The Black girl magic spilleth over!
A buzzing Mompreneur recently released a children’s book dedicated to affirming Black girls.
Christina Hammond is the author of Dear Little Black Girl, a new children’s book empowering young Black girls through affirmations. Hammond is an entertainment professional, budding humanitarian, and public speaker. The book includes a variety of affirmations that help “establish values [for little girls] as they navigate throughout their individual journeys.” As the first children’s book from the author, Hammond was committed to giving young girls the things she wished she had growing up.
Photo Courtesy of Christina Hammond
“Dear Little Black Girl was honestly a letter to my younger self. These are things that I wish that I knew growing up. It’s not that those things weren’t told to me, but they weren’t told to me from an affirmation perspective. [The affirmations in the book] are things that I would tell my younger self to help prevent me [from some of the obstacles I experienced]…It was like a poem to myself that a friend suggested should be a book,” Hammond told Because Of Them We Can.
The Washington, D.C. native is also the creator of “Tristyn’s Book Club,” a community named for her 11-month-old daughter, with the sole purpose of connecting families through reading. The idea initially came after someone suggested Hammond read 500 books to her daughter before she started school, leading Hammond to share her newfound books with other families. Since its inception, “Tristyn’s Book Club” has partnered with Yumi, the number one rated baby food brand and been featured on Beyonce.com as a Black business making an impact in the community.
Photo Courtesy of @TristynsBookClub/Instagram
“I wanted to create a brand that was educational based that also brought back the importance of children’s literacy and reading to our babies. Once we started reading those books, I just started sharing them with other families, and we learned that there were a lot of families [who struggled] to find books with Black characters and characters that looked like their children,” said Hammond.
Now, Hammond shares hundreds of books for young Black readers through her club platform under various genres from poetry to science fiction. Hammond hopes to create memberships for the club eventually, but for now, families can join “Tristyn’s Book Club” and stay engaged via Instagram. Authors looking to get featured also have the opportunity to send their books to Hammond.
When asked what advice she would give to other aspiring mompreneurs, Hammond replied, “[Don’t] be too hard on yourself and [don’t] stress trying to create. I think as a new mom, learning the balance of motherhood and work [is one thing] I’m still working on and getting better at… It took me three years to put Dear Little Black Girl out. Sometimes you may have to wait. Eventually, everything will flow according to the time that it’s supposed to.”
Hammond is currently working on her 2nd children’s book for young boys and girls, and “Tristyn’s Book Club” is spotlighting authors in a new IG live series. For more information about the club, follow them on Instagram. To purchase your copy of Dear Little Black Girl, click here.
Congratulations Christina!
Photo Courtesy of Christina Hammond