Q&A with Author Derrick Barnes: Part 2

Derrick Barnes is the creator and author of the popular Ruby and the Booker Boys series. The series chronicles the adventures of 8-year-old Ruby Booker and her relationship with her three, talented big brothers: Tyner, Marcellus, and Ro (otherwise known as The Booker Boys).
































In Part 2 of Barnes's two-part talk with Read and Rise magazine (www.readandrisemag.net), Barnes talks about what makes his spunky, little heroine so inspiring and engaging to young readers:

Q. What type of adventures and situations will readers find Ruby engaged in when they read your series of stories?
A. In each book, each story, readers will find Ruby using her God-given talents and abilities to solve problems, to speak up and out, or just to be seen. (That girl looooves attention!)
She loves and admires her “neighborhood-superstar” big brothers, but somehow she always finds herself either in competition with them, or trying to undo a bit of mess that one of them may have put her in.
For example, in Book Two, Trivia Queen Third Grade Supreme, Ruby goes head to head in a trivia competition against big brothers Tyner (a 9-year-old prodigy/genius in the sixth grade) and Marcellus (Mr. Do-It-All who always comes in first place in everything).
Trivia is Ruby’s thing, but she’s still intimidated by her brothers, and she worries about her chances of winning. But the series is about a lot more than sibling rivalry. It’s about sibling-, family-, community-, and most of all, self-love.

Q. Why will children want to read, or be read to, about Ruby?
A. Ruby is a risk taker. She’s confident, respectable; she’s a great student at school, and quite possibly the coolest little sister anyone would ever dream of having.
Ruby is independent, and definitely believes in her ideas, dreams, and the pursuit of her goals.
I have made it my point to create positive, strong characters of color, and place them in stories with common themes to which children of all races can relate. It’s important for children to see other kids who may not share their same ethnicity, but have the same victories, successes, concerns, failures, interests, and dreams.
Regardless of gender, ethnicity, or from wherever Ruby Booker fans may come, the universal theme with Scholastic’s latest heroine is positive energy; it shines from her like moonbeams!

Well said, Derrick Barnes! For more information about the Ruby and the Booker Boys series, visit www.scholastic.com.

Learn more about Derrick Barnes at his Web site www.derrickbarnes.com

This is Ms. D! Remember: You never know who's going to join us in discussion about reading, culture, and empowerment through the written word.

Coming soon, we talk with Christine Taylor-Butler, a rising star in the world of children's books and author of To Great-Grandmother's House We Go. This warm family tale is featured in Issue 1 at the Read and Rise magazine site. Check this story out at www.readandrisemag.net!

Q&A with Author Derrick Barnes

Derrick Barnes is the creator and author of the popular Ruby and the Booker Boys series.

Read and Rise magazine (www.readandrisemag.net) speaks with Barnes about the inspiration for his spunky, little heroine, in Part 1 of a two-part Q&A with the author:

Q. Who is Ruby Booker?
A. Ruby Marigold Booker is the 8-year-old protagonist of the Ruby and the Booker Boys series.
She’s smart, makes good grades, is ultra creative, is an awesome singer, and is a fashion risk-taker. (Ruby often wears mix-matched, color-coordinated sneakers with her outfits.) She has a pet iguana named Lady Love, and is the reigning trivia queen of her hometown of Bellow Rock City.
Ruby is pretty much the life of the party, and the type of star with whom any girl would love to be BFFs. Her only problem is trying to figure out how to step out of the enormous shadows of her three, wildly popular, big brothers: Tyner, Marcellus, and Ro (otherwise known as The Booker Boys). She’s tired of being called little sis, and wants to stand alone as her own “Booker.”

Q. What inspired you to create Ruby?
A. Ruby is a mix of all of my nieces, daughters of a few friends, and every little beautiful, dynamic, African-American girl who has longed to see images that represent who they are.
Initially, I created the Booker boys with Ruby as just a minor character. Tyner was supposed to be the main character and their daily tales were going to be told from his point of view. Ruby was supposed to be a funny and pleasant contrast to all of the boy energy in the house.
But it became apparent to us that Ruby was the real star with her quick wit, creativity, her singing, and colorful personality. I rewrote all of the manuscripts, made Ruby the “Beyonce” to the Booker boys’ “Destiny Child” and the rest is history.

Q. Where does Ruby fit in today’s book marketplace?
A. I’ve filled a void. Every time I receive an e-mail from a little African-American girl (which happens every other day) who says for the first time she has picked up a book series that she can’t put down, I know I’ve filled a void.
When I receive an e-mail or letter from a parent that says her daughter has started her own book club as a result of Ruby, I know I’ve filled a void.
When I receive letters from educators of African-American children who say they’ve never seen anything like Ruby, and that they’ve waited for a long time for something like Ruby and the Booker Boys, I definitely know that I’ve filled a void.

Check back next week for Part 2 of our two-part Q&A with Derrick Barnes! For more information about the Ruby and the Booker Boys series, visit www.scholastic.com.

Learn more about Derrick Barnes at his Web site www.derrickbarnes.com.

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You never know who's going to join us in discussion about reading, culture, and empowerment through the written word. Coming soon, we talk with Derrick Barnes, the creator and author of the popular Ruby and the Booker Boys series.

In the meantime, visit www.readandrisemag.net to check out our great online magazine. Find richly illustrated and culturally connected stories and fun interactive activities for our children.

Happy reading!

Ms. D