Colurful Book Company was founded by Tamika Neal and Amanda Turner amid the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. During this time, families faced a health and economic crisis while being forced to adapt to drastic social changes. As mothers and concerned members of the African American community, they felt that this was the perfect time to spread messages of positivity, resiliency, and hope.
About the Authors
Amanda Turner
Amanda Turner is an entrepreneur, author, loving wife, and mother of two. As a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago (Master of Arts in Social Work) and Western Illinois University (Bachelor of Arts in Social Work), she is committed to empowering children of color to possess and sustain a positive self-identity and a high sense of self-worth. She has worked for many years with children and families in various capacities including as a School-Based Counselor and Program Facilitator in Chicago Public Schools. She is most passionate about creating literature that will inspire the next generation.
Tamika Neal is an author, entrepreneur, and former educator. She has a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from the University of Illinois at Springfield and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Western Illinois University. Tamika cultivated her passion for reading by teaching elementary and middle school literacy for over eight years. This experience inspired her to create engaging content rich literature that helps children learn more about themselves, others and the world.
Tamika Neal
What We Do
We strongly believe that “If you don’t get out there and define yourself, you’ll be quickly and inaccurately defined by others.”(Michelle Obama) Therefore, we encourage children to be confident, bold and knowledgeable about whom they are and their ability to impact the world.
We strive to:
- Help children develop a positive self-worth
- Promote problem-solving and critical thinking
- Model positive behavior in real-life situations
- Assist children with meeting developmental milestones
- Spark curiosity and imagination
Our Mission
Our mission is to create high-quality literature that depicts children of color as valued members of society."
FAQ
MOST FREQUENTLY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The word “Colourful” is meaningful to us because it represents diversity, individuality and the beauty within our differences. These themes are reoccurring throughout our stories and speak to our commitment to celebrate diversity and diverse viewpoints of the world. Also, we truly believe that “ Colour” is powerful and hope that readers finish our stories feeling excited, empowered and bold.
Yes! We are currently working on two projects that will be released in 2021. One is a story about a boy who is expressing his feelings and connection to the color “black”. The other project is a “Silly Series” to teach children early learning math concepts. We’re very excited and thankful for the opportunity to share these new releases with our readers!
Ideas are everywhere! Our book “A Quarantined Birthday” was based on our children’s experience during the Coronavirus Pandemic. As parents, we felt that it was important to create a kid-friendly perspective of the pandemic, and emphasize the need for families to be flexible and creative during this difficult time. We also get ideas by developing a theme and brainstorming fun and creative ways to express it to the reader. This is one of our favorite parts of the writing process! We love using our imagination to create empowering and unique literature to help children learn!
For both of us, we’ve had always had a passion for writing from a very young age. As we became parents, writing children’s literature came naturally and quickly became our “niche”. We both have a strong desire to help children and their families, is the motivation behind all of our stories. We sincerely hope to impact the next generation of children by creating quality literature for years to come!
Our books feature fictional characters that are based on real life events and situations. In the book “ A Quarantined Birthday, we constructed the main character AJ based on our children during the quarantine. However, we also write stories about fictional characters. In most cases, they are developed based on the character traits that will best bring our stories to life!
Contact Us For Further Inquiries