Bernette Ford facts for kids

Bernette Ford (June 30, 1950 – June 20, 2021) was an American author, editor, and publisher. She was known for being one of the first African-American editors to work with children's books, starting her career in the 1970s. She worked as an editor at Grosset & Dunlap and later at Scholastic Books. At Scholastic, she became vice-president of the Cartwheel imprint, a special division for children's books that she helped create.

Early Life and Education

Bernette Ford was born on June 30, 1950, in Brooklyn, New York. She grew up in Uniondale, Long Island. Her mother was a talented actress, music teacher, singer, and seamstress. Bernette graduated from Connecticut College in 1972. Even though her family and friends encouraged her to become a writer, she decided to start a career in publishing instead. She saw publishing as a good way to learn about the book world.

Her Career in Publishing

After graduating in 1972, Bernette Ford joined Random House in their children's books department. She started as an "editorial assistant in training" as part of a program to help people from diverse backgrounds get into publishing.

Around 1975, she met other people of color who worked in publishing. Together, they started a group called Black Creators for Children. This group helped African-American authors create new books. It was during a meeting with this group that Bernette met her future husband, George Ford.

Working at Major Publishers

After seven years at Random House, Bernette moved to Western Publishing. There, she became a senior editor for their children's books, including the famous Golden Books.

In 1983, she joined Grosset & Dunlap as editor-in-chief. She was later promoted to publisher. During her six years there, Bernette helped expand the popular The Little Engine That Could series.

In 1989, she started working with Scholastic Books. She played a key role in launching their new division for young readers, called Cartwheel Books. As vice-president and editorial director of Cartwheel, Bernette was responsible for starting well-known series like I Spy and the Little Bill series.

Starting Her Own Company

While at Scholastic, Bernette worked with Cheryl Willis Hudson, a friend and co-founder of Just Us Books. Cheryl had a poem she wanted to turn into a children's book for black children. Bernette decided to make it a picture book, and her husband George illustrated it. This was the first time Bernette worked as a co-author on a book.

Bernette left Scholastic in 2002. In 2003, she started her own company called Color-Bridge Books. This company specialized in book packaging, which means they helped create books from start to finish. Color-Bridge Books' first project was a series for beginner readers called Just for You!. All the books in this series were written and illustrated by people of color.

Personal Life

Bernette Ford was married to George Ford, who was an illustrator. She passed away on June 20, 2021, at her home in Brooklyn.