traditional publishing. The online store features empowering books and gifts for African-American children, including coloring and picture books. Recently added to the store is a line of black party supplies, which feature characters such as a black princess, on party plates, cups, napkins, and cupcake wrappers. For more information, please visit http://www.browngirlsclub.com for product information, pricing, and customer testimonials.

RELATED LINKS

http://www.browngirlsclub.com
http://www.goldestkarat.com
http://www.crystalswainbates.com

Contact:
Crystal Swain-Bates
Tel: (404) 465 - 4120
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.browngirlsclub.com