I’ve always loved children’s books—the illustrations, the color, the whimsy, the beauty of the stories. I’m particularly drawn to books that speak to the human experience of African American children, beyond the typical subjects saddled on them, like the Civil Rights Movement, slavery, and the lives of sports and music icons. Don’t get me wrong: I appreciate that those books give our history an airing for our babies. But I’m infinitely more interested in stories that celebrate the everyday beauty of being a little human of color. Black children believe in the tooth fairy, get scared when they contemplate their first ride on the school bus, look for dragons in their closets, have best friends who get into mischief with them. In other words, Black children have the same universal childhood experiences that any other human revels in as a kid, and they should be able to see that part of their lives reflected in the stories on their bookshelves. My goal is to have my imprint add to that small but important canon. Denene Millner Books, then, is a love letter to children of color who deserve to see their beauty and humanity in the most remarkable form of entertainment on the planet: books.
—Denene Millner, Vice President and Publisher