Verna Wilkins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Verna Allette Wilkins FRSL
Born	1940s Grenada
Occupation	Publisher and author of children's books
Known for	Founder of Tamarind Books
Notable work	Dave and the Tooth Fairy (1993)
Children	2

Verna Allette Wilkins (born in 1943) is a publisher and author. She was born in Grenada and now lives in London.

In 1987, Verna started a company called Tamarind Books. This company made children's books. These books showed children from different backgrounds. They included Black, Asian, and other minority ethnic children. They also featured children with disabilities. Verna wanted all children to see themselves in books. She worried about kids who didn't see anyone like them in stories.

Twenty years later, a big company called Random House Group bought Tamarind Books. It became part of Random House Children's Books. Verna Wilkins has also written more than 40 picture books. She has written biographies for young people too.

Verna Wilkins' Story

Verna Wilkins was born in Grenada. Her father was a head teacher there. He helped bring Caribbean History into school lessons. Before that, lessons mostly focused on Britain's past.

Verna shared that her father told them stories. These stories were important to their lives. They were tales from Africa and the Caribbean. They included people who looked like them. Her father worked hard to give his children and students self-worth. He also used European stories to show them the wider world.

Why She Started Publishing

Verna used to be a teacher. She saw how important early learning materials are. One of her sons started school at age five. He came home with a "This is Me" booklet. In it, he had colored himself pink.

Verna offered him a brown crayon instead. She wanted him to color himself brown. But he refused. He said the picture had to be pink. He thought it had to be pink because it was for a book. He had already learned that he didn't "fit in" with books.

Verna looked into this more. She found that children from ethnic minorities were rarely in books. She felt they were missing an important part of learning. This made her want to create books for them. She wanted to fill this important need.

Growing Tamarind Books

Verna started Tamarind Books in 1987. She ran the company from her home. She wrote many of the books herself. New books were only published when there was enough money. In the early years, she sold the books herself.

She later wrote about starting the business. She worked from her kitchen table. Her partner and sons helped her. The business lasted for 25 years. Verna knew about discussions on race and culture. These talks started in the 1960s. They happened because many immigrants came to the UK. They came from the Caribbean, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. People talked a lot about "multicultural education."

So, Verna visited schools and spoke with teachers. There were many children in schools. These schools were told to have an inclusive curriculum. At that time, Verna was also working as a lecturer.

Tamarind Books became successful. Verna decided the company needed to grow. It needed a team to help it expand. In 2007, Random House Group bought it. Tamarind became part of Random House Children's Books (UK). Verna stayed until 2009. Then she handed it over to a new team.

In 2008, Tamarind Books won an award. It was the Decibel Cultural Diversity Award. This award was part of the British Book Awards.

After Tamarind, Verna started Firetree Books in 2016. She ran it as a test until 2017. For Firetree, she got help from Arts Council. She made books like A Visit to City Farm and Abdi's Day. She worked with primary school children on these books. The children were even listed as co-publishers. Their names were included in the books. Verna also worked with children in schools in Uganda. They helped with books where they could see themselves.

Her Books

Verna Wilkins has written over 40 books. These include picture books and biographies. Her books have been used in the National Curriculum. They have also been shown on BBC children's television. Some of her books were chosen as Children's Books of the Year.

Verna wrote two very famous books for Tamarind. One was The Life of Stephen Lawrence (2001). The other was Dave and The Tooth Fairy (1993). This book featured a black tooth fairy. It sold over 200,000 copies in its first version.

Tamarind also published a series called Black Profiles. Verna wrote these biographies. They celebrated the lives of inspiring people. Some of these role models were Malorie Blackman and Benjamin Zephaniah. Others included Rudolph Walker and Baroness Scotland.

Verna wrote an essay for the book New Daughters of Africa (2019). In it, she explained her work. She believes the process of creating books must start with children. She thinks children should see themselves as future authors, editors, and publishers.

Other Important Work

Verna Wilkins led a group called Independent Black Publishers (IBP). This group helped black publishers in the UK. They shared ideas and worked together. This helped them make a bigger impact. Margaret Busby was a supporter of this group.

In 2007, at the London Book Fair, IBP had a joint stand. It showed books from many black-owned companies. These included Tamarind Books and others.

Verna has also been a judge for book awards. These include the Burt Award for Caribbean Literature and the Jhalak Prize. She is also known internationally as a speaker. She leads conferences in the UK, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean.

In 2021, she was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. This is a special honor for writers.

Awards and Honors

• 2007: Highly Commended at the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) Awards. This was in the "IPG Diversity Award" category.
• 2008: Won the Cultural Diversity Award at the Nibbies (British Book Awards).
• 2014: Newman University Birmingham gave Verna an honorary degree. She became a Doctor of Letters. This was for her work helping children's literature. It was also for her work in education.
• 2021: Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL).